There are no changes in the filing or final action dates for any family-based green card category for December, leaving those waiting for family-based green cards even more frustrated. According to the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for December, the filing and final action dates for all family-based green card categories remain the same as in November, effectively a copy-and-paste of November’s dates.
For December, as in November, spouses and children under 21 of green card holders with priority dates before January 1, 2022, are eligible to apply for immigrant visa appointments and receive visas if their applications have already been approved by USCIS. In these cases, applications filed before July 15, 2024, are processed to become “documentarily qualified” by the National Visa Center, but visa interviews depend on the Visa Bulletin’s final action date. The USCIS often takes a long time to process I-130 applications.
Within the U.S., green card holders’ spouses and children under 21 could file applications concurrently until August of last year, but this concurrent filing option has been unavailable since September of last year. Therefore, green card holders’ spouses and children under 21 in the U.S. cannot file the I-130 petition and green card application (I-485) together.
With no changes in filing or final action dates for any family-based green card category, the waiting period has been extended by another month. In November, the filing date for spouses and children of green card holders within the U.S. was July 15, 2024, and this remains unchanged for December. This means that individuals in the U.S. with I-130 applications filed before July 15, 2024, can file green card applications (I-485) in this category in December.
For siblings of U.S. citizens, the wait time to receive a green card has reached 17 years and 3 months. Those who filed I-130 petitions before August 1, 2007, and are already documentarily qualified by the National Visa Center, may schedule an immigrant visa interview in December. The wait time for U.S. citizens’ siblings continues to increase, and siblings who filed I-130 petitions after 2007 are still unable to receive immigrant visas, leading to frustration among those waiting.
According to the December Visa Bulletin, the wait time for unmarried children over 21 of U.S. citizens to receive a visa is now 9 years and 2 months, meaning those who filed I-130 petitions before October 22, 2015, can receive a visa in December. For unmarried children over 21 of green card holders, the wait time is 8 years and 7 months, so those who filed before May 1, 2016, are eligible for visas in December.
For married children of U.S. citizens, the wait time is now 14 years and 7 months. Those who filed I-130 petitions before April 15, 2010, may be eligible for visas in December.
Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
