EB-1 exhausted: how annual visa quotas work

The U.S. employment-based immigration system operates within a strict annual budget, and the EB-1 category — reserved for individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives — is no exception. In August 2024, the Department of State announced that the entire EB-1 quota for fiscal year 2024 had been used up, halting new consular issuances until the start of the following fiscal year on October 1 of that year. The episode exposed something many applicants and employers still underestimate: EB-1, despite being a priority category, depends on a limited allocation that can run out before the fiscal year ends.

The arithmetic of the EB quota

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets the annual ceiling for employment-based visas (EB-1 through EB-5) at 140,000, with an additional supply fed by unused family-preference visas from the prior fiscal year. For fiscal year 2024, this arrangement raised the total available to approximately 161,000 employment-based green cards, according to figures released by the U.S. government itself.

Within that pool, EB-1 receives 28.6% of the total — roughly 40,000 visas per year under normal conditions, and potentially more when unused numbers flow in from other categories. That figure is distributed among three subgroups: EB-1A (extraordinary ability), EB-1B (outstanding professors and researchers), and EB-1C (multinational executives and managers).

Per-country cap

Another important layer is the per-country cap: no single country may consume more than 7% of the total annual EB visa supply. For countries with high volumes of qualified applicants, such as India and China, this rule creates queues that stretch for years, even within a category considered priority. When one of the EB-1 subcategories closes globally, the impact on those countries already in backlog is particularly severe, as delays compound on themselves.

What happened in 2024

The Department of State, in coordination with USCIS, announced on August 27, 2024 that the EB-1 quota for that cycle had been exhausted. From that date, U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide stopped issuing EB-1 immigrant visas until the turn of the fiscal year on October 1, 2024. The official notice emphasized the economic significance of the category, but reiterated the non-negotiable nature of the statutory limit.

Maximizing annual usage has become, in practice, a recent recurring pattern. Following the pandemic, with the accumulation of pending cases and rising approval rates, successive EB categories have been reaching their ceiling before the fiscal year ends, reinforcing the importance of the monthly Visa Bulletin as a planning tool.

Visa Bulletin and cutoff dates

The Visa Bulletin published by the Department of State each month contains two central charts: Final Action Dates (the date on which a visa may actually be issued) and Dates for Filing (the date from which an applicant may file an adjustment of status). Reading these two charts together indicates the pace of the queue for each combination of category and chargeability country.

As a quota approaches exhaustion, it is common for the bulletin to retrogress dates, freeze movement, or mark the category as Unavailable. Tracking this document month by month is an essential part of the work for applicants and professionals advising on immigration matters.

Impact on applicants

For those in consular processing, the effect of quota exhaustion is direct: an interview may be rescheduled, the visa is not printed until the new cycle begins, and entry into the United States is put on hold. For applicants pursuing adjustment of status inside the country, petitions continue to be processed, but final green card approval may be delayed until the category regains available quota.

Professionals with very old priority dates, particularly in countries under backlog, may also experience retrogression, where the cutoff date moves back to an earlier point on the calendar. This phenomenon typically occurs at the end of the fiscal year, when the Department of State recalibrates quota usage.

How to mitigate the risk

While there is no way to advance priority within EB-1, there are planning decisions that reduce exposure to exhaustion. Filing petitions at the start of the fiscal year — between October and December — typically positions an applicant ahead of a still-fresh queue. For employers, aligning international recruitment campaigns with this calendar increases predictability.

Another recommendation is to keep all eligibility documentation up to date. For EB-1A, this means evidence of international recognition such as awards, publications, academic citations, and roles as a judge in merit-based processes. For EB-1C, this includes a corporate organizational chart, financial statements, and qualifying ties between the parent company and subsidiary. This advance preparation shortens the time between the opening of the cycle and the submission of a complete petition.

Looking ahead to future cycles

The pattern observed in fiscal year 2024 helps calibrate expectations for the cycles ahead. Pressure on EB-1 remains high, with record volumes of approved petitions and a growing global pool of qualified applicants. Tracking the Visa Bulletin, planning with adequate lead time, and treating the October window as a strategic asset are practices that, over the long term, separate those who obtain a green card in the first cycle from those who wait another year to see their status advance.

Final takeaways

• Annual EB quota: 140,000 visas per year plus family-preference carryover.
• EB-1 share: 28.6% of the total, around 40,000 visas.
• Per-country cap: 7% of the annual total per chargeability country.
• Planning tool: Visa Bulletin with Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing.
• Recurring risk: exhaustion before September 30 and retrogression in the final months of the fiscal year.

The 2024 exhaustion is a snapshot of a structural pattern. Those who prepare by understanding the arithmetic behind the numbers reduce uncertainty and make the most of every eligibility window that the U.S. fiscal year offers.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.