All guides
Plain-English answers with links to the official sources. Not legal advice.
Reading the bulletin
- What do "C" and "U" mean in the Visa Bulletin?"C" means current: no wait for that category and country. "U" means unavailable: no visas can be used this month. What each means for your case.
- When does the next Visa Bulletin come out?The Visa Bulletin for a month is usually published around the middle of the month before. There is no fixed release day. How to know the minute it is out.
- Where can I find past Visa Bulletins?Every past Visa Bulletin is on travel.state.gov, filed by fiscal year. How the archive is organized and how to pull a category's movement history.
- What do the notes at the bottom of the Visa Bulletin mean?Below the charts, each bulletin has lettered sections with notes: movement explanations, warnings of retrogression, program expirations. What to read.
- How does the Visa Bulletin work if my case is at the National Visa Center?For consular processing, the Dates for Filing chart tells you when NVC lets you submit documents, and the Final Action chart decides interview scheduling.
- How does the Visa Bulletin affect my child's CSPA age?USCIS computes CSPA age from when a visa becomes available under the Final Action Dates chart, minus the time the petition was pending. With the formula.
- Do my spouse and children use my priority date in the Visa Bulletin?A spouse and unmarried children under 21 who come with the principal applicant use the principal's category, priority date and chargeability.
- What happens to my pending I-485 if the Visa Bulletin goes backward?If your Final Action Date goes back after you filed, your I-485 stays pending. USCIS cannot approve it until your date is current again.
Categories
- How does EB-1 move in the Visa Bulletin?EB-1 gets 28.6% of employment visas plus unused EB-4 and EB-5 numbers. Why it is often current for most countries but not India or China.
- How does EB-2 move in the Visa Bulletin?EB-2 gets 28.6% of employment visas plus unused EB-1 numbers. How NIW and PERM cases share it, and why India and China have their own cutoffs.
- How does EB-3 (and the Other Workers row) move in the Visa Bulletin?EB-3 gets 28.6% of employment visas plus unused EB-1/EB-2 numbers. Other Workers have a separate row capped at 10,000 a year. Nurses use EB-3.
- How does EB-4 (and the religious workers row) work in the Visa Bulletin?EB-4 special immigrants get 7.1% of employment visas. The non-minister religious worker row depends on a program Congress must extend, so it can show U.
- How does EB-5 work in the Visa Bulletin?EB-5 gets 7.1% of employment visas. 32% is reserved: 20% rural, 10% high unemployment, 2% infrastructure. Each has its own row and can move separately.
- Is the EB-5 rural set-aside current in the Visa Bulletin?Rural EB-5 has its own bulletin row with 20% of EB-5 visas. How to check if it is current, why it can differ from unreserved, and how to watch it.
- What does EB-5 India retrogression mean for investors?When EB-5 India gets a cutoff, Indian-born investors in that row wait for numbers even after I-526E approval. What changes and what to do.
- How does F1 (unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens) move in the Visa Bulletin?F1 (unmarried sons and daughters 21+ of U.S. citizens) gets 23,400 visas a year plus unused F4 numbers. How the line moves by country.
- Why does F2A move so differently from the other family categories?F2A (spouses and minor children of green card holders) gets most F2 visas and 75% of them ignore the per-country limit. Why it jumps and retrogresses.
- How does F2B (adult children of green card holders) move in the Visa Bulletin?F2B (unmarried sons and daughters 21+ of green card holders) shares F2's 114,200 visas with F2A and gets up to 23% of them. How it moves.
- How does F3 (married children of U.S. citizens) move in the Visa Bulletin?F3 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) gets 23,400 visas plus unused F1 and F2 numbers. How it moves and why waits are long.
- Why is F4 (siblings of U.S. citizens) the slowest Visa Bulletin line?F4 (brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens) gets 65,000 visas plus unused F1 to F3 numbers. Why it has the longest waits, by country.
Countries
- Where does India stand in this month's Visa Bulletin, across every category?India has its own Visa Bulletin column because Indian-born demand exceeds the 7% per-country limit. All India categories in one table, plus how they move.
- Where does China stand in this month's Visa Bulletin, across every category?The China column is for people born in mainland China. Every category for China-mainland born in one table, and why EB-1, EB-2 and EB-5 differ.
- Where does Mexico stand in this month's Visa Bulletin, across every category?Mexico has its own column, mainly for family categories where Mexican demand exceeds the per-country limit. Every Mexico category in one table.
- Where does the Philippines stand in this month's Visa Bulletin, across every category?The Philippines has its own column for family categories and EB-3. Every Philippines category in one table, and what moves F4 and EB-3 Philippines.
- Which Visa Bulletin column do I use if I was not born in China, India, Mexico or the Philippines?If you were not born in China, India, Mexico or the Philippines, you use the All Chargeability Areas column. Every category for rest of world.
- EB-2 China vs EB-1 China: which is faster right now?Compare the EB-1 and EB-2 China-mainland born cutoffs side by side from the current bulletin, and what keeping your priority date across petitions means.
- EB-1A vs NIW: which gets an India-born applicant a green card faster?For India-born applicants, EB-1A uses the EB-1 India cutoff and NIW uses the EB-2 India cutoff. Compare both from the current bulletin.
- EB-2 vs EB-3 India: which is ahead in the Visa Bulletin this month?EB-3 India is sometimes ahead of EB-2 India. Compare both cutoffs from the current bulletin and what a downgrade (new EB-3 I-140) involves.
History, predictions & alerts
- How does the State Department decide the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates?Cutoff dates come from comparing documentarily qualified demand with the numbers left under annual, per-country and quarterly limits. How it works.
- Where does the State Department publish Visa Bulletin projections?There is no standing official Visa Bulletin forecast. Any State Department outlook appears in the notes of the monthly bulletin. Where to look.
- How many green cards does each Visa Bulletin category get per year?Family preference: at least 226,000 a year. Employment: 140,000 plus unused family numbers. Each category's share under INA 203, in one table.
- What is the 7% per-country limit in the Visa Bulletin?No country can use more than 7% of family plus employment preference visas a year. Why India, China, Mexico and the Philippines get own columns.
- How do unused family visas spill over to employment-based green cards?Family preference numbers unused in one fiscal year are added to the next year's employment limit (INA 201(d)). How spillover moves EB dates.
- What changes in the October Visa Bulletin?October starts the U.S. fiscal year, so a full year of visa numbers arrives. Why categories that were U in September can return and dates can jump.
- Why does my Visa Bulletin category become unavailable near the end of the fiscal year?When a category uses its annual numbers before September 30, the State Department can mark it U or retrogress it until October. What it means for you.
- How far has the Visa Bulletin moved, month by month, for the backlogged categories?Month-by-month Final Action Date history for EB-2 India, EB-3 India, EB-2 China, EB-3 Philippines, F2A and F4, built from the official bulletins.
- Is there a Visa Bulletin prediction calculator for EB-2 India (and does it work)?Priority date calculators project past movement forward. What they can and cannot tell you, and how to sanity-check any EB-2 India forecast.
- How do I get an alert when the Visa Bulletin changes for my category?We read each new official bulletin and the USCIS chart choice, and email you when your category and country change. What triggers an alert.
- How do I get notified when F2A becomes current?F2A can turn current, move fast or retrogress. Get an email the day the F2A Final Action Date or Date for Filing passes your priority date.