Movement history, predictions and alerts
Why dates move the way they do, what the history shows, how far predictions can be trusted, and how to be told the day your date moves.
- 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.
What to do next: get your Visa Bulletin alert
Pick your category and chargeability country once; we read every new bulletin and email you when your date moves.
Free: 1 category, checked daily, email. Pro $5/month: checks every 4 hours, SMS + push, movement history and estimates. Compare plans.