Updated November 11, 2026

F2B visa bulletin: how to check your priority date, read the charts, and protect your application

The F2B category on the monthly Department of State Visa Bulletin covers unmarried sons and daughters age 21 and older of lawful permanent residents. Because family-sponsored preference visas are capped at 226,000 per year according to USCIS, you must wait until your Form I-130 priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed for your country before you can apply for a Green Card. For November 2026, all family-sponsored adjustment of status applicants inside the United States must use the Dates for Filing chart.

What is the F2B visa category and why is there a wait?

Lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders) can petition for certain relatives to immigrate to the United States. Family petitions are divided into preference categories. The second preference category splits into two groups: F2A is for spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents, and F2B is for unmarried sons and daughters who are 21 years of age or older.

Immediate relatives of US citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of citizens at least 21 years old) have unlimited immigrant visas. Family-sponsored preference categories like F2B are numerically limited. By statute, USCIS notes that family-sponsored preference visas are capped at 226,000 per year across all categories, though this annual limit may be exceeded when certain immigrant visas from the previous fiscal year's allocation were not fully used.

Each preference subcategory receives a set percentage of the annual total, and the law also limits the percentage of visas allotted to any single country of chargeability (usually your country of birth). When demand exceeds supply for a category and country in a given year, the Department of State considers it oversubscribed and publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin with cut-off dates to allocate visas in order.

• Petitioner requirement: Your sponsoring parent must be a lawful permanent resident (or a US citizen if they naturalize later and you opt out of converting to F1).
• Beneficiary age: You must be 21 years of age or older (or have aged out of F2A under Child Status Protection Act rules).
• Marital status: You must remain unmarried from the day Form I-130 is filed until the day you are admitted as a permanent resident or your Form I-485 is approved.
• Qualifying petition: Your parent must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with proof of their permanent resident status, proof of your parent-child relationship (such as a birth certificate), and proof of any legal name changes.

Family-Sponsored Preference Categories (USCIS)

How to find and check your F2B priority date

The Department of State distributes preference visas based on three factors: your preference category (F2B), your country of chargeability, and your priority date. For F2B applicants, your priority date is the date your parent properly filed Form I-130 on your behalf. You can find it printed on Form I-797, Notice of Action, which USCIS issues as the receipt or approval notice for the Form I-130 petition.

Form I-130 is only used to demonstrate a qualifying relationship. An approved Form I-130 does not grant any immigration benefit, lawful status, or permission to stay or work in the United States. It only creates your place in line for visa processing.

A visa number becomes available when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for F2B and your country of chargeability in the applicable chart of the monthly Visa Bulletin. If your priority date matches the exact cut-off date or falls after it, a visa is not yet available. You can check the monthly Visa Bulletin on the Department of State website or listen to the Department of State's recorded message by calling 202-663-1541, which is normally updated by the middle of each month with cut-off dates for the following month.

How to read the two F2B Visa Bulletin charts

Every month, the Department of State posts two charts for family-sponsored preference categories in the Visa Bulletin: the Application Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing Applications chart. Which chart you use depends on whether you are applying outside or inside the United States.

If you live outside the United States and use consular processing, the Dates for Filing Applications chart indicates when you should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation and fees to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC). The Application Final Action Dates chart shows the dates when immigrant visas may finally be issued at a US embassy or consulate.

If you are inside the United States and want to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, you cannot automatically use the Dates for Filing chart. Each month, USCIS monitors visa numbers and designates which chart adjustment of status applicants must use. The agency posts this choice on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts webpage within one week after the Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin.

When there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants, you may use the Dates for Filing chart. Otherwise, you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart. As of November 2, 2026, for all family-sponsored preference filings in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart.

How to Read Visa Bulletin Chart Entries and Symbols (USCIS)

Why you must remain unmarried in the F2B category

Getting married before becoming a permanent resident ends an F2B petition. Under USCIS eligibility rules, lawful permanent residents may only petition for a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, or an unmarried son or daughter of any age. There is no preference category for married sons or daughters of Green Card holders, as Third Preference (F3) is only for married sons and daughters of US citizens.

To adjust status or receive an immigrant visa under F2B, the qualifying unmarried relationship must continue to exist, and any derivative children must also remain unmarried. If you are waiting in the consular processing queue and change your marital status, you must notify the National Visa Center, as this change affects your eligibility and visa availability.

What happens if your permanent resident parent becomes a US citizen (and how to opt out)

Because the F2B wait takes years, many permanent resident parents naturalize while their adult son or daughter is waiting for a visa number. Under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), when your permanent resident parent files Form I-130 for you in the F2B category and then becomes a US citizen, your petition automatically converts to the First Preference (F1) category as the unmarried son or daughter of a US citizen.

When the Visa Bulletin waiting time for F2B is shorter than the waiting time for F1, the law allows you to opt out of the automatic conversion and stay in F2B. Compare the F1 and F2B cut-off dates for your country of chargeability on the Visa Bulletin. If F2B has a later cut-off date (meaning a shorter wait), follow our checklist below based on USCIS's CSPA rules to opt out.

• Check who must sign: You (the adult son or daughter beneficiary), not your parent, must write and sign the opt-out request letter.
• State your request clearly: Write a signed letter stating that you wish to opt out of the automatic conversion from F2B to F1.
• Include required case details: Include your full name and date of birth, your parent's full name and date of birth, and the receipt number for your Form I-130 (found on your Form I-797 receipt and approval notices).
• Send it to the approving office: Submit your written request to the specific office that approved your Form I-130, which is listed on your Form I-797 approval notice.
• Confirm the office if unsure: If you do not know which office approved your Form I-130, call the Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) before mailing your letter.

How the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) works for F2B and derivative children

Immigration law defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old. Someone who applies for a Green Card as a child (such as in the F2A category, or as a derivative child of an F2B principal applicant) and turns 21 before approval ages out unless protected by the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), which took effect on August 6, 2002. If an F2A child's CSPA age reaches 21 or older, they age out of F2A and move into F2B.

For family preference principal and derivative applicants, you calculate CSPA age using USCIS's formula: Age at Time of Visa Availability minus Pending Time equals CSPA Age.

First, calculate Pending Time: Approval Date minus Filing Date equals Pending Time. For example, if a mother properly filed Form I-130 on February 1, 2016, and it was approved on August 1, 2016, the pending time is 6 months.

Second, find the Age at Time of Visa Availability, defined as the later of two dates: the date the Form I-130 petition was approved, or the first day of the month of the Department of State Visa Bulletin indicating a visa is available for your priority date in the Final Action Dates chart.

Third, subtract Pending Time from the child's age on that availability date. If the applicant is 21 years and 4 months old when a visa becomes available on the Final Action Dates chart, and the petition was pending for 6 months, you calculate: 21 years and 4 months minus 6 months equals a CSPA age of 20 years and 10 months. Because that is under 21, the child does not age out.

To keep CSPA protection in a family preference category, the applicant must also meet the sought to acquire requirement within 1 year of when the visa becomes available. You satisfy this 1-year rule by properly filing Form I-485 or having Form I-824 properly filed on your behalf. For consular processing, you can satisfy it by submitting a completed Part 1 of Form DS-260, paying the immigrant visa fee to the Department of State, or paying the Form I-864 review fee to the Department of State if you are listed on the Affidavit of Support.

What to do when your F2B priority date becomes current

Once your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date on the applicable Visa Bulletin chart, you apply through consular processing abroad or adjustment of status inside the United States. Your unmarried children under 21 years of age may also apply for a Green Card with you as derivative applicants.

Pathway 1: Consular Processing (outside the United States). USCIS sends your approved Form I-130 to the National Visa Center (NVC), which holds it and notifies both your parent and you when it receives the petition and when you must submit immigrant visa processing fees (fee bills) and supporting documents. You must also notify the NVC if you change your address, turn 21, or change your marital status, as these changes can affect your eligibility or visa availability. Once your priority date is current on the Final Action Dates chart, the consulate schedules your interview. If granted a visa, you receive a sealed Visa Packet that you must not open and must hand to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the port of entry. You should pay the Immigrant Fee online after receiving your packet and before departing for the United States so your Green Card can be mailed to you.

Pathway 2: Adjustment of Status (inside the United States). If you are physically present in the United States, were inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled, and a visa is immediately available under the chart designated for that month, you may file Form I-485. F2B applicants must submit proof that they have continuously maintained a lawful status since arriving in the United States (unless eligible under INA section 245(i) using Form I-485 Supplement A). While Form I-485 is pending, you can apply for employment authorization with Form I-765 and an Advance Parole travel document with Form I-131 (selecting item 5.A. in Part 1). Leaving the United States without Advance Parole generally abandons a pending Form I-485.

• Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) and the correct filing fee.
• Copy of Form I-797 (Approval or Receipt Notice for Form I-130), unless filing concurrently when a visa is immediately available.
• Proof that you have continuously maintained a lawful status since arriving in the United States.
• Copy of your passport pages with nonimmigrant visa and admission or parole stamp, plus Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record (available to print from the CBP website if issued electronically).
• Copy of your birth certificate, government-issued photo ID, and two passport-style photographs.
• Copy of marriage termination records (divorce decree, annulment, or death certificate) proving you are currently unmarried.
• Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA).
• Form I-693 (Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record), submitted with Form I-485 to avoid rejection.

What happens if the F2B Visa Bulletin retrogresses?

When more people apply for a visa in a category or country than there are visas available for that month, the cut-off date can slow down, stop, or move backward to an earlier date, which is called visa retrogression. When the new fiscal year begins on October 1, a new supply of visa numbers becomes available and usually, though not always, returns the cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.

To be approved for adjustment of status (Form I-485), an immigrant visa must be available both when you file Form I-485 and when a final decision is made. If you properly file Form I-485 while eligible and the F2B date retrogresses before final adjudication, USCIS holds your case in abeyance until a visa becomes available again.

Cases that do not require an in-person interview are held at the Service Center where filed. If you have already been interviewed at a field office and a visa is unavailable, family-sponsored retrogressed cases are held at the National Benefits Center (NBC). While your case is in abeyance, you can still apply for or renew your Form I-765 work permit and Form I-131 Advance Parole document. Update your address promptly (and with the NVC if consular processing) so you do not miss requests for evidence or notices.

What the officer may ask at your F2B visa or adjustment interview

When your F2B priority date reaches the Final Action Dates chart and your interview is scheduled at a US embassy, consulate, or adjustment office, the officer verifies that your Form I-130 relationship remains valid and that you are admissible. Prepare for these core questions by organizing your civil and status documents.

• Have you ever been married, or are you married now? What the officer checks: F2B requires you to be unmarried until you become a permanent resident. How to prepare: State your marital status plainly and bring original or certified divorce, annulment, or death certificates if previously married.
• Has your petitioning parent become a US citizen since filing Form I-130? What the officer checks: Whether your case converted to F1 or whether you opted out under CSPA to remain in F2B. How to prepare: Know your parent's status and bring a copy of your signed opt-out request letter if they naturalized and you stayed in F2B.
• Do you have any children, and are they immigrating with you? What the officer checks: Derivative eligibility and CSPA age for unmarried children under 21. How to prepare: Bring birth certificates for each child and proof that you sought to acquire their status within 1 year of visa availability.
• What is your petitioner's current employment, income, and address in the United States? What the officer checks: Admissibility and the validity of Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. How to prepare: Review your parent's (and any joint sponsor's) recent tax returns, W-2s, employment letter, and residential address.
• If adjusting status in the US: What nonimmigrant status have you held since arriving in the United States? What the officer checks: Continuous maintenance of lawful status under INA 245. How to prepare: Bring every Form I-94, Form I-797 approval notice, and status document covering your entire stay.

Practice example

If you are adjusting status inside the United States, how have you maintained lawful status since your arrival, and have you remained unmarried?

Answer both parts directly in two or three plain sentences. First, walk through your nonimmigrant history chronologically from the date you were inspected and admitted into the United States. State your current nonimmigrant classification and confirm that you have never fallen out of status. Have your paper Form I-94 printout from the CBP website, your passport admission stamp, and every Form I-797 approval notice ready to show the officer. Second, confirm that you are currently unmarried. If you were previously married, state the date your marriage legally ended and keep your certified divorce decree, annulment, or death certificate at the top of your folder. If your parent naturalized while you waited for your priority date, also have a copy of your signed opt-out letter ready.

The officer is verifying that you meet the strict continuous lawful status requirement for family preference adjustment of status under INA 245 and that you remain unmarried for F2B classification.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.