Updated November 11, 2026

Green card Visa Bulletin: how priority dates, filing charts and retrogression work

The green card Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication by the U.S. Department of State that shows when you can file Form I-485 or complete consular processing based on your priority date, preference category, and country of chargeability. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports that U.S. law generally caps family-sponsored preference visas at 226,000 per year and employment-based preference visas at 140,000 per year, while visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited. A visa is available when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed on the applicable chart, or when your category shows a "C" for current.

What is the green card Visa Bulletin and who uses it?

The Immigration and Nationality Act sets annual limits on how many immigrant visas the U.S. Department of State can issue each year to people seeking lawful permanent resident status. Because more people apply in certain categories and countries than those annual limits allow, waiting lists form.

The Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin every month to manage that queue. It allocates visa numbers using three facts from your case: your immigrant preference category, your country of chargeability (which is usually your country of birth), and your priority date.

Not everyone waiting for a green card has to check the bulletin. Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited and always available. USCIS defines immediate relatives as:

• Spouses of U.S. citizens
• Unmarried children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizens
• Parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old
• Widows or widowers of U.S. citizens if the citizen filed a petition before dying, or if the widow or widower files a petition within two years of the citizen's death

Annual visa caps and preference categories

If you are not an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, your green card falls into a numerically limited family-sponsored, employment-based, or diversity visa category. USCIS notes that annual limits are generally 226,000 for family-sponsored preference visas and 140,000 for employment-based preference visas. By statute, those limits can be exceeded in a fiscal year when certain immigrant visas from the previous fiscal year's allocation were not fully used.

Within those totals, U.S. law divides visas among specific preference categories and sets limits on the percentage of visas that can be allotted to any single country of chargeability.

The table below summarizes the main family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories described on USCIS eligibility pages, along with the underlying petition for each.

Preference categories and underlying petitions from uscis.gov, as of November 2026

How to find and protect your priority date

Your priority date determines your exact place in the immigrant visa queue. Once a petition is filed on your behalf, you can find your priority date printed on Form I-797, Notice of Action.

How that date is set depends on your green card path:

• Family-sponsored preference cases: Your priority date is the date Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative (or in certain instances Form I-360), is properly filed with USCIS.
• Employment-based cases requiring labor certification: Your priority date is the date the Department of Labor (DOL) accepts the labor certification application for processing. To keep that priority date valid, the petitioner must file Form I-140 with USCIS within 180 days of the DOL approval date on the labor certification, or the certification expires.
• Employment-based cases not requiring labor certification: Your priority date is the date USCIS accepts Form I-140 for processing.
• Fourth preference special immigrants (including religious workers): Your priority date is the date USCIS accepts Form I-360 for processing.
• Fifth preference immigrant investors: Your priority date is the date USCIS accepts Form I-526 for processing.

Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing: which chart to use

Every monthly Visa Bulletin includes two separate charts for family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories. Understanding the difference between them tells you when you can turn in your paperwork and when your green card can actually be approved.

Every month, USCIS reviews the number of visas remaining for the fiscal year against known applicant counts. It compares Department of State documentarily qualified applications, pending adjustment filings, and past drop-off rates such as denials and withdrawals. Within one week of the Department of State publishing the Visa Bulletin, USCIS posts on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page which chart applicants inside the United States must use for that month.

Unless USCIS specifically states on its webpage that you may use the Dates for Filing chart, you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart to decide if you can file Form I-485. There is also an automatic exception: if a particular category is listed as current on the Final Action Dates chart, or if the cut-off date on the Final Action Dates chart is later than the date on the Dates for Filing chart, applicants in that category may file using the Final Action Dates chart during that month. For November 2026, USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for both all family-sponsored preference filings and all employment-based preference filings.

Comparison of the two monthly Visa Bulletin charts from uscis.gov

How to read cut-off dates, C and U on the bulletin

When you open the applicable chart for the month, find the row for your preference category and the column for your country of chargeability. You will see one of three entries in that box:

A specific cut-off date (written in DDMMMYY format, such as 15DEC07): This means demand exceeds supply for your category and country, making it oversubscribed. A visa is available to you only if your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown on the chart. USCIS gives a concrete example: if the chart shows 15DEC07 for China in the F1 family preference category, visas are available for immigrants whose priority date is earlier than December 15, 2007. If your priority date is on or after the cut-off date, you must keep waiting.

The letter C (Current): This means demand is less than supply in that category and country. Immigrant visas are immediately available to all qualified adjustment of status and overseas applicants in that box, regardless of their priority date.

The letter U (Unavailable): This means immigrant visas are temporarily unavailable to all applicants in that preference category and country of chargeability.

Worked example: checking if you can file Form I-485 this month

To see how the rules fit together, walk through this step-by-step scenario constructed from USCIS rules. The applicant details below are invented by our team as a worked example.

1. Gather your case facts: Suppose you are inside the United States on a temporary work visa. Your employer sponsored you for an employment-based second preference green card. The Department of Labor accepted your labor certification for processing on March 10, 2022, and approved it five months later. Your employer filed Form I-140 within 140 days of that approval, preserving your priority date of March 10, 2022, which appears on your Form I-797 receipt notice.

2. Check the USCIS monthly chart designation: You check the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page for the current month (such as November 2026, where USCIS instructs all employment-based preference categories to use the Dates for Filing chart).

3. Compare your priority date to the cut-off date: You look up the employment second preference row under your country of birth on the Dates for Filing chart. If the chart lists a cut-off date of May 1, 2022, your March 10, 2022 priority date is earlier than the cut-off date. You are eligible to file Form I-485 this month.

4. Check final approval eligibility: Even though you can submit Form I-485 under the Dates for Filing chart, USCIS cannot approve your green card until an immigrant visa number is available on the Application Final Action Dates chart both at the time of filing (under the designated chart rule) and at the time of final adjudication.

Concurrent filing, Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing

Most green card applicants complete two main form stages: an immigrant petition (such as Form I-130 or Form I-140) and a green card application. Depending on where you live and what the Visa Bulletin shows, your path follows either domestic adjustment of status or overseas consular processing.

Concurrent filing inside the United States: Normally, you must wait for USCIS to approve your immigrant petition before filing Form I-485. However, USCIS allows you to file Form I-485 at the same time as your underlying petition, or while it is pending, if approval of the petition would make a visa number immediately available. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can always file concurrently. Family-sponsored and employment-based (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 5th preference) applicants can file concurrently if their category shows "C" on the applicable chart, or if their priority date is earlier than the cut-off date on the Final Action Dates chart (or on the Dates for Filing chart when permitted by USCIS that month).

Note on Supplement J for employment-based filers: If you file Form I-485 concurrently with a Form I-140 that names you as the principal beneficiary, you do not need to file Form I-485 Supplement J. You must file Supplement J if you are filing Form I-485 based on a previously filed Form I-140, or if you are requesting job portability to a new permanent job offer under INA section 204(j).

Consular processing outside the United States: If you live abroad, USCIS sends your approved immigrant petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC). Your petition stays at the NVC until a visa number is about to become available. The NVC notifies you and the petitioner when it receives the petition, and notifies you again when to submit immigrant visa processing fees (fee bills) and supporting documents. Once your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date in the monthly Visa Bulletin, the consular office schedules your interview. If approved, the officer gives you a sealed Visa Packet (which you must not open) to hand to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of entry, and you pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online so USCIS can mail your green card within 90 days of arrival.

Visa retrogression: what happens when cut-off dates move backward

Cut-off dates on the Visa Bulletin usually move forward, but demand from applicants with earlier priority dates can fluctuate from month to month. When more people apply for visas in a category or country than there are visas available for that month, cut-off dates can slow down, stop, or move backward to an earlier date. This backward movement is called visa retrogression.

Retrogression happens most often toward the end of the federal fiscal year as visa issuance approaches the annual category or per-country limits. When the new fiscal year starts on October 1, a fresh supply of visa numbers is released, which usually, though not always, returns cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.

If you properly filed Form I-485 before your category retrogressed, you do not lose your pending application. Because a visa must be available both at filing and at final adjudication, USCIS holds your case in abeyance until your priority date becomes current again:

• Where your case waits: If your Form I-485 does not require an in-person interview, it is held at the USCIS Service Center where you initially filed. If you have already completed your interview at a local USCIS office and other processing steps, both employment-based and family-sponsored retrogressed cases are held at the National Benefits Center (NBC) until a visa number becomes available.
• Work and travel permits while waiting: Applicants who properly filed Form I-485 before retrogression can generally apply for work authorization using Form I-765 and permission to travel outside the United States (advance parole) using Form I-131. In general, if you depart the United States while Form I-485 is pending without previously granted advance parole, you abandon your adjustment application (with limited exceptions, such as certain Temporary Protected Status travel authorizations).
• Separate fees for work and travel forms: If you filed Form I-485 on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024, and paid the required fee, no additional fee is required for Form I-765 or Form I-131. If you file Form I-485 after April 1, 2024, you must pay additional fees to file Form I-765 and Form I-131 as listed on the USCIS Fee Schedule.
• When your date becomes current again: USCIS finalizes processing once the current month's Visa Bulletin reaches your priority date. If you have not heard from USCIS within 30 days of your visa becoming available again, you can call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).

Checklist: 7 steps to take before and after your priority date is current

When the monthly Visa Bulletin moves past your priority date, missing a required signature, medical form, or address update can lead to a rejection. Rejected applications do not retain a filing date. Use this checklist built from USCIS filing and adjustment rules to prepare:

• Check both the Department of State Visa Bulletin and the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page each month (or call the Department of State recorded cut-off date line at 202-663-1541, updated around the middle of each month for the following month).
• Confirm your Form I-485 edition date (such as the 09/18/26 edition listed on USCIS's website) and make sure the edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of every printed page before signing.
• Include your completed Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, with your Form I-485 or USCIS may reject your application. If filing by mail, keep Form I-693 in the civil surgeon's original sealed envelope. If filing Form I-485 online, open the sealed envelope to upload the completed Form I-693 and keep the original form and envelope for your interview or a later USCIS request.
• Attach Form I-485 Supplement J if you are filing based on a previously filed Form I-140, and clip Form G-1145 to the first page if you want an email or text notification when a USCIS lockbox accepts your package.
• Pay the exact filing fees using the pay.gov portal (online or at a USCIS office), Form G-1450 (credit, debit, or prepaid card by mail), or Form G-1650 (U.S. bank account ACH transaction by mail), since cash is never accepted and an incorrect fee causes automatic rejection.
• Attend your biometrics appointment at the Application Support Center (ASC) to provide fingerprints, photograph, and signature, and bring original documents (including passports, government travel documents, and Form I-94, expired or not) if scheduled for a USCIS interview.
• Report any move within 10 days to USCIS using Form AR-11 online (for every family member and every pending form), and also notify the National Visa Center if you are applying overseas and change your address, turn 21, or change your marital status.

Practice example

Can you confirm the job offer on your Form I-140 and whether you have changed employers or roles while waiting for your priority date to become current?

A strong, honest answer states your current employer, job title, and core duties clearly, and confirms how they match the immigrant petition in your file. Before your adjustment of status or consular interview, review your Form I-797 approval or receipt notice to confirm your exact priority date and preference classification. If you are adjusting status in the United States based on a previously filed Form I-140, or if you changed to a new permanent job offer under INA section 204(j) while your Form I-485 remained pending during visa retrogression, have your completed Form I-485 Supplement J ready to hand to the officer. You should also bring the originals of every document submitted with your Form I-485, including your valid and expired passports, travel documents, Form I-94 arrival-departure records, and your original Form I-693 medical exam and civil surgeon envelope if you filed online.

The officer is verifying that the underlying basis for your employment-based preference category remains valid at the time of adjudication, and that any job change during a Visa Bulletin wait meets INA section 204(j) portability and Supplement J requirements.

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.