Updated November 12, 2026

US State Department Visa Bulletin: how to read the charts, check your priority date and know when to file

The US State Department Visa Bulletin is a monthly Department of State guide showing when numerically capped green cards are available based on your preference category, country of chargeability and priority date. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, USCIS states that annual limits are generally 226,000 for family-sponsored preference visas and 140,000 for employment-based preference visas, while visas for immediate relatives of US citizens have no numerical limit. Each bulletin includes Application Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications charts, and USCIS announces within 1 week of release which chart adjustment of status applicants must use.

What the State Department Visa Bulletin is and who needs it

Congress sets annual limits in the Immigration and Nationality Act on how many immigrant visas the Department of State can issue each year. When demand in a category or country exceeds the yearly supply, a waiting list forms. Working with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State revises and publishes the monthly Visa Bulletin to manage that queue across family-sponsored preferences, employment-based preferences and diversity lottery visas.

By statute, the general annual preference caps in the table below may be exceeded when certain immigrant visas from the previous fiscal year's allocation were not fully used. Immediate relatives of US citizens are exempt from numerical caps, so visas are always available for these four groups:

• Spouses of US citizens.
• Unmarried children under 21 years of age of US citizens.
• Parents of US citizens who are at least 21 years old.
• Widows and widowers of US citizens if the citizen filed a petition before dying, or if the surviving spouse files within 2 years of the citizen's death.

Annual immigrant visa availability rules from USCIS

How to find your priority date and country of chargeability

Your priority date marks your place in the visa queue and is printed on Form I-797, Notice of Action, for the petition filed on your behalf. Wait times depend on overall visa supply and demand, the share of visas allocated to your preference category, and per-country visa limitations.

The Department of State charges your visa to a country of chargeability, usually your country of birth rather than your citizenship or residence. When demand for a category and country exceeds supply, the Department of State treats it as oversubscribed and sets a cut-off date.

Match your petition to the preference row on the chart before checking your country column. If your employment category requires a Department of Labor labor certification, the petitioner must file Form I-140 with USCIS within 180 days of the labor certification's approval date or the certification expires and you lose that priority date.

• Family-sponsored sub-categories (including F1): Divided into sub-categories that each receive a statutory percentage of the overall family visa numbers, based on a properly filed Form I-130 or Form I-360.
• Employment-based sub-categories on Form I-140: Divided into sub-categories that require a Department of Labor labor certification and sub-categories accepted directly by USCIS without labor certification.
• EB-4 and EB-5 (4th and 5th): Special immigrants, including religious workers, and immigrant investors.

How USCIS and the Department of Labor set priority dates

Final Action Dates vs Dates for Filing: how the two charts work

Every monthly State Department Visa Bulletin publishes two charts for family-sponsored cases and two for employment-based cases. Application Final Action Dates shows when a US consulate can issue an immigrant visa or USCIS can approve Form I-485. Dates for Filing Applications shows when overseas applicants should be notified to assemble and submit documents to the National Visa Center.

Applicants inside the United States cannot automatically file Form I-485 using Dates for Filing. Within 1 week of each Visa Bulletin publication, USCIS states on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts webpage which chart applies. USCIS opens Dates for Filing when more immigrant visas are available for the fiscal year than known applicants. Otherwise, Final Action Dates applies. For November 2026, updated November 2, 2026, USCIS required both family-sponsored and employment-based preference filings to use Dates for Filing, with monthly selections archived back to October 2015.

When Dates for Filing is open, if a category is current on Final Action Dates or has a later Final Action Dates cut-off than Dates for Filing, applicants in that category may file using Final Action Dates. Immediate relatives can always concurrently file Form I-485 with Form I-130. Preference applicants may concurrently file Form I-485 with Form I-130 or Form I-140 only when their category shows C, their priority date is earlier than the Final Action Dates cut-off, or USCIS authorizes Dates for Filing and their priority date is earlier than that chart's cut-off.

How to read cut-off dates, C and U, with a worked example

Locate your preference row and country of chargeability column on the designated chart. Under USCIS rules, a visa is available only when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed. For example, if family category F1 for China shows 15DEC07, visas are available only to applicants with a priority date earlier than December 15, 2007.

Worked example written by our team (the applicant and dates are invented): Suppose Priya was born in India, the Department of Labor accepted her labor certification on May 10, 2022, and her employer filed Form I-140 within 180 days of approval, giving her a May 10, 2022 priority date on Form I-797. Suppose a monthly bulletin shows 01JUN22 on Dates for Filing and 01JAN22 on Final Action Dates for her category and country, and USCIS opens Dates for Filing that month. Because May 10, 2022 is earlier than June 1, 2022, Priya may file Form I-485 along with Form I-765 and Form I-131, though USCIS cannot approve her green card until Final Action Dates passes May 10, 2022.

• Cut-off date (such as 15DEC07): Visas are available only if your priority date is strictly earlier than that calendar day.
• C (Current): Demand is lower than supply, so visas are immediately available to all qualified applicants regardless of priority date.
• U (Unavailable): Visas are temporarily unavailable to all applicants in that preference category or country of chargeability.

Monthly checklist when a new Visa Bulletin comes out

The Department of State adjusts cut-off dates monthly based on visas used to date, projected demand, and visas remaining under annual category and country limits. Use this six-step checklist written by our team each month.

• 1. Check the upcoming bulletin mid-month on the Department of State website or by dialing 202-663-1541, normally updated mid-month with next month's cut-off dates.
• 2. Wait up to 1 week for USCIS to announce whether Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates governs domestic Form I-485 filings.
• 3. Compare your Form I-797 priority date and country of birth against your chart cell, confirming your date is earlier than the cut-off or reads C.
• 4. File while your priority date meets the cut-off date in the current month's Visa Bulletin, because cut-off dates are adjusted monthly and a priority date that meets the cut-off date one month may not meet it the next month.
• 5. Include Form I-765 for work authorization and Form I-131 for travel permission when filing an eligible Form I-485.
• 6. Update any address change promptly with USCIS for every family member and form, and with the National Visa Center if applying abroad.

What visa retrogression means and how USCIS holds pending cases

Fluctuating monthly demand can cause cut-off dates to slow, stop or move backward. That backward shift is visa retrogression, which occurs when more applicants apply in a category or country than visas remain for that month, typically near the end of the fiscal year. When the new fiscal year starts on October 1, a fresh visa supply opens and usually, though not always, returns dates to pre-retrogression levels.

To adjust status, a visa must be available both at filing and at adjudication. If dates retrogress after you properly file Form I-485, USCIS holds your case in abeyance until a visa is available again. Cases not needing an in-person interview stay at the USCIS Service Center where you filed. After a completed USCIS interview and other processing steps, both employment-based and family-sponsored retrogressed cases are held at the National Benefits Center.

Applicants who properly filed Form I-485 before retrogression can generally apply for employment authorization on Form I-765 and travel permission on Form I-131. Keep your address current for requests for evidence or notices, and if 30 days pass after your visa becomes available again without a USCIS update, call 800-375-5283, or TTY 800-767-1833.

Consular processing vs adjustment of status and border inspection

Overseas applicants work with the National Visa Center and a US consulate, while applicants inside the United States file Form I-485 with USCIS. Every person arriving at a US port of entry undergoes immigration, customs and agriculture inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who determine admissibility upon arrival. International visitors waiting in a green card queue inside the country can also retrieve their Form I-94 admission record and travel history from CBP before filing Form I-485.

How consular applicants and USCIS adjustment filers use the Visa Bulletin

Questions the officer may ask once your priority date becomes current

Preference cases often wait years in the Visa Bulletin queue or in retrogression abeyance before an interview. Consular and USCIS officers focus on changes since your petition was filed, so prepare accurate dates and records for these questions.

• Is the sponsored job offer still open on the Form I-140 terms? Officers confirm the employer still offers the permanent position, so bring an updated employment letter, recent pay stubs if working there, and Form I-797.
• Has your marital status or family changed since Form I-130 was filed? Marriage, divorce or children born during the wait can alter preference eligibility or derivatives, so bring original civil certificates for each event.
• Have you kept lawful status and authorized employment in the United States? Adjustment officers compare your stay and work history against Form I-94 records and Form I-765 cards, so verify every entry and work date beforehand.
• Where have you lived and traveled while Form I-485 was pending? Officers review address history and check that international trips had required travel permission such as Form I-131, so bring passports and travel approvals.

Practice example

Your immigrant petition was filed several years ago and waited for a visa number. Are you still in the sponsored role, or has anything changed in your job or family since filing?

State your current job title, employer, work site and core duties in two or three clear sentences, or describe how your qualifying family relationship and household stand today. Because preference cases often wait years for a priority date to become current on the Final Action Dates chart, make sure every detail matches your underlying Form I-140, Form I-130, Form I-360 or Form I-526 and any updates sent to USCIS or the National Visa Center. If your employer, address, marital status or children's details changed during the queue or during retrogression abeyance, give the exact dates rather than rough estimates. Bring your Form I-797 notices, updated employment or civil records, any Form I-765 and Form I-131 approvals, and your latest Form I-94 arrival record.

The officer is checking that you still qualify under the approved petition category and that your records account for every change since your priority date.

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.