How to Read the Visa Bulletin?
Reading the Visa Bulletin can be daunting. It contains specialized terms and complex charts, yet it is an essential source for green card applicants. Issued monthly by the U.S. Department of State, the Visa Bulletin allows applicants to track their progress and understand when they can advance in their applications. For those who pursuing U.S. permanent residency, whether through family- or employment-based petitions, learning to read the Visa Bulletin can make the entire process transparent and manageable.
This guide serves to break down essential terms, explain the preference categories, and clarify the two charts it contains. We’ll also cover additional tips and insights to help applicants stay informed and confident as they navigate this essential source.
Terminology
Before diving into the specifics of the Visa Bulletin, let’s first examine some key terms:
Priority Date
You can find your Priority Date on your Form I-797 Notice of Action. The priority date marks the date U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives an applicant’s green card petition. It establishes an applicant’s place in line for a green card. For family-based categories, the priority date is the date a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident filed a petition for a relative, commonly as Form I-130. For employment-based categories, it is the date an employer submitted a labor certification or Form I-140. The priority date is fixed throughout the process and determines when an individual can move forward with a green card application based on visa availability.
Cut-Off Date
The date appearing in the Visa Bulletin is the cut-off date. The cut-off date indicates visa availability for each category and country. In other words, it determines if you are eligible to proceed with your immigration petition. If your priority date falls before the cut-off date listed in the bulletin, you can proceed with your application. The cut-off date is published monthly by the Department of State. The date appearing on the chart is the cut-off date. The Cut-off dates vary across categories and countries and may change from month to month due to demand, visa allocations, and caps imposed by the U.S. government.
Chargeability
The chargeability refers to the country to which your visa application is charged, generally based on your country of birth. It affects the quotas applied to each applicant, as each country is allotted a limited number of visas. High-demand countries, like India, China, the Philippines, and Mexico, often have longer wait times and specific cut-off dates because of the high number of applicants.
Current (C)
When the Visa Bulletin shows “Current” for a certain category, there is no backlog, and all priority dates are eligible to proceed immediately. Applicants can submit their applications right away without waiting.
Preference Categories
The first step in reading the Visa Bulletin is determining whether your petition falls within the preference categories and, if so, which categories it falls in.
Not all immigration petitions fall into preference categories. Immediate relatives of a United States citizen are not subject to annual visa quotas, since visas are always available for immediate relatives so applicants in this category do not need to consult the Visa Bulletin.
Except for the Immediate Relative category mentioned above, the Visa Bulletin organizes petitions into preference categories. These categories are divided into family-based and employment-based categories, each with subcategories that determine how visas are allocated.
Family-Based Preference Categories
Family-based green cards are assigned preference based on the petitioner’s relationship to the applicant. Here are the primary family-based preference categories:
F1 (First Preference): Unmarried adult children (age 21 or older) of U.S. citizens.
F2A (Second Preference A): Spouses and minor children (under age 21) of lawful permanent residents.
F2B (Second Preference B): Unmarried adult children of lawful permanent residents.
F3 (Third Preference): Married children of U.S. citizens.
F4 (Fourth Preference): Siblings of U.S. citizens (petitioners must be at least 21 years old).
Employment-Based Preference Categories
Employment-based green cards are assigned preference based on the type of employment and skills of the applicant:
EB-1 (First Preference): Priority workers, including those with extraordinary abilities, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers.
EB-2 (Second Preference): Professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities in their field.
EB-3 (Third Preference): Skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers in jobs where U.S. workers are not available.
EB-4 (Fourth Preference): Certain special immigrants, such as religious workers and employees of U.S. foreign service posts.
EB-5 (Fifth Preference): Investors who invest at least $1,050,000 (or $800,000 in targeted employment areas) in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
Understanding the Date Charts in the Visa Bulletin
Once identifying the appropriate preference category, the next step for adjustment of status applicants is to check which chart USCIS is using for that particular month in the Visa Bulletin, which will be published on the USCIS website. The Visa Bulletin contains two charts, the Final Action Dates Chart (Chart A) and the Dates for Filing Chart (Chart B), with each Chart has its distinct functions.
Final Action Dates Chart (Chart A)
This chart determines when a green card is readily available, meaning the time applicants can receive their immigration visas through consular processing or green card through adjustment of status. If the applicant’s priority date is before the listed date in this chart, you may proceed with the green card application. For those in the U.S., this would mean filing for an adjustment of status application, while applicants abroad would complete their application through consular processing.
Dates for Filing Chart (Chart B)
This chart indicates the earliest date the applicants can submit preliminary documents through the Adjustment of Status application to the USCIS. Adjustment applicants can leverage the early filings because most applicants will submit Employment Authorization Applications and Advanced Parole together with the Adjustment of Status application.
The differences between the two charts can be significant. The Dates for Filing Chart (Chart B) allows applicants to gather documentation and prepare in advance, whereas the Final Action Dates Chart (Chart A) directly influences when visas can be issued. For example, if an adjustment of status applicant’s priority date is earlier than the cut-off date in the Dates for Filing, the applicant is eligible to submit the adjustment application. Although the green card will not be approved until the Applicant’s priority date before the cut-off date in the Final Action Dates Chart, the Employment Authorization Applications and Advanced Parole Application can still be approved before the adjudication of the green card application.
Select the Correct Column - Chargeability
As discussed, chargeability refers to the country to which an immigrant visa application is assigned for numerical limitation. This refers to the country to which your visa application is charged. It affects the quotas applied to each applicant, as each country is allotted a limited number of visas. Chargeability is different from nationality because chargeability is based on the applicant’s country of birth. For example, a Beijing-born Canadian will be considered a Canadian in its citizen. However, it will be considered under the “CHINA-mainland born” column for visa bulletin purposes. High-demand countries, like India, China, the Philippines, and Mexico, often have longer wait times and specific cut-off dates because of the high number of applicants. Therefore, individuals born in those countries will be subject to the designed individual column for visa chargeability purposes. Individuals born in other countries, accordingly, will be subject to the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column.
Compare the cut-off date and the priority date
Once the correct preference categories, chart, and chargeability have been selected, applicants can proceed to the last step, which is to compare the applicant’s priority date with the Chart’s provided cut-off date.
For adjustment of status applicants, if the priority date is before the cut-off date, the applicant can at least file the adjustment of status application or wait for the green card to be approved, depending on which Chart USCIS is using for that month.
For consular processing applicants outside the United States, applicants can only use the Final Action Date Chart. That being said, if USCIS decides to use the Dates for Filing Chart for a certain month, applicants outside the United States cannot take advantage of the advantage benefited from an adjustment of status applications.
The Visa Bulletin updates monthly. If an applicant’s priority date is behind the cut-off date of the visa bulletin, it is always advisable to check the bulletin monthly. Staying updated is crucial to ensure the applicant doesn’t miss any eligibility windows. Additionally, applicants should always prepare for visa retrogression. Retrogression occurs when the cut-off date moves backward due to high demand or insufficient visa availability. This means that even if the applicant’s date was eligible for one month, it might not be the next. Retrogression particularly affects countries with high applicant volumes, such as India and China.
Conclusion
Understanding the Visa Bulletin can be complex, but understanding the priority dates, preference categories, and the two main charts can help applicants manage their immigration journeys. Regularly reviewing it and staying informed will help ensure that applicants are ready to move forward at each stage. Visa policies can shift under new administrations or with new immigration legislation. Such changes may affect priority dates, quotas, or eligibility criteria.
