What is Visa Bulletin?
The Visa Bulletin is the State Department's monthly chart showing which priority dates can move forward for green cards, by category and country. Whether your priority date is current decides when you can move to the next green card step, so many people check it every month.
The two charts
USCIS explains that the bulletin carries two kinds of charts.
| Chart | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Application Final Action Dates | The default chart for filing Form I-485. Use it unless USCIS says otherwise. |
| Dates for Filing | Usable only when USCIS allows it. It also signals when applicants should submit documents to the National Visa Center. |
How to read it
- Find your category, such as an employment-based preference, and your country of chargeability.
- Compare your priority date with the cut-off date in that cell.
- If your date is earlier than the cut-off, or the cell shows C (current), you may file as USCIS allows.
- If your date is later, you wait. Cut-off dates change from bulletin to bulletin.
Common mistakes
- Reading a chart for a different category or country.
- Using Dates for Filing when USCIS has said to use Final Action Dates.
- Treating a date moving forward in one month as a promise it will keep moving.
Example
Use Final Action Dates unless USCIS says to use Dates for Filing.
Related terms and guides
Sources
- US State Department, Visa Bulletin, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html, live official page, linked for readers; link accessed 31 October 2026, page blocks automated reads, so chart facts here come from the USCIS page below
- USCIS, visa availability and priority dates, https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-priority-dates, accessed 31 October 2026
This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules change and your situation may differ. Consult a licensed attorney or qualified adviser.