Once your I-140 is filed, the next question is usually a simple one: when can I actually get my Green Card? The answer is in the Visa Bulletin, a monthly table published by the U.S. Department of State. At first glance it looks cryptic: two nearly identical charts, dates like 01JUN13, and single letters like "C" and "U."
The Visa Bulletin covers both family-sponsored and employment-based categories. This guide covers only the employment-based side, with a focus on EB-1 and EB-2, including National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases.
Why the Visa Bulletin Exists
U.S. law caps the number of employment-based Green Cards issued each year. It also limits how many can go to people born in any one country. When more people qualify than there are visas, a line forms. The Visa Bulletin shows how far each line has moved.
The per-country limit explains why the employment-based charts have separate columns for China (mainland-born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines. Demand from those countries is high enough that they get their own cutoff dates. Everyone else reads the column labeled "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed," usually called "Rest of World." That's why someone born in India can wait years longer than someone born in Poland, even in the same category with the same Priority Date.
It's also why an approved I-140 doesn't automatically mean a Green Card. For many applicants, the process looks like this:
- You file your I-140, and USCIS assigns your Priority Date.
- USCIS approves the I-140.
- Your Priority Date becomes current for filing, and you file Form I-485 or immigrant visa by submitting documents to the NVC.
- Your Priority Date becomes current for final approval.
- Your Green Card is approved, or your immigrant visa is issued.
For some applicants, steps 3 and 4 happen close together. If your Priority Date is current under the chart USCIS specifies that month, you can file Form I-485 at the same time as your I-140, or while the I-140 is still pending (known as concurrent filing). You do not need to wait for I-140 approval to file Form I-485 if your date is current. For others, years pass between steps 2 and 4. The Visa Bulletin tells you where you are.
Before You Open the Visa Bulletin
You need four pieces of information about your case.
Your category. EB-1 is the first preference category, EB-2 the second, EB-3 the third. NIW cases belong to EB-2. Your category is listed on your I-140.
Your Priority Date. This is the date you compare against the bulletin. It is the day USCIS received your I-140 petition, printed on your Form I-797 receipt and approval notices. Our guide Understanding Your Priority Date on the I-797 Receipt Notice shows exactly where to look. While an individual petition's Priority Date remains fixed, applicants who file new petitions in the future can often port (retain) an earlier Priority Date from a previously approved I-140. What changes every month is the cutoff date you compare it against.
Your country of chargeability. This decides which column you read. It's based on where you were born, not on your citizenship. Someone born in India who later became a Canadian citizen still reads the India column.
Your process. Adjustment of Status (AOS) means filing Form I-485 from inside the United States. Consular Processing (CP) means getting an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, with the National Visa Center (NVC) collecting your documents first. The bulletin matters for both, but they use its charts a little differently. Read more about Adjustment of Status vs. Consular Processing.
Key Terms
Cutoff date. The cutoff date shown in the bulletin for your category and country. Visas are available only for applicants whose Priority Date is earlier than the listed cutoff date. If your Priority Date is equal to or later than the cutoff date, your case is not current yet (e.g., if the cutoff is 01JAN24, a Priority Date of 31DEC23 is current, but 01JAN24 is not).
Current (C). There's no cutoff for that category and country this month. The bulletin isn't holding your case back, but USCIS or the consulate still has to approve everything else in it.
Unavailable (U). No visa numbers are available for that category and country right now, whatever your Priority Date.
Final Action Dates. The chart whose cutoffs decide when a visa number is available and your case can actually be approved.
Dates for Filing. A second chart with earlier cutoffs that can let you submit your application before a visa number is available.
Retrogression. A cutoff date moving backward from one month to the next.
Date format. The bulletin writes dates as day, month, year: 01JUN13 is June 1, 2013.
Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing
Each month's bulletin has two employment-based charts. They look almost the same, but they answer different questions.
| Final Action Dates | Dates for Filing | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Can my case be approved now? | Can I start the final stage now? |
| If your Priority Date is earlier than the cutoff | A visa number is available for your case | You may be able to file Form I-485 or send documents to the NVC |
| Can your Green Card be approved under it? | Yes, if everything else in your case is in order | No. Approval waits for the Final Action Date |
Why have two? Dates for Filing lets applicants start the final stage before a visa number is available, so their case is ready when one opens up. Filing early has practical benefits too. While an I-485 is pending, you can apply for a work permit and a travel document.
Which Visa Bulletin Chart Should You Use?
If you're filing Form I-485 in the United States, USCIS decides each month. It posts the answer on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin page, usually within a week of the bulletin's release.
The rule behind that decision is simple. If USCIS sees more visas available for the fiscal year than people known to be waiting for them, it lets applicants use Dates for Filing. If not, applicants have to use Final Action Dates. USCIS decides separately for family-sponsored and employment-based categories, so the two can use different charts in the same month.
If you're going through Consular Processing, the State Department uses Dates for Filing to tell the NVC when to invite you to submit your documents. Your immigrant visa can only be issued once your Priority Date is current under Final Action Dates.
| Your situation | What decides when you can file | What decides when you can be approved |
|---|---|---|
| Adjustment of Status | The chart USCIS names that month | Final Action Dates |
| Consular Processing | Dates for Filing, via NVC instructions | Final Action Dates |
How to Read the Visa Bulletin, Step by Step
- Open the right month. Go to the State Department's Visa Bulletin page and make sure you're looking at the month you need, not next month's.
- Pick the right chart. Check which chart applies to you that month (see above), then scroll to that employment-based chart and read its title.
- Find your row. Look for 1st (EB-1) or 2nd (EB-2, including NIW).
- Find your column. Follow the row to your country of chargeability, or to "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed" if your country has no column of its own.
- Compare. "C" means you're current. "U" means no visa numbers are available. A date means your Priority Date has to be earlier than it.
Three Examples
The dates below are made up to show how the reading works. They aren't current dates.
Anna: EB-2, born in India
Anna's Priority Date is March 10, 2013 (10MAR13). In the EB-2 row, the India column shows "U."
That means no visa numbers are available for EB-2 India this month. Her Priority Date doesn't matter while the box says "U": she can't file under this chart, and her case can't be approved.
Marco: EB-1, born in Italy
Italy has no column of its own, so Marco reads "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed." In the EB-1 row, that box shows "C."
The bulletin isn't holding Marco back. If all other requirements are met, his case can be approved/filed this month.
Daniel: EB-2 NIW, born in Brazil
Daniel's Priority Date is May 15, 2024 (15MAY24). He reads the Rest of World column in the EB-2 row of both charts:
- Final Action Dates: 01JAN24
- Dates for Filing: 01SEP24
His date is later than the Final Action Date, but earlier than the Dates for Filing cutoff. What he can do depends on USCIS's choice that month.
If USCIS allows Dates for Filing, Daniel can file his I-485 now. He can also apply for a work permit and travel document while it's pending. His Green Card still can't be approved until the Final Action Date moves past May 15, 2024.
If USCIS requires Final Action Dates, Daniel has to wait before he can file at all.
This is the situation that confuses people most. Being able to file and being able to get approved are two different steps.
How Often the Visa Bulletin Changes
A new bulletin comes out every month, usually around the middle of the month before it takes effect. That means the State Department's page often shows two bulletins at once: the current one and next month's.
From one month to the next, a date can move forward, stay put, or move backward. It depends on how many people are waiting and how many visas are left.
The calendar matters here. Visa numbers are handed out by the government's fiscal year, which starts on October 1. October brings a fresh annual supply of visas, so it's a month worth watching: dates sometimes jump forward. The end of the fiscal year (July to September) is the opposite. If a category has used up most of its numbers, its dates can move backward or it can show "U" until October.
What Happens When a Date Moves Backward
Say your Priority Date is June 10, 2023 (10JUN23). This month, the EB-2 Rest of World Final Action Date is 01MAR24. Your date is earlier, so you're current.
Next month, the cutoff drops to 01SEP22. Your Priority Date is still June 10, 2023; nothing about your case changed. But it's now later than the cutoff, so you're no longer current.
This is retrogression. It usually happens when more people are waiting in a category than there are visas left for the year.
A two-year jump backward doesn't mean a two-year wait. The cutoff might recover within a few months, sometimes once new visa numbers arrive in October. Or it might not move for much longer. The size of the jump tells you nothing about how long you'll wait.
What it means for you depends on where your case is:
- You haven't filed your I-485 yet. You wait until your date is current again under the chart USCIS allows that month.
- Your I-485 is already pending. It stays pending, and you don't have to start over. You can keep renewing your work permit and travel document while you wait. USCIS just can't approve the case until your date is current again under Final Action Dates.
- You're in Consular Processing. The consulate can't issue your immigrant visa until your date is current again, even if you've already had your interview.
Common Mistakes
- Reading the wrong chart. The two charts look almost identical. Check the title before you compare anything.
- Reading next month's bulletin. It's often posted weeks early. Use the bulletin for the month you're actually filing in.
- Skipping the USCIS page. If you file Form I-485 under a chart USCIS hasn't allowed that month, it can be rejected.
- Treating an equal date as current. If your Priority Date and the cutoff date are the same, you still have to wait.
- Assuming an approved I-140 means a Green Card is next. It means your petition is approved. Your place in line is a separate question.
Where to Go From Here
The bulletin changes every month, and so can USCIS's choice of chart. If your case is pending, put a reminder in your calendar for mid-month and check both.
As PassRight we also send monthly Visa Bulletin updates. If you’d like to learn more about how we can support you, schedule a call.
FAQ
My date was current last month, but it isn't now. Did my Priority Date change?
No. Your Priority Date never changes. The cutoff date in the bulletin moved backward. See What Happens When a Date Moves Backward above.
My I-140 is approved, but my date isn't current. What happens next?
Your approval stays valid, and your Priority Date holds your place in line. You wait until your date is current under the chart that applies to you, then file Form I-485 or move forward with the NVC.
Can I file my I-485 before my I-140 is approved?
In special situations, when the attorney recommends that this is the right strategy, yes. If your Priority Date is already current under the chart USCIS allows that month, you can file Form I-485 together with your I-140 or while the I-140 is pending. This is called concurrent filing. If the I-140 is later denied, the I-485 will be denied too.
Can I use my spouse's country of birth instead of mine?
Sometimes. This is called cross-chargeability. For example, someone born in India who is married to someone born in France may be able to use the Rest of World column instead of the India column. It generally works only when you and your spouse are getting your Green Cards together, so check with your attorney before relying on it.
Do my spouse and children have to wait too?
Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can get Green Cards along with you, but they share your category, your Priority Date, and your place in line.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State: Visa Bulletin
- USCIS: Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
- USCIS: Visa Availability and Priority Dates
- USCIS: Adjustment of Status
- USCIS: Consular Processing
- USCIS: Form I-485
- Foreign Affairs Manual, 9 FAM 502.1
- PassRight: Understanding Your Priority Date on the I-797 Receipt Notice
