In this article, we will explain how to interpret the Visa Bulletin and know when an immigrant visa can be issued or when you can file your Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status for legal permanent residency (also known as a green card application) in the US. We will use the July 2023 bulletin as an example.
Once a month, the U.S. Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin, which shows the availability of different types of immigrant visas for consular processing abroad or adjusting status in the US. Every year, the government must issue at least 226,000 family-sponsored preference immigrant visas and 140,000 employment-based preference immigrant visas. No more than seven percent of these visas may be issued to immigrants from one particular country. These visas are issued in the order in which visa petitions are filed.
Immediate relatives (IR) (spouses of US citizens, unmarried children under 21 of US citizens and parents of US citizens) are not subject to the visa number restrictions and do not use the Visa Bulletin. Immigrant visa numbers are always immediately available and therefore the Visa Bulletin does not apply to them.
The Visa Bulletin is only updated once per month, approximately two weeks in advance of the projected month.
The Visa Bulletin contains two types of charts: Final Action Dates and Filing Charts. Applicants who are eligible to file Form I-485 to adjust their status in the US with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must use the chart that USCIS designates each month on its website. To verify which chart to use, visit www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.
It is important to note that visa numbers do not advance forward every month. In fact, they may freeze or regress. If you filed your adjustment of status application while your category was current and the category has since regressed, your pending adjustment of status application will remain valid, but USCIS will not be able to approve it until the category becomes current again. USCIS will issue any ancillary benefits in the meantime, such as the employment authorization document (EAD) or advance parole travel permission (AP).
Regarding filing Form I-485 (regardless of which chart USCIS designates), the “C” listing indicates that the category is current, and that individuals can file applications regardless of their priority date, which marks their place in line. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date that is earlier than the listed date may file their application.
We will now discuss how to determine the priority date for different types of family and employment-based petitions. For employment-based cases that require labor certification, the priority date is the date that the Form ETA 9089 PERM labor certification application is filed with the Department of Labor. For employment-based cases that do not require labor certification, such as the EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C, and EB-2 National Interest Waiver[1], the priority date is that date the Form I-140 is filed with USCIS. For family-based cases, the priority date is the date the Form I-130 immigrant visa petition is filed with USCIS.
The Final Action Dates chart notes when an immigrant visa can be issued abroad or the Form I-485 can be approved by USCIS. As noted above, if a date is listed in any box in this chart, then that category is oversubscribed, which means that the limit of available visas has been reached and your Form I-485 or immigrant visa application cannot be approved until your priority date becomes current. Dates are displayed in day/month/year format.
If the letter ‘C’ is listed in any box in the chart, then those visas are available, or “current,” and you can now apply for adjustment of status. If the letter ‘U’ appears in any box, then numbers are not authorized to be issued and you cannot apply.
EMPLOYMENT:
The following is a breakdown of employment-based preference visas, their availability, and how the priority date for each type of immigrant visa petition is determined.
First (EB-1): Priority workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any unused fourth and fifth preference numbers. The priority date is the date that USCIS receives your Form I-140 immigrant visa petition (or the priority date of certain earlier approved I-140). EB-1 petitions include the categories of the EB-1A extraordinary ability, EB-1B outstanding researchers and EB-1C multinational executives and managers.
Second (EB-2): Members of the professions holding advanced degrees (master’s degree (or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience) or higher) or individuals of exceptional abilities: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any unused first preference numbers. If you are applying based on a national interest waiver, your priority date is the date that USCIS receives your Form I-140 (or the priority date of certain earlier approved I-140s). If you are applying based on a filed PERM labor certification application, your priority date is the priority date of the PERM application.
Third (EB-3): Skilled workers, professionals (a bachelor’s degree), and other workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any unused first and second preference numbers, of which at most 10,000 may be granted to other workers. Your priority date is the priority date of the PERM application (or the priority date of certain earlier approved I-140s).
Fourth: Certain special immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level. Your priority date is the date that USCIS receives your Form I-360 special immigrant visa petition.
Fifth: Employment creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level. Your priority date is the date that USCIS receives your Form I-526, immigrant petition by standalone investor.
Let’s look at the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based preference cases in the July 2023 Visa Bulletin, which USCIS has announced that Form I-485 applicants must use for the month.
For example, let’s say that you are a skilled worker from India, and you are the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 immigrant visa petition with a priority date of June 1, 2021. Your priority date is the date that your employer properly filed your PERM labor certification application with USCIS. You would look at the third preference category for Indian citizens in the Final Action Dates chart and see the date January 1, 2009, which means that you can only apply for adjustment of status if your priority date is January 1, 2009, or earlier. Therefore, you cannot apply for adjustment of status at this time.
However, let’s say you are an individual of extraordinary ability from Mexico. You would look at the first preference category for Mexican citizens in the Final Action Dates chart and see the letter ‘C’, which means that you can file your immigrant visa petition. If you are physically present in the US and meet other eligibility criteria, you could also apply for adjustment of status at the same time, which is known as “concurrent filing”. If you apply for adjustment of status based on classification as an individual of extraordinary ability, your priority date will be the date that you properly file the petition with USCIS.
FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES
| Employment- based |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01FEB22 | 01FEB22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 15FEB22 | 08JUN19 | 01JAN11 | 15FEB22 | 15FEB22 |
| 3rd | 01JUN22 | 01APR19 | 15JUN12 | 01JUN22 | 01JUN22 |
| Other Workers | 01JAN20 | 01SEP15 | 15JUN12 | 01JAN20 | 01JAN20 |
| 4th | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 | 01SEP18 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) |
C | 08SEP15 | 01APR17 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Rural (20%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
FAMILY:
Now let’s look at the different categories and availability of family-sponsored preference visas. The priority date for family-based petitions is the date of filing the Form I-130 immigrant visa petition.
First (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens: 23,400 visas, plus any unused fourth preference numbers.
Second: Spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents: 114,200 visas, plus any number by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,00, as well as any unused first preference numbers.
Second (F2A): Spouses and children of permanent residents: 77% of the overall second preference visa limitations, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit.
Second (F2B): Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of permanent residents: 23% of the overall second preference visa limitations.
Third (F3): Married sons and daughters of US citizens: 23,400 visas, plus any unused first and second preference numbers
Fourth (F4): Brothers and sisters of adult US citizens: 65,000 visas, plus any unused visa numbers from the first three preferences.
For June 2023, USCIS announced that family-sponsored preference applicants for the Form I-485 must use the Dates for Filing Chart, which is shown below. USCIS cannot approve the Form I-485 until the priority date is current, according to the Final Action Dates chart. As mentioned above, if a date is listed in any box in this chart, then that category is oversubscribed, which means that the limit of available visas has been reached and your Form I-485 or immigrant visa application cannot be approved until your priority date becomes current. Dates are displayed in day/month/year format. In order to illustrate how to use this chart, let’s say that you are the spouse of a legal permanent resident from Spain, and you have a pending Form I-485 adjustment of status application with a priority date of September 15, 2021. You would look at the F2A box under ‘All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed,’ and see the date September 8, 2020. That means that the Department of State is currently only processing visa petitions filed before September 8, 2020, and that your Form I-485 cannot be approved at this time.
For July 2023, USCIS announced that family-sponsored preference applicants must use the Dates for Filing Chart, which is shown below. Let’s use the same example of the spouse of a legal permanent resident from Spain. Looking at the F2A box for ‘All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed,’ we see the letter ‘C’, which means that you can now apply for adjustment of status based on marriage.
FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES
| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15DEC14 | 15DEC14 | 15DEC14 | 22APR01 | 01MAR12 |
| F2A | 08SEP20 | 08SEP20 | 08SEP20 | 01NOV18 | 08SEP20 |
| F2B | 22SEP15 | 22SEP15 | 22SEP15 | 01AUG01 | 22OCT11 |
| F3 | 22DEC08 | 22DEC08 | 22DEC08 | 15JAN98 | 08JUN02 |
| F4 | 22APR07 | 22APR07 | 15SEP05 | 01AUG00 | 22AUG02 |
DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS
| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01JAN03 | 22APR15 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01APR02 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 01MAR10 | 01MAR10 | 01MAR10 | 15JUN01 | 08NOV03 |
| F4 | 01MAR08 | 01MAR08 | 22FEB06 | 15APR01 | 22APR04 |
For family-based preference categories, if there are changes in the circumstances of the beneficiary and/or petitioner after the Form I-130 immigrant visa petition is approved, certain Forms I-130 are automatically maintained and keep their priority date but convert to another category For example:
- 1st to 3rd preference upon marriage of son or daughter;
- Child of USC marries and goes from IR to 3rd preference;
- Divorce of a child or son or daughter goes from 3rd preference to IR or 1st preference;
- Child beneficiary of IR on reaching 21 goes to 1st preference, unless he was under 21 on the date the IR petition was filed; and
- Naturalization of the petitioner changes 2nd-preference child or spouse to IR and the son or daughter to 1st preference.
There are complex rules to determine under which preference category a beneficiary will be treated, including the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).
If you are unsure of your eligibility to file for an immigrant visa or if a family-based petition has converted into another preference category, you should contact a qualified immigration attorney. Attorney Monique Kornfeld has been successfully filing family- and employment-based immigration cases for over 27 years and knows the intricacies of the immigration system. To request Attorney Kornfeld’s expert representation, visit https://www.mhkimmigration.com/contact/
[1] In some cases, the foreign national may retain the priority date of an earlier approved Form I-140.