HOW TO READ U.S. VISA BULLETIN
Visa applicants use the Visa Bulletin to check if their priority date is current. Your “priority date” is the date when your sponsoring relative or employer properly filed the immigrant visa petition with USCIS. However, if your visa requires a labor certificate then your priority date is the date on which the Department of Labor accepts your labor certification application.
The priority date is very important because a visa is available for applicants who have a priority date that is earlier than the cut-off date listed in the Visa Bulletin. Use this month’s Visa Bulletin to see if your priority date is current by following the steps listed below:
- Based on your visa petition type, look at either the family-sponsored or employment-based chart on the Visa Bulletin.
- Find your visa type in the left-hand column.
- Stay in that row and move directly to the right to find the cut-off date for your country.
- If your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed on the Visa Bulletin, or if the date on the bulletin is marked “C” (for current), then there is a visa available for you and you may file your adjustment of status application.
To view this month’s Visa Bulletin, visit the U.S. Department of State’s site.
The visa categories listed in the Visa Bulletin are explained in the chart below.
Family-Sponsored Visa Categories:
- Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
- Spouses and children of permanent residents
- Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years old or older) of permanent residents
- Spouses and children of permanent residents
Employment-Based Visa Categories:
- Priority workers
- Members of the professions holding advanced degrees or persons of exceptional ability
- Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers
- Certain special immigrants
- Employment creation
You may be wondering, “Do the Visa Bulletin cut-off dates always move forward in time?” No. It’s important to note sometimes a priority date will be current this month and then won’t be current next month because the cut-off date was moved backwards to an earlier date. This is called “visa retrogression,” and usually occurs when the annual visa limit for a category or country is about to be used up.
The Department of State (DOS) generally publishes the new Visa Bulletin during the second week of the month before it takes effect. You can receive each month’s Visa Bulletin by subscribing to the DOS’s email list. To subscribe, send an email to “listserv@calist.state.gov” and type “Subscribe Visa-Bulletin” in the body of the email.
