How to Read the Visa Bulletin: Priority Dates, Charts and Examples
Compare your priority date with the right chart and the right column, and know when your family or employment case can move.
In short: The Visa Bulletin is a monthly State Department chart that shows whose family- or employment-based green card case can move forward. You compare the priority date on your receipt notice with the date listed for your category and chargeability country: if your date is earlier, your turn has come. Most people born in Arab countries read the "All Chargeability Areas" column, and USCIS announces each month which of the two charts to use if you file from inside the US.
What is the Visa Bulletin, and do you need it?
US law caps the number of green cards issued each year in the family preference and employment-based categories. When more people qualify than there are numbers, a line forms. The Visa Bulletin is the scoreboard that shows how far that line has moved.
Immediate relatives of US citizens do not wait in this line. USCIS lists them as the spouse of a citizen, unmarried children under 21, and parents of a citizen who is at least 21. Their visas are unlimited, so the bulletin does not apply to them.
If you are waiting on a case for a brother or sister, a married son or daughter, a spouse of a green card holder, or an employment-based case, the bulletin decides when you move. You can follow month-to-month movement in our Visa Bulletin tracker.
Where do you find your priority date?
Your priority date is your place in line. For family cases it is usually the date USCIS received a properly filed Form I-130, printed on your I-797 receipt or approval notice.
For employment cases, the source depends on the type of case. It may be the date the labor certification was filed, or the date the petition was filed. Go by the I-797 itself, not by memory or what a middleman told you.
How to read the chart, step by step
- Find your category. For example F4 for siblings, or EB-2 for advanced-degree professionals. It is on your approval notice.
- Find your chargeability country. This is normally your country of birth, not your citizenship. Someone born in Cairo, Amman or Baghdad reads "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed."
- Pick the right chart. Each category appears in two charts: Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing. More on this below.
- Compare. If your priority date is before the date in the cell, you are "current" for that month.
- Know the codes. "C" means the category is current with no wait. "U" means no numbers are authorized for that category that month.
Dates are written in a compact format: day, the first three letters of the month, and the last two digits of the year. So 01JAN12 means January 1, 2012.
Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing
Final Action Dates mean a visa or green card can actually be issued. If your date is earlier, a consulate can issue the immigrant visa and USCIS can approve an adjustment of status.
Dates for Filing are usually later, and let you get paperwork in before your final turn. For people abroad, this chart is the National Visa Center's signal to ask for documents.
| Chart | What it means | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Final Action Dates | A visa or green card can be issued now | Consulates when issuing, USCIS when approving |
| Dates for Filing | You can prepare and submit your case early | NVC to request documents; USCIS for Form I-485 only in months it says so |
Which chart does USCIS accept this month?
If you are in the US and plan to file Form I-485, you do not get to pick. About a week after each bulletin comes out, USCIS updates its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page to name the chart.
A real example: for the September 2026 bulletin, USCIS told family-based applicants to use Dates for Filing and employment-based applicants to use Final Action Dates. That can change every month, so check before each filing.
The same page notes one exception. If your category is current on the Final Action chart, or the Final Action date is later than the Dates for Filing date, you may file using the Final Action chart that month.
Family and employment categories at a glance
| Category | Who it covers | Petitioner |
|---|---|---|
| F1 | Unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older | US citizen |
| F2A | Spouses and unmarried children under 21 | Green card holder |
| F2B | Unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older | Green card holder |
| F3 | Married sons and daughters | US citizen |
| F4 | Brothers and sisters | US citizen who is 21 or older |
Employment categories run from EB-1 (extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, multinational managers) to EB-2 (advanced degrees), EB-3 (skilled workers and professionals), and special categories such as EB-4 and EB-5 for investors.
Life changes can move you between categories. An F1 daughter who marries drops into F3 and usually waits longer. An F2B son of a green card holder who marries loses the category entirely, because permanent residents cannot petition for married children.
Chargeability: why most Arab-born applicants read "All Areas"
No single country may take more than a set share of the yearly numbers, so the bulletin gives separate columns to high-demand countries. In recent bulletins those columns are China (mainland-born), India, Mexico and the Philippines.
No Arab country had its own column in the bulletins we reviewed through September 2026. Someone born in Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan or Sudan reads the All Chargeability column. But the rule is country of birth: a person born in India to Jordanian parents is charged to India.
In specific situations the law lets you be charged to a spouse's country of birth when you immigrate together, which can shorten the wait. Ask a licensed immigration attorney before relying on that.
Worked examples (hypothetical dates)
The dates below are made up for illustration and are not from any real bulletin. For current numbers, use the tracker or the official bulletin.
Example 1: A brother in Egypt (F4)
Ahmed, a US citizen in Houston, petitioned for his brother born in Alexandria. The priority date is March 15, 2011. Say the F4 All Areas cell on the Final Action chart reads 01JAN09. Ahmed's date is later, so the case is not current yet. If Dates for Filing reads 01JUN11, his date falls before it, which signals that NVC may ask for documents soon.
Example 2: Wife of a green card holder, inside the US (F2A)
Sara, born in Jordan, is in the US in valid status; her husband has a green card. Her priority date is August 10, 2023. She first checks which chart USCIS accepts for family cases this month, then compares her date with the F2A cell. Being current is required but not enough: eligibility to adjust inside the US also depends on lawful entry and status.
Example 3: An engineer in an employment category
An engineer born in Tunisia has an approved EB-2 petition. He reads the All Areas column on whichever chart USCIS designates for employment cases. Had he been born in India, he would read the India column, which is usually far behind.
Why dates sometimes move backward
Dates do not only advance. The State Department can "retrogress" a category when demand outruns the remaining numbers, often near the end of the fiscal year on September 30. Do not plan around a single month's jump.
A current date also does not remove other obstacles, such as entry restrictions on certain nationalities, administrative holds, or interview and security-check waits. See our 2026 travel restrictions guide if your country is covered, and USCIS processing times for what happens after filing.
Common mistakes
- Reading your citizenship column instead of birth country. Your passport does not decide the column; your birthplace does.
- Filing I-485 off Dates for Filing without checking USCIS. The application can be rejected and the fee lost.
- Confusing approval with your turn. An approved I-130 does not mean a visa number is available.
- Ignoring life changes. Marriage, divorce, or the petitioner naturalizing can change your category.
- Paying someone to "speed up your date." Nobody can move your priority date. Only the bulletin does.
What next?
Save your category and priority date in the Visa Bulletin tracker, check it when each new bulletin comes out, and confirm against the official Visa Bulletin page. If you are in the US, check the USCIS chart page before filing anything.
If your date is getting close and you are inside the US, start gathering translated civil documents and your medical exam, and read our guide to the work permit (EAD), which is commonly filed alongside adjustment.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find my priority date?
For family cases it is on the I-797 receipt or approval notice for your Form I-130, usually the date USCIS received the petition.
What is the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing?
Final Action Dates mean a visa or green card can be issued now. Dates for Filing let you prepare and submit early. USCIS announces each month which chart to use for Form I-485.
I was born in Egypt. Which column do I read?
People born in Egypt and most Arab countries read "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed." Chargeability is based on country of birth, not citizenship.
What does "C" mean in the Visa Bulletin?
It means the category is current, with no wait. Anyone otherwise eligible can move forward that month.
Does the spouse of a US citizen need to wait for the bulletin?
No. Immediate relatives of US citizens are not subject to the annual limits.
Why did my category move backward this month?
The State Department can retrogress a category when demand exceeds remaining numbers, often near the September 30 fiscal year end. Your own priority date does not change.
Official sources we reviewed
- USCIS — Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin ↗
- USCIS — Visa Availability and Priority Dates ↗
- USCIS — Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants ↗