What is the Visa Bulletin?

Why many categories have to wait their turn, what a priority date is, and how to read the table the Department of State publishes each month.

What it is

The Visa Bulletin is a monthly Department of State publication showing which cases may move forward that month. It is the calendar for the queue, not a decision about your case.

It exists because the law caps how many immigrant visas are granted each year in each category, and also how many may go to people born in any one country. When more are requested than exist, a queue forms, and the bulletin shows how far down that queue the government has reached.

Two dates worth keeping apart

At a glance

Not every category waits for a turn

Immediate relatives of a United States citizen — spouse, unmarried children under 21, and, where the citizen is 21 or older, parents — have no annual visa cap, so they do not depend on the bulletin queue. The other family categories do.

• F1 — unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older, of United States citizens.
• F2A — spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents.
• F2B — unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older, of permanent residents.
• F3 — married sons and daughters of United States citizens.
• F4 — brothers and sisters of a United States citizen, where that citizen is 21 or older.

How to read a row

1. Category — find the row for the category the petition was filed under.
2. Country — find the column for your country of birth. It is birth, not nationality, and some countries have their own column because demand there is heavier.
3. Chart — check which of the two charts applies that month for your type of case. Dates for filing shows when the application may be submitted; final action dates show when a visa is available for the case to be decided.
4. Comparison — compare the date in that cell with your priority date.
5. Reading — if your priority date is earlier than the one in the cell, that category has reached your turn that month for the step that chart governs.

A cell may show a letter instead of a date. The letter C means the category is current that month and there is no wait for a turn; the letter U means no visas are available at that time.

Where we help

Why the dates crawl, and sometimes go backwards

The bulletin does not advance at a steady rate: it can jump months at once and then sit still the next month. It can also move backwards, which is usually called retrogression, when more visas are requested than were expected in a category and country. Moving backwards cancels neither your priority date nor an already approved petition.

• Each category has an annual cap set by law.
• There is also a per-country-of-birth ceiling, which is why some countries wait far longer than others.
• Demand in each category changes from year to year.

Frequently asked questions

How long will I wait?

There is no honest way to tell you: it depends on the category, on the country, and on how the bulletin moves each month. We show you what the Department of State publishes at the time.

If the bulletin goes backwards, do I lose my place?

Your priority date is the date the government received the petition, and it does not change because the bulletin moves. What changes is how far down the queue is being served that month.

Can you move my turn forward?

No. The turn is set by the bulletin and does not depend on who prepares the paperwork. Be wary of anyone who promises otherwise.