The Visa Bulletin: How to Read It and Check Whether Your Priority Date Is Current

The Visa Bulletin is a monthly US Department of State publication showing whose turn for an immigrant visa or green card has come in each category. To know whether you can file, you need three things: your priority date, your category, and the country your place in line is charged to (chargeability). Below: how to find each of them, how to read the bulletin's two charts, and what to do when your date is current.

In short:

• Your priority date is your place in line. It appears on the I-797 notice for your I-130 or I-140 petition.
• Chargeability is based on country of birth, not citizenship. Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Tajikistan fall under the general column "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed."
• The bulletin has two charts: Final Action Dates (when a case can be approved) and Dates for Filing (when you can file). Which chart USCIS accepts for the I-485 is announced every month.
• Your date is current if your priority date is earlier than the date in the relevant cell, or the cell shows "C."
• Dates can move backward (retrogression). A pending I-485 is kept but not approved.

Who the Visa Bulletin applies to

The bulletin matters only for categories with annual quotas:

• family categories F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4 — for example, spouses of green card holders (F2A) or siblings of US citizens (F4);
• employment categories EB-1, EB-2 (including NIW), EB-3, EB-4, EB-5;
• the DV lottery — in a separate section.

Immediate relatives of US citizens — spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21 — do not wait in line: a visa is always available to them. For more on paths to a green card, see our article on ways to get a green card in 2026.

Step 1. Find your priority date

The date appears in the "Priority Date" field of the receipt or approval notice (I-797).

Step 2. Determine your chargeability country

Under the law (INA 202(b)), your place in line is charged to your country of birth, not your citizenship. The bulletin gives separate columns only to high-demand countries: mainland China, India, Mexico, the Philippines (and others in some categories). All other countries, including Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Tajikistan, fall under the column "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed" ("Rest of World").

There are exceptions that may help:

• Spouse (cross-chargeability). If you were born in a country with a long backlog and your spouse was born elsewhere, you may ask to be charged to your spouse's country of birth so the family is not separated.
• Child. An accompanying child may in some cases be charged to a parent's country.
• "Incidental" birth. If you were born in a country where neither parent was born or resided, you may be charged to either parent's country.

Example (hypothetical): a citizen of Uzbekistan was born in India, where her parents, citizens of Uzbekistan, had been temporarily posted by an employer. As a general rule she would be charged to India, where the EB-2 wait is measured in years. But if her parents were not born and did not reside there, INA 202(b) allows her to be charged to her parents' country, that is, to Rest of World. Such a request must be supported by documents in the application.

Step 3. Pick the right chart

Each bulletin has two charts for each group of categories:

• Final Action Dates (chart A) — the date at which a visa or green card can be issued.
• Dates for Filing (chart B) — an earlier date at which documents can be submitted.

For applicants abroad, the NVC uses Dates for Filing to invite them to gather documents. For I-485 filings inside the US, USCIS decides each month which chart to accept and posts it on the page "Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin." Approval in any case is possible only under Final Action Dates.

Cell notation: "C" (Current) — no backlog; "U" (Unauthorized) — no numbers currently issued; a date like 01APR25 means April 1, 2025.

Step 4. Compare the dates

Your date is current if your priority date is earlier than the date in the cell for your category and country. If your date is later, you need to wait.

Example: the November 2026 bulletin

The November 2026 bulletin was published on October 22, 2026. For the Rest of World column in key categories:

According to legal reviews, in November 2026 USCIS accepts I-485 filings in both family and employment categories under the Dates for Filing chart. Double-check this on uscis.gov before filing. The full table with other countries is in our news post on the November 2026 Visa Bulletin.

Example (hypothetical): an engineer born in Tajikistan filed an NIW I-140 on January 10, 2026 and is in the US in H-1B status. His priority date (10JAN26) is earlier than the EB-2 Dates for Filing cutoff (15MAR26), so in November 2026 he may file an I-485. But the Final Action Date is 01APR25, and the green card can be approved only once that date passes January 10, 2026.

For a comparison of EB-1 and NIW wait times, see our article on EB-1A and NIW in 2026.

Retrogression: when dates move backward

Retrogression is when a cutoff date moves backward because demand in a category exceeds the annual quota. It most often happens at the end of the fiscal year (in summer), and quotas reset on October 1.

What happens during retrogression:

• a pending I-485 stays pending, but it cannot be approved until the date becomes current again;
• work authorization and advance parole based on the pending I-485 can be renewed;
• in consular processing, interviews are not scheduled or are postponed.

That is why it matters to file the I-485 while the date is current: you cannot file it later, after a retrogression. On travel with a pending I-485, see our article on advance parole.

What to do when your date is current

If you are in the US. Check whether you are eligible for adjustment of status: lawful entry, no bars under INA 245(c), and so on — see our article on I-485 eligibility. If you are eligible, file the I-485 under the chart USCIS allows that month, with the I-693 medical exam and, where needed, the I-864, I-765, and I-131. Fees are covered in our article on USCIS fees 2026.

If you are abroad. After the petition is approved, the case goes to the National Visa Center (NVC). When the date is current under Dates for Filing, the NVC sends instructions:

1. pay the immigrant visa and I-864 fees;
2. complete the DS-260 form;
3. upload civil documents with translations and the I-864;
4. wait for "documentarily qualified" status;
5. attend the consular interview once the date is current under Final Action Dates.

If a child is about to turn 21, the child's age for visa purposes may be calculated under the Child Status Protection Act. This calculation is best left to an attorney.

Common mistakes

• Using the column for your citizenship instead of your country of birth.
• Using the wrong chart: filing an I-485 under Dates for Filing in a month when USCIS allows only Final Action Dates.
• Confusing EB-3 Skilled Workers with EB-3 Other Workers — they have different dates.
• Assuming an approved I-140 or I-130 means a green card: it will not be issued without a current date.
• Waiting for a "better month" after the date becomes current: it may retrogress next month.

How M&M can help

• Checking your priority date and category. We help find the date in your notices and compare it with the current bulletin.
• The I-485 package or NVC documents. We prepare forms, the DS-260, and translations of civil documents with a translator's certificate.
• Complex cases — cross-chargeability, CSPA, retrogression — are reviewed by our partner immigration attorney. Contact us.

Sources

• US Department of State — Visa Bulletin
• US Department of State — Visa Bulletin for November 2026
• USCIS — Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
• Manifest Law — November 2026 Visa Bulletin Released (October 22, 2026)
• CILG — November 2026 Visa Bulletin
• Wolfsdorf Rosenthal — November 2026 Visa Bulletin
• WeGreened — Cross-Chargeability (INA 202(b))

This material is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. M&M Document Preparation is not a law firm. Information is current as of October 27, 2026.