The visa bulletin is a monthly report issued by the Department of State (available here). It provides information, relevant to certain categories of green card applicants, about when they can file their applications and when they will be adjudicated. The report for the subsequent month is typically available from around the middle of the preceding month (the report governing March 2020, for example, will be visible from mid/late February 2020).
Why is there a Visa Bulletin?
With some exceptions, there are limits to the number of lawful permanent resident applications the U.S. government may approve each year. This includes individuals living abroad and entering the country as lawful permanent residents though so-called “immigrant visas,” and individuals inside the U.S. who “adjust status” to lawful permanent resident either through the filing of form I-485, or in immigration court.
The number of individuals who may become lawful permanent residents through employment-based applications is limited to 140,000 each year (this limit also covers certain special immigrants). The limit for family-based applications is calculated in a more complex manner, but in practice will be 226,000 for the foreseeable future. In addition to these overall limits, there are restrictions based on country of birth, and preference category (there are five preference categories each for employment and family-based applications).
Scope
Certain immediate family members of U.S. citizens, applying based on those family relationships, are not subject to these annual limits. These individuals may apply to become lawful permanent residents at any time: their applications are not subject to delays beyond the application processing times. The individuals not subject to the bulletin include: spouses of U.S. citizens; unmarried children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizens; orphans adopted abroad by U.S. Citizens; orphans to be adopted in the U.S. by U.S. citizens; and parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old.
The Charts
The visa bulletin contains four charts: A, B, C & D. Charts A & B cover family-based applicants, while charts C & D cover employment-based applicants. The “Final Action” charts (A & C) indicate when individuals are able to become lawful permanent residents (whether their applications can be adjudicated). The “Dates for Filing” charts (B & D) indicate when individuals may file their applications.
Unfortunately, the “Dates for Filing” charts are not always activated. If a "Dates for Filing" chart is not activated, applicants must instead look at their “Final Action” chart to determine when their applications can be filed. Whether or not the "Dates for Filing" charts are active is indicated by USCIS here. Recently, the "Dates for Filing" charts have been activated for specific preference categories only.
The Cells
Each chart provides information organized by country of birth and preference category. For individuals whose country of birth is not listed separately, the relevant information is provided in the column “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed.” The bulletin contains brief descriptions of the individual preference categories, though applicants should not rely on these alone – this is a complex area of immigration law.
If a cell is populated with the letter “C” this indicates that there is no backlog for individuals with that country of birth, applying in that preference category. If a cell lists a date, this indicates there is a backlog for that country of birth/preference category. Applicants waiting to file their applications must wait until the date in their cell reaches their priority date before they can proceed. Applicants who have already submitted applications must wait until the date in their cell reaches their priority date before there can be a final action on their application (an adjudication).
Waiting Periods
While the dates in the cells do move forward over time, they do not progress in a predictable manner: from one chart to the next there may be no progression, incremental progression (of just a few days), or a jump forward or back of some other duration (weeks or months). This makes is difficult to predict waiting periods based on the dates listed.
USCIS has detailed information on the visa bulletin, and answers to frequently asked questions, here.
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Note: The information in this post is general in nature, does not represent legal advice, and should not be relied on to determine immigration strategy and/or prepare an immigration application for a U.S. government agency. Immigration law is a rapidly changing field and each case has its own facts that will determine the appropriate strategy.
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