Visa Bulletin: Complete Guide to Understanding the Green Card Queue

The Visa Bulletin is the most important document for anyone waiting for an immigrant visa to the United States. Published monthly by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), this bulletin sets the cut-off dates that determine when each case can move forward to the final stages of the process, whether through adjustment of status within the U.S. or consular processing abroad. Understanding how the Visa Bulletin works is not optional for those seeking a Green Card: it is an essential skill that influences timing, strategy, and immigration planning decisions.

What Is the Visa Bulletin

The Visa Bulletin is a report that details the availability of immigrant visas by preference category and country of origin (country of chargeability). It exists because U.S. law, through Sections 202 and 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), imposes strict annual limits: a maximum of 140,000 employment-based visas and about 226,000 family-sponsored visas per fiscal year. Additionally, no country can receive more than 7% of the annual total of preference visas, which amounts to approximately 25,620 visas per country in 2026.

When demand for visas in a category or country exceeds supply, a queue forms. The Visa Bulletin organizes this queue through cut-off dates, comparing each petitioner’s priority date with the date published in the bulletin. If your priority date is earlier than or equal to the cut-off date, you potentially have a visa available for the final steps.

Tables A and B of the Bulletin

The Visa Bulletin presents two distinct tables that serve different purposes in the immigration process. Understanding when to use each one is crucial to avoid missing filing opportunities or creating unrealistic expectations about timelines.

Final Action Dates

Table A indicates when a visa can actually be issued or when the Green Card can be approved. To move forward at this stage, your priority date must be the same as or earlier than the date listed for your category and country. This is the definitive table: when your date becomes current here, the process can be completed.

Dates for Filing

Table B may allow applicants within the U.S. to file Form I-485 (adjustment of status) earlier, before Table A becomes current. However, USCIS decides monthly whether to accept filings based on Table B or require Table A. For May 2026, USCIS determined that employment-based categories must use Table A (Final Action Dates), while family-sponsored categories may use Table B (Dates for Filing).

Categories Affected by the Bulletin

The Visa Bulletin exclusively impacts immigrant visas that lead to a Green Card, divided into two major preference groups. Nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B, F-1, O-1, and B-1/B-2 are not affected by the bulletin.

Family Preference

• F1: unmarried sons and daughters (over 21) of U.S. citizens
• F2A: spouses and minor children of permanent residents
• F2B: unmarried sons and daughters (over 21) of permanent residents
• F3: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• F4: siblings of adult U.S. citizens

Employment-Based Preference

• EB-1: extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational executives
• EB-2: advanced degrees and exceptional ability, including EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver)
• EB-3: skilled workers, professionals, and other workers
• EB-4: special immigrants (religious workers, employees of international organizations)
• EB-5: investors with a minimum investment in qualified projects

How to Interpret the Bulletin

When you open the Visa Bulletin, you will find tables with categories, countries, and specific dates or abbreviations. The three possibilities are: C (current), meaning a visa is immediately available with no numerical wait; U (unavailable), indicating no visas are available during that period; and a specific date (for example, 01JAN2023), meaning only petitioners with a priority date on or before that date can move forward.

To read it correctly, identify your visa category (EB-1, EB-2, F2A, etc.) and locate your country of chargeability in the table. Compare the published date with your priority date and then check the USCIS website to see which table (A or B) is authorized for that month, as this decision changes monthly and directly affects the possibility of filing the I-485.

Bulletin Overview for 2026

The May 2026 Visa Bulletin shows significant movement in some categories. In the employment-based area, EB-1 remains current for all countries except China and India, whose cut-off dates are frozen at April 1, 2023. EB-2 India maintains a cut-off date of July 15, 2014, showing a backlog of more than 11 years, while EB-2 China is at September 1, 2021. EB-5 remains current for all countries, but with a warning that the category may close without notice when the quota is reached.

In the family-sponsored area, May 2026 brought notable advances: F2A moved forward a full six months in all regions, F1 ROW and Mexico advanced by four to six months, and F3 and F4 Philippines saw significant jumps. For employment-based categories, USCIS determined that I-485 filings must follow only Table A (Final Action Dates), making April 30, 2026, the last day to file based on Table B eligibility.

Tracking Strategies

Monitor the Visa Bulletin monthly, as it is usually published between the second and third week of each month on the Department of State website. Know your priority date precisely, as it is set by the filing date of the I-130 (family cases) or the I-140 and PERM (employment cases). Be alert to phenomena such as retrogression, when dates move backward due to excess demand, and visa availability, when categories that had a backlog become current again.

Also check, every month, the USCIS announcement on which table is authorized for adjustment of status. This check is especially critical during transitions between fiscal years (September-October), when abrupt changes in dates are more common. Effective immigration planning depends on constant monitoring and adjusting expectations based on the latest data from the official bulletin.

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

Leading journalism and editorial content at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps make immigration topics clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.