How Visa Availability and Priority Dates Work

The annual numerical framework

The Immigration Act of 1990 set the structure that still governs green card supply today. Three numbers anchor the system:

These statutory floors set the minimum supply; annual actuals can run higher due to unused visas from the prior year's family-sponsored allocation rolling over to the employment-based total. They have not changed since 1990 despite three decades of growing demand.

Immediate relatives — unlimited

Outside the numerical framework above, one population has unlimited green card availability: immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. There is no annual cap and no waiting line for immediate relatives — visas are always immediately available, regardless of country of birth.

Immediate relatives include:

• The spouse of a U.S. citizen
• The unmarried children under 21 of a U.S. citizen
• The parents of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old
• The widow or widower of a U.S. citizen, provided the citizen filed a petition before death or the surviving spouse files within two years of the citizen's death

Because immediate relatives are always immediately available, they can file Form I-485 concurrently with the I-130 and proceed without waiting for visa availability. This is one of the most consequential structural features of the immigration system: the spouse of a U.S. citizen has a fundamentally different timeline than the spouse of a lawful permanent resident.

The preference categories

Everyone outside the immediate relative framework — family-preference applicants, employment-based applicants, and Diversity Visa applicants — falls into one of the numbered preference categories. Each preference category receives a fixed percentage of the overall annual cap.

Family-sponsored preference categories

• F1 — Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (over 21)
• F2A — Spouses and unmarried children (under 21) of LPRs
• F2B — Unmarried sons and daughters of LPRs (over 21)
• F3 — Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• F4 — Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (over 21)

Employment-based preference categories

• EB-1 — Priority workers (extraordinary ability, outstanding professors/researchers, multinational executives)
• EB-2 — Advanced-degree professionals and exceptional ability (including NIW)
• EB-3 — Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers (EW)
• EB-4 — Special immigrants (religious workers, etc.)
• EB-5 — Immigrant investors

The percentage allocation across EB categories — and the strategic interaction of fall-up/fall-down between categories when one is undersubscribed — is covered in detail in our Employment-Based AOS Deep Dive.

Per-country limits

Layered on top of the category limits is the per-country limit. Under INA §202(a)(2), no single country can receive more than 7% of the total combined family-sponsored and employment-based visas in any fiscal year.

This is the rule that produces the long waits for applicants from China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines — the four countries whose demand consistently exceeds the 7% threshold. Demand from these countries is held to the 7% cap regardless of total worldwide demand in a category.

A limited statutory exception under INA §202(a)(5)(A) lets the 7% cap be exceeded when a category is "current" worldwide — meaning total worldwide demand is below total supply. This is the mechanism that lets EB-1 sometimes be current for India and China even though those countries normally exceed their 7% share. The exception applies in any quarter of the fiscal year, not just the fourth.

For a deeper explanation of how the per-country limits interact with category limits and the §202(a)(5) exception, see our Employment-Based AOS Deep Dive.

Priority dates — what they are and how they're set

Your priority date is the date that establishes your place in line for an immigrant visa. It is set when the underlying petition (or labor certification, for some employment categories) is filed — and once set, it generally moves with you across employer changes and category transfers.

The exact date depends on the category:

The PERM-to-I-140 timing rule

For PERM-based categories, the priority date is set when DOL receives the PERM application. But the petitioner must file the I-140 with USCIS within 180 days of the DOL approval date on the labor certification — otherwise the labor certification is no longer valid. This is a procedural deadline worth knowing about; missing it forces a refiling of the PERM.

You can find your priority date on Form I-797

If you have a pending or approved petition, your priority date appears on Form I-797, Notice of Action. The same document also identifies the receiving service center, the receipt number, and the preference category. The priority date is the data point you'll be tracking against the monthly Visa Bulletin to determine when you can move forward.

Reading the monthly Visa Bulletin

The State Department publishes the Visa Bulletin every month — usually around the second week — to communicate which priority dates are "current" for each category and country of chargeability. The bulletin is the operational document that tells USCIS when an applicant's case can move forward.

The bulletin lists cutoff dates for each preference category, broken down by country of chargeability (Worldwide, China, India, Mexico, Philippines, and a few others depending on the category). A priority date earlier than the cutoff date is "current"; a priority date later than the cutoff is not.

How the cutoff date works

For example, if the June 2026 bulletin shows a Final Action Date of December 15, 2022 for EB-1 India, it means visas are currently available for EB-1 India applicants whose priority dates are earlier than December 15, 2022. An applicant with a priority date of November 1, 2022 is current; an applicant with a priority date of January 1, 2023 is not.

The cutoff dates move month to month based on visa supply, demand, and DOS estimates. They can advance (forward movement), retrogress (backward movement), or hold steady. For current cutoffs, see our monthly Visa Bulletin page.

The two charts: Final Action Dates vs Dates for Filing

The Visa Bulletin actually publishes two charts each month for each preference category. The difference between them matters for understanding when you can act.

USCIS decides which chart applies each month

Each month, USCIS announces on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page whether AOS applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart for that month. The default is Final Action Dates; the Dates for Filing chart applies only when USCIS determines that more visas are available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants.

This announcement matters because filing the I-485 unlocks ancillary benefits — work authorization, advance parole, and 180-day portability under AC21. Being able to file under the Dates for Filing chart can advance those benefits by months or years compared to waiting for the Final Action Date.

Visa Bulletin notation — cutoff dates, "C", and "U"

The Visa Bulletin uses a compact notation. Three things you'll see in the cells:

Retrogression — what it is and what it means

Retrogression happens when a cutoff date moves backward from one month to the next. A category that showed June 1, 2022 in May might suddenly show January 1, 2022 in June. A category that was Current in April might have a specific cutoff date in May. Retrogression is one of the more disorienting features of the Visa Bulletin for applicants tracking their cases.

Why retrogression happens

DOS must rely on "reasonable estimates" of how many visas will be used in a given fiscal year. When demand outpaces those estimates — or when family-sponsored carryover comes in lower than expected — DOS retrogresses cutoff dates to keep total visa use within statutory limits. The agency is legally required to do this; allowing visa use to exceed the annual caps would violate the INA.

What retrogression means for your case

• If your I-485 is already approved: retrogression has no effect. You are an LPR.
• If your I-485 is filed but pending: your application stays pending. USCIS can't approve until your priority date is current under the Final Action Dates chart again. You keep your priority date and place in line.
• If you haven't filed your I-485 yet: you must wait until a future Visa Bulletin advances the cutoff past your priority date.

Benefits already secured

If you've already filed your I-485 and obtained an EAD and advance parole, those continue valid during retrogression. The 180-day AC21 portability clock continues to run. Biometrics already collected do not expire — USCIS refreshes background checks by resubmitting prior biometrics without a new appointment.

When you can file concurrently

Concurrent filing is the option to submit the I-485 at the same time as the underlying I-130 or I-140 — rather than waiting for the petition to be approved first. Concurrent filing is allowed when approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available.

Specifically:

• Immediate relatives can always file concurrently — visas are always immediately available.
• Preference applicants can file concurrently when the category is current ("C") or when their priority date is earlier than the applicable cutoff (Final Action Dates, or Dates for Filing if USCIS allows it that month).

Concurrent filing matters strategically because filing the I-485 unlocks important ancillary benefits — work authorization and advance parole within months, period of authorized stay, and the 180-day portability clock. Filing concurrently rather than waiting for petition approval typically advances these benefits by several months.

What concurrent filing is NOT

Concurrent filing does not affect the priority date. It does not skip the queue or accelerate the underlying petition approval. The I-485 still cannot be approved until the underlying petition is approved and a visa is allocated. But it does enable the work authorization and travel benefits much sooner.

The October 1 fiscal year reset

The federal fiscal year runs October 1 through September 30. On October 1, a new supply of visa numbers becomes available — both the next year's family-sponsored and employment-based allocations and any unused family-sponsored visas that roll over to the EB total. This is the most important recurring rhythm of the Visa Bulletin system.

What typically happens in October

• Cutoff dates often advance significantly between the September and October bulletins as a new year of supply becomes available.
• Categories that retrogressed late in the prior fiscal year often recover.
• Some categories may go "Current" worldwide for the first month or two of the new fiscal year.

And what typically happens later in the year

As the new fiscal year progresses and demand begins to exhaust supply, cutoff dates may retrogress to keep visa use within the annual cap. The pattern of "forward movement early, retrogression later" is common — though the magnitude and timing depend on demand each year.

The annual rhythm matters strategically: October is often a strong month to file if your category and priority date are close; later in the fiscal year, particularly Q3 and Q4 (April-September), is when retrogression risk is highest.

May 2026 context

A few points specific to the current landscape worth knowing:

Diversity Visa is suspended

The Diversity Visa lottery for DV-2027 was suspended in December 2025 by administrative action, and registration never opened. The DV cells in the current Visa Bulletin reflect the program's paused status. The 55,000 annual statutory cap remains in place by law; what's paused is the administrative process for allocating those visas.

The May 2026 AOS memo applies to all I-485 filings

USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 on May 21, 2026, signaling heightened discretionary scrutiny on adjustment of status applications. The memo does not affect visa availability or the Visa Bulletin itself, but it does affect how I-485 cases are evaluated. See our PM-602-0199 article for analysis.

EB India and EB China remain heavily backlogged

The June 2026 Visa Bulletin shows EB-1 India retrogressed to December 15, 2022 and EB-1 China at April 1, 2023; EB-2 India remains at September 1, 2013 — far behind worldwide. These positions reflect the per-country limit operating in heavily oversubscribed categories. For applicants in these backlogs, the strategic tools available (cross-chargeability, EB-3 downgrade, transfer of underlying basis, AC21 §104(c) H-1B extensions) are covered in our Employment-Based AOS Deep Dive.

Common questions