Visa Bulletin

The Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication from the U.S. Department of State that shows when immigrant visa numbers are available for each preference category and country of chargeability. It contains two charts: Final Action Dates (when visas can be issued) and Dates for Filing (when applications can be submitted).

"Current" (shown as "C") means there is no backlog in that category — visa numbers are immediately available. Applicants with any priority date can proceed with their application. This is the best possible status for a preference category.

Final Action Dates indicate when the State Department can issue an immigrant visa or USCIS can finalize an adjustment of status application. Dates for Filing are typically more recent dates that allow applicants to submit their paperwork earlier, even though their visa number may not yet be available for final action. USCIS announces each month whether to use the Dates for Filing chart.

The State Department publishes a new Visa Bulletin monthly, typically around the 8th to 15th of the month before the bulletin takes effect. For example, the April 2026 bulletin was published in mid-March 2026. Our coverage currently ends with the July 2026 bulletin. Automated retrieval of new bulletins from the State Department is currently blocked from our infrastructure, so bulletins published after that date are not yet reflected here. The coverage range shown in the data source note below states exactly what this dataset contains.