Unlock Date Bulletin For Free

The visa bulletin is issued every month by the Department of State. It shows which green card applications can move forward, based on when the I-130 petition that starts the green card process was originally filed.

You have reached the front of the line when your priority date becomes "current." The U.S. Department of State publishes a monthly visa bulletin that lists the priority dates which have become current. In other words, these are the priority dates that now have an immigrant visa available to be claimed.

These problems can delay or destroy a person's hopes of immigrating. You have one year after your Priority Date becomes current in the "Application Final Action Dates" chart to pursue your visa or green card.

Now that you understand how the visa bulletin works, you'll need to monitor it on a regular basis. The U.S. Department of State publishes a monthly bulletin for employment-based and diversity visa categories as well.

Determine your Priority Date. This is the date that your approved Form I-130 was filed. This date appears on the Form I-797 that USCIS issued to your petitioner when the Form I-130 was approved (refer to the ?Receipt Date?).

When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the ?Dates for Filing Visa Applications? charts in this Bulletin.

The Diversity Visa (DV) chart on the DOS Visa Bulletin will list both the geographic regions and several countries that have their own waiting list. Next to the region or country is a cutoff number. If your number is lower than the cutoff number that is listed, then you may now apply for your green card.