Use Date Bulletin For Free

Once you know your priority date and your preference category, proceed to the U.S. State Department's website to find the monthly visa bulletin. Select the "Current Visa Bulletin." Forward to "Family-Sponsored Preferences" to see a table similar to the sample below.

If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits.

You must review the U.S. Department of State's visa bulletin to determine if your immigrant petition is current. When an immigrant petition is current, you can apply for a green card. Your Priority Date is the date that your immigrant petition was filed and represents your "place in line."

A computer will randomly select the 50,000 winners and all applicants have an equal chance of being selected. However, married couples that have submitted a Husband/Wife application will double their chances of being selected as they actually have two valid applications in the DV Lottery draw.

The US Department of State has released its October 2023 Visa Bulletin outlining per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of adjustment of status application and consular immigrant visa application filings and approvals.

Important Terms in the Visa Bulletin. Priority date: This is the date that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received your I-130 petition. Think of this date as your place in the green card line. You can find your priority date on the I-797 form mailed by USCIS approving your I-130 petition.

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.

You can find your priority date on the I-797 form mailed by USCIS approving your I-130 petition. Current: In the context of the visa bulletin, ?current? means no backlog and no wait time for a green card. A particular priority date becomes ?current? once it reaches the front of the line and a green card is available.