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If you are in the process of applying for an immigrant visa or adjusting your status for permanent residence, you need to know about the visa bulletin.
This bulletin is very important for knowing the monthly availability of immigrant visas and the application dates, according to your category and priority level.
What is the visa bulletin?
To understand what the visa bulletin is, it is necessary to understand how the system for requesting and granting permanent residence permits or green cards in the United States works.
Depending on the reason for your green card application, the government grants a certain number of visas or permits per year. This is where the Visa Bulletin comes into play, as each month, the government publishes the availability of permanent residence cards across all application categories.
In said Bulletin, USCIS establishes the number of immigrant visas available for a fiscal year. In the event that there is more availability than applicants, the same agency will provide a table of **Dates for Filing Applications.**
What is the visa bulletin used for?
This document **determines when a foreign national can begin the final step of their status adjustment** in the green card application process.
It details the **monthly deadlines** to know when immigrant visas will be available and the deadlines after which immigrant visa applications will no longer be accepted.
This bulletin exists because the number of applicants for family-based and employment-based visas is always greater than the number of immigrant visas available. Consequently, a waiting list is created for these categories.
What day of the month is the visa bulletin released?
The visa bulletin is published on the first business day of each month. However, many specialized portals anticipate the monthly publication by releasing their own predictions regarding visa availability and probable dates.
The predictions are based on each month's availability and the preference categories, which are immigrant visas based on family and employment.
The dates published each month are considered available until the last day of the month.
How can I view the visa bulletin?
The visa bulletin is published on the official USCIS website (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). USCIS publishes two different tables or bulletins by category: on one hand, the Final Action Dates table is published, and on the other, the Dates for Filing Applications
On the other hand, you can check if an immigrant visa is available in a few simple steps. According to USCIS, if your immigrant visa is available and your parole period has not expired, you may be eligible to apply for a Lawful Permanent Resident Card.
To check this, you must follow these steps:
- Determine your priority date, which is the date your approved Form I-130 was filed (this is confirmed on Form I-797),
- Determine which preference category you fall into,
- Open the Visa Bulletin and look for the Final Action dates table,
- Look for the date for your "Family-Sponsored Preference Category,"
- Compare this date with your Priority Date; if your priority date is earlier than the date in the bulletin table, then your immigrant visa is available.
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