Immigration Law
Your I-140 was approved. You worked through the paperwork, your employer sponsored you, and USCIS sent the notice. Then someone — maybe a coworker, maybe a paralegal — tells you to check something called the Visa Bulletin before you can move forward.
What is it? What does it actually say? And what are you supposed to do with it?
These are questions I answer constantly in my practice. The Visa Bulletin is one of the most important documents in the immigration system, and it is also one of the least understood. This article explains how it works, how to read the two charts it contains, and what the April 2026 numbers specifically mean for people waiting on employment-based and family-based green cards.
The Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication from the U.S. Department of State. It comes out near the middle of each month and announces which immigrant visa categories have available numbers for the following month.
The reason it exists is simple: Congress places annual numerical caps on how many green cards can be issued in each immigration category. On top of that, there is a per-country limit — no single country's nationals can receive more than 7% of the total available visas in a given year. When demand for green cards in a particular category exceeds supply — which happens constantly — a line forms. The Visa Bulletin is how the government manages that line.
Think of it this way: USCIS approves your petition and hands you a ticket with a number. The Visa Bulletin tells you how far down the line the government has gotten. When they reach your number, you can move to the final stage of the process.
One important clarification: not everyone needs to consult the Visa Bulletin at all. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens — spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of adult citizens — are not subject to these numerical limits. For them, a visa is always available once the underlying petition is approved. The Visa Bulletin is primarily relevant for everyone else: those in employment-based preference categories, and family members in the preference (non-immediate relative) categories.
Before you can use the Visa Bulletin, you need to know your priority date. This is the single most important number in your immigration case while you are waiting.
Your priority date is essentially your timestamp — the date the government uses to determine your position relative to everyone else in the same category and country of birth.
How it is established depends on your category:
For family-based applicants, the priority date is the date USCIS received the Form I-130 immigrant petition filed on your behalf.
For employment-based applicants in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, the priority date is the date the Department of Labor accepted the PERM labor certification application for processing. This is the most common scenario in my practice. For categories that don't require a PERM — like EB-1 for extraordinary ability — the priority date is the date the Form I-140 was filed.
Your country of birth, not your current citizenship or residence, is what determines which column of the Visa Bulletin applies to you. This is called your country of chargeability. A person born in Mexico who now holds Canadian citizenship is still charged to Mexico's allocation. This distinction matters because backlogs vary significantly by country — some countries have virtually no wait, while others face queues stretching a decade or more.
There is one important exception worth knowing: if you are married and your spouse was born in a country with a shorter wait, you may be able to use your spouse's country of birth for chargeability purposes. This is called cross-chargeability, and in certain situations it can dramatically shorten the timeline. Whether it applies to your case depends on the specific dates involved and how the categories compare — something worth discussing with an attorney if you think it could be relevant.
For a deeper look at what happens to your priority date if you change employers or job titles during the process, see my article on retention of priority dates for employment-based petitions.
This is where most people get confused, and for good reason. Since October 2015, the Visa Bulletin has contained two separate charts. They serve different purposes and produce different outcomes. Using the wrong one — or not understanding which one applies to you — leads to missed filing windows or, worse, a premature assumption that you cannot act yet.
Chart A — Final Action Dates is the finish line. When your priority date is earlier than the date shown in Chart A for your category and country, the government is ready to finalize your case. For adjustment of status applicants inside the U.S., this means USCIS can approve the Form I-485 and issue your green card. For consular applicants abroad, it means the embassy can issue your immigrant visa. This chart represents when the process actually ends.
Chart B — Dates for Filing is the on-ramp. The dates in Chart B are typically months or even years more advanced than those in Chart A. When your priority date is earlier than the date in Chart B, you may be able to submit your final paperwork before a visa is actually available for approval. For adjustment of status applicants, that means filing the Form I-485, obtaining an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) so you can work, and getting Advance Parole (AP) for travel — all while you continue to wait for Chart A to catch up.
Here is the critical nuance: USCIS must explicitly authorize the use of Chart B each month. The Department of State publishes the bulletin, but it is USCIS that decides — every single month — which chart adjustment of status applicants may use. That determination is published on the USCIS website shortly after the bulletin is released.
For April 2026, USCIS has confirmed that applicants in all family-sponsored and employment-based categories may use the Dates for Filing chart. That is a significant opening — and I'll explain what it means in practice in a moment.
For those processing abroad through a U.S. embassy or consulate, the National Visa Center uses Chart B to trigger the document collection stage, but the interview itself is only scheduled once the priority date becomes current under Chart A. Consular applicants do not receive interim benefits like EAD or Advance Parole while waiting abroad.
The April 2026 bulletin reflects meaningful forward movement across several categories. Understanding why helps you assess how reliable this window is.
The movement is largely driven by a decrease in consular visa issuances — administration-level processing pauses and travel restrictions in certain regions have slowed the rate at which visas are actually issued at embassies abroad. When fewer visas are consumed through consular processing, more numbers remain available in the fiscal year's pool, and the Department of State advances the cutoff dates to encourage utilization before the fiscal year ends on September 30.
On the employment-based side, EB-3 for the Rest of the World stands at June 1, 2024 in the Final Action chart — a solid position for most applicants outside the heavily backlogged countries. The Dates for Filing for EB-3 Rest of the World are even further advanced. For applicants with priority dates in this range, USCIS's authorization of Chart B for April 2026 means the filing window is open now.
On the family-based side, the F-2A category — covering spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents — has returned to "Current" in the Dates for Filing chart for all countries. This is a substantial development for green card holders whose spouses or minor children are waiting. It means that regardless of your priority date, you may be able to file the adjustment of status application now, secure work authorization, and protect your place in the queue while waiting for Chart A to advance.
The F-2A Final Action Dates remain backlogged — currently sitting at February 1, 2024 for most countries and February 1, 2023 for Mexico. So the green card itself is not imminent. But getting the application filed, obtaining an EAD, and being formally in the system is a meaningful step forward.
Forward movement in the bulletin is good news. But it comes with a serious caveat that I think every applicant in the current window needs to understand: the Department of State has already flagged that retrogression may be necessary later in fiscal year 2026.
Retrogression means the cutoff dates move backward. If April shows a filing date of, say, January 1, 2022, a future bulletin might pull that back to June 1, 2021. Anyone whose priority date falls in the gap loses their filing window — at least temporarily.
If you have already filed your I-485 and your priority date subsequently retrogresses, your application does not get denied. It simply sits as pending with USCIS. You continue to be eligible to renew your EAD and Advance Parole while you wait for the date to recover. The application remains alive.
But here is what retrogression does prevent: if you have not yet filed when the dates pull back, you lose the window. You cannot file your I-485. You cannot get an EAD or Advance Parole. You go back to waiting — with no interim status and no work authorization from that filing.
This is why the current moment carries real urgency. USCIS has authorized Chart B for April 2026. Dates are favorable across employment and family categories. The government's own guidance signals the window may not stay this open through the rest of the fiscal year. Filing now, when dates are current for your category, is the most reliable way to lock in your place in the system and preserve your access to interim benefits regardless of what happens to the bulletin in subsequent months.
If you are curious whether you are positioned to file now, my firm handles employment-based and family-based green card cases and I am happy to take a look at your specific situation.
Your next step depends on where you are in the process. Here is how I think about it:
If your I-140 or I-130 petition has not yet been approved: Your priority date has not been established yet. Focus on getting the petition filed and approved. Once it is approved, the priority date is locked in — even if you change jobs later, in many situations the date can be retained. Use this waiting period to gather documents and understand your category.
If your petition is approved but your priority date is not yet current on either chart: You are in the queue. Check the bulletin each month — specifically the USCIS website confirmation of which chart applies — and watch for your date to become current. Set a reminder for the middle of each month. When your date reaches the Dates for Filing cutoff under Chart B and USCIS authorizes it, act quickly. Do not wait.
If your priority date is current or within the Chart B range for April 2026: This is your window. Work with an attorney now to prepare and file the I-485 package. Every month you delay is a month you risk the dates pulling back. Filing while dates are current gives you protection even if retrogression follows.
If you are processing through a U.S. consulate abroad: Monitor Chart A — that is the date that triggers your interview scheduling. Use the period before Chart A becomes current to ensure your file at the National Visa Center is complete and documentarily qualified so that when the date arrives, you are not delayed by missing paperwork.
If you are unsure which category you fall into or want help evaluating your specific position against the current bulletin, reach out to my office directly. I work through these situations regularly, and a short consultation can clarify exactly where you stand and what your next move should be.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration laws and policies are subject to change, and individual circumstances vary. For advice specific to your situation, please consult with a qualified immigration attorney.
Oleg Gherasimov, Esq.
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