Priority dates and the Visa Bulletin

What a priority date is

A priority date marks your place in line for an immigrant visa number in a preference category.

For petition-based cases: your priority date is usually the date USCIS received the underlying petition (I-130, I-140, I-360, or the labor certification in PERM-based cases).

For diversity visa: the priority date is tied to the DV selection and the current DV year.

Why preference quotas exist

Congress limits the number of immigrant visas issued each year in most preference categories. When demand exceeds annual limits, a waiting line (backlog) forms. Applicants with older priority dates move to the front of the line each month as the Visa Bulletin advances.

Who is NOT subject to a preference quota

These categories are not subject to annual preference quotas:

• Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents, unmarried children under 21)
• Many special immigrant categories
• Refugees and asylees adjusting under their specific statutory paths

If your case is in an immediate-relative or quota-exempt category, you do not need to monitor priority dates.

Reading the Visa Bulletin

The DOS publishes the Visa Bulletin monthly. It has two main tables:

• Table A. Final Action Dates: The date before which a visa number will be issued or an I-485 can be approved
• Table B. Dates for Filing: An earlier date that, when USCIS permits its use, allows I-485 filers to submit before a visa number is immediately available

Find your preference category row and your country of birth column. If your priority date is earlier than the date shown, your visa number is available. "C" means current. No wait.

USCIS monthly chart-use decision: dynamic

Each month, USCIS separately determines whether I-485 applicants may use Table B (Dates for Filing) or only Table A (Final Action Dates).

This determination changes monthly and is posted on the USCIS visa availability page. Always check the USCIS "When to File" page for the current month before submitting an I-485.

Key resources to check live

Always verify with current official sources:

• Current DOS Visa Bulletin (published monthly)
• Current USCIS chart-use determination (updated monthly on the USCIS visa availability page)
• Your petition receipt date or priority date notice

Do not rely on screenshots, third-party trackers, or outdated bulletins for filing decisions.

What can vary by case, post, or month

These notes come from the research module behind this guide. Use them as flags; verify official instructions for your case before relying on general guidance.

Clearly required

• live bulletin review for any quota-controlled pathway

Conditional

• whether the case uses final-action or filing-date logic; whether the pathway is quota controlled at all

Dynamic (may change)

• monthly bulletin movement and USCIS chart-use choices

Unresolved

• never encode a static date snapshot as evergreen eligibility logic