The Visa Bulletin of the US State Department shows backlogs in getting green cards in both the family and the employment-based categories. The time that it will take you to get a green card depends on the category of your petition and your country of birth. The Visa Bulletin is updated on a monthly basis.

Good News! For the month of November 2019, the USCIS announced that they will let applicants file for Adjustment of Status using the Filing Dates Charts rather that the Final Action Dates Charts.

You can stay up-to-date with the waiting times in the Visa Bulletin by subscribing to our Free E-Mail Newsletter.

How rapidly will your priority date in the Visa Bulletin advance or retrogress in the coming months? Click on the link to the Visa Bulletin Predictions by the State Department’s Charlie Oppenheim.



EMPLOYMENT-BASED CATEGORIES



The employment-based (EB) categories in the Visa Bulletin are as follows:

• EB-1 Priority Workers
• EB-2 Advanced Degree Professionals
• EB-3 Professionals & Other Workers
• EB-4 Religious Workers & Others
• EB-5 Investors

An applicant’s priority date is the day that the government received the employer’s PERM application. However, if a PERM application is not required, the priority date is the date the government received an EB visa petition (I-140 or the I-526).

Watch our EB videos to see various methods of shortening your waiting time for a green card.



NOVEMBER VISA BULLETIN – EMPLOYMENT


A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES


B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS



NOVEMBER VISA BULLETIN – FAMILY



The family-based categories in the visa bulletin are as follows:

• F-1 Unmarried Adult Sons & Daughters of US Citizens
• F-2A Spouses & Children of LPRs
• F-2B Unmarried Adult Sons & Daughters of LPRs
• F-3 Married Sons & Daughters of US citizens
• F-4 Brothers & Sisters of US Citizens

An applicant’s priority date is the day that the government received the I-130 Petition. Watch our family-based video to see various methods of shortening your waiting time for a green card.

A priority date is established by the submission of a relative visa petition in the family categories.

The word “Current”in the Visa Bulletin indicates that no backlog presently exists in a particular category. Alternately, the word “Unavailable” indicates that it is not possible to apply for permanent residence in that category.

A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED CASES – These dates are consistent with prior visa bulletin priority dates.


B. FAMILY-SPONSORED FILING DATE CHART – The chart below reflects dates for filing visa applications within a time frame justifying immediate action in the application process. Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the application date in the chart may assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions. The application date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an immigrant visa.