What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Visa Bulletin is published monthly by the U.S. Department of State. It lists cutoff dates that control when green card applicants with a given priority date can move forward, because each category and country has annual numerical limits.

What is a priority date?

Your priority date is your place in the green card line. For employment-based cases it is usually the date your PERM labor certification was filed; for family-based cases, the date the I-130 petition was filed.

What does "Current" mean on the Visa Bulletin?

"Current" (C) means there is no backlog for that category and country — a visa number is immediately available regardless of your priority date.

Why are the dates for India and China so much older?

Each country is limited to roughly 7% of the annual employment-based visas. Demand from India and China far exceeds that cap, so their cutoff dates sit years behind the rest of the world.

Visa Bulletin July 2026 — Employment-Based Final Action Dates

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases

When a green card can actually be approved. Small grey line shows the June 2026 bulletin for comparison.

July 2026 (Final Action Dates)

Category	India	China	Philippines	Mexico	All Other Countries
EB-1	15 Oct 2022 ▼ ~2mo was 15 Dec 2022	01 Jun 2023 ▲ ~2mo was 01 Apr 2023	Current — was Current	Current — was Current	Current — was Current
EB-2	Unavailable ▼ was 01 Sep 2013	01 Sep 2021 — was 01 Sep 2021	Current — was Current	Current — was Current	Current — was Current
EB-3	01 Jan 2014 ▲ 17d was 15 Dec 2013	22 Dec 2021 ▲ ~5mo was 01 Aug 2021	01 Aug 2023 — was 01 Aug 2023	01 Aug 2024 ▲ ~2mo was 01 Jun 2024	01 Aug 2024 ▲ ~2mo was 01 Jun 2024
EB-3 Other Workers	01 Jan 2014 ▲ 17d was 15 Dec 2013	01 Apr 2019 — was 01 Apr 2019	01 Dec 2021 ▲ 30d was 01 Nov 2021	01 Mar 2022 ▲ 28d was 01 Feb 2022	01 Mar 2022 ▲ 28d was 01 Feb 2022

If your priority date is earlier than the cutoff shown, your green card can be approved this month. ▲ advanced · ▼ retrogressed · — held vs June 2026.

Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications

The earlier date that can let you submit your application (I-485 / DS-260) ahead of approval — when USCIS announces this chart is in use.

July 2026 (Final Action Dates)

Category	India	China	Philippines	Mexico	All Other Countries
EB-1	01 Dec 2023 — was 01 Dec 2023	01 Dec 2023 — was 01 Dec 2023	Current — was Current	Current — was Current	Current — was Current
EB-2	15 Jan 2015 — was 15 Jan 2015	01 Jan 2022 — was 01 Jan 2022	Current — was Current	Current — was Current	Current — was Current
EB-3	15 Jan 2015 — was 15 Jan 2015	01 Jan 2022 — was 01 Jan 2022	01 Jan 2024 — was 01 Jan 2024	Current — was Current	Current — was Current
EB-3 Other Workers	15 Jan 2015 — was 15 Jan 2015	01 Oct 2019 — was 01 Oct 2019	01 Aug 2022 — was 01 Aug 2022	01 Aug 2022 — was 01 Aug 2022	01 Aug 2022 — was 01 Aug 2022

USCIS decides each month whether applicants may use this chart instead of Final Action Dates — always confirm on the USCIS filing-charts page.

Priority-date backlog over time

How many months each queue sits behind its bulletin — lower is better; a flat cutoff drifts up 1 month per month.

How to read the Visa Bulletin

The Visa Bulletin is published monthly by the U.S. Department of State. Green cards are limited each year by category and by country of birth, so applicants wait in line based on their priority date — for employment-based cases, usually the date the PERM labor certification was filed.

The Final Action Dates chart shows the front of each line. If your priority date is earlier than the cutoff for your category and country of birth, a visa number is available and your I-485 (or consular case) can be approved. “Current” means no backlog at all; “Unavailable” means no numbers are being issued that month. The Dates for Filing chart shows a usually-earlier date that can let you submit your application sooner — but only in months USCIS announces it may be used.

Dates usually inch forward each month, but they can hold still or even move backwards (retrogression) when demand spikes. India and China have separate columns because demand from each far exceeds the ~7% per-country cap.

This page is informational, derived from the official bulletin. Always confirm with the State Department and your attorney before acting.

Where are you in line?

Enter your priority date, country of birth and EB category — we'll estimate your full PERM → green card timeline against these cutoffs.

Predict my timeline Current PERM processing time

Visa Bulletin — July 2026

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases

Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications

Priority-date backlog over time

How to read the Visa Bulletin

Where are you in line?