What is a priority date?
A priority date generally establishes an applicant's chronological place in the immigrant visa queue. The method of establishing the priority date depends on the immigrant classification.
| Immigrant Category | Typical Priority-Date Source |
|---|---|
| Family-sponsored preference | Generally the date USCIS properly receives the qualifying Form I-130. |
| Employment case requiring labor certification | Generally the date the Department of Labor accepts the labor certification application for processing. |
| Employment case not requiring labor certification | Generally the date USCIS properly receives the qualifying immigrant petition. |
| Immediate relative | No preference-category waiting line because immediate-relative visas are not subject to the annual numerical preference limits. |
Family and employment preference categories
The Immigration and Nationality Act divides numerically limited immigrant visas into preference categories. A cutoff date in one category does not apply to another.
Family-sponsored preferences
- F1 — unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens;
- F2A — spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents;
- F2B — unmarried sons and daughters age 21 or older of lawful permanent residents;
- F3 — married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and
- F4 — brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens.
Employment-based preferences
- EB-1 — priority workers;
- EB-2 — advanced-degree professionals and persons of exceptional ability, including qualifying NIW cases;
- EB-3 — skilled workers, professionals, and other workers;
- EB-4 — qualifying special immigrants; and
- EB-5 — qualifying immigrant investors.
Some categories also contain statutory set-asides or subcategories that can have separate cutoff dates.
Country of chargeability
Visa availability is not determined by citizenship alone. For immigrant-visa allocation, a person's chargeability generally follows the country of birth, subject to statutory exceptions.
The Visa Bulletin ordinarily contains a column covering most countries and separate columns for countries or areas that are oversubscribed in particular categories.
To determine visa availability, match the applicant's priority date to both the correct preference category and the correct chargeability column.
Cross-chargeability
The INA contains cross-chargeability provisions that can allow an applicant to use the chargeability of a spouse or, in certain circumstances, a parent rather than the applicant's own country of birth.
This can be extremely important where one spouse was born in a heavily oversubscribed country and the other spouse was born in a country with a more favorable visa cutoff date.
How to read the Visa Bulletin
The Department of State publishes a new Visa Bulletin each month. The Bulletin contains separate family-sponsored and employment-based charts showing visa availability by preference classification and chargeability.
Each relevant cell generally contains one of three types of entries:
| Entry | Meaning |
|---|---|
| C | Current. Qualifying applicants in that category are not subject to a cutoff priority date for that month. |
| A date | Only applicants whose priority dates are earlier than the listed cutoff date are within the applicable chart. |
| U | Unavailable. No visa numbers are authorized for issuance in that category for the relevant period. |
Which Visa Bulletin chart can an adjustment applicant use?
The Department of State publishes both Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing. For Form I-485 filing purposes, USCIS separately announces which chart applicants must use for the applicable month.
Visa availability for filing Form I-485
In a numerically limited category, an adjustment applicant generally may file only when the priority date falls within the chart USCIS has designated for filing during that month.
When USCIS permits use of the Dates for Filing chart, an applicant may sometimes file Form I-485 before the priority date becomes current under Final Action Dates.
This can allow the applicant to enter the adjustment process while still waiting for a visa number to become available for final approval.
Visa availability at final adjudication
USCIS must verify that an immigrant visa number is available before approving a numerically limited adjustment application.
An applicant who was permitted to file under the Dates for Filing chart may therefore have a properly pending I-485 while waiting for the Final Action Date to become current.
A pending preference-based Form I-485 generally cannot be finally approved unless an immigrant visa number is available for the applicant at the time of final action.
Visa retrogression
Visa retrogression occurs when a cutoff date moves backward or a category that was current becomes subject to a cutoff. The Department of State may retrogress a category to keep visa use within statutory annual and per-country limits.
If Form I-485 was already properly filed
Retrogression ordinarily does not mean that the applicant must file a new I-485. USCIS can continue processing the pending application, but final approval may have to wait until a visa number again becomes available.
During the pending period, otherwise eligible adjustment applicants may continue to seek benefits associated with a pending I-485, subject to the rules governing those benefits.
Concurrent filing
In classifications where concurrent filing is authorized, an applicant may file Form I-485 together with the underlying immigrant petition when the applicable visa-availability rules permit.
Common examples include:
- Immediate-relative Form I-130 and Form I-485 filings;
- Certain Form I-140 employment-based petitions and Form I-485;
- Certain EB-5 petitions and Form I-485 under the statutory concurrent-filing rules; and
- Other categories where the governing law permits adjustment before the underlying petition is finally approved.
Concurrent filing does not mean that USCIS may approve adjustment before the applicant satisfies the underlying immigrant classification.
Transfer of underlying basis and visa availability
A person with a pending Form I-485 may sometimes request that USCIS transfer the adjustment application from one underlying immigrant basis to another.
USCIS requires continued eligibility and an available immigrant visa under the new preference basis at the time of the transfer request where the new category is numerically limited.
A transfer request can arise when:
- An employment-based applicant obtains approval in a different employment preference category;
- A family-based applicant later qualifies through employment;
- An employment-based applicant later becomes an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen;
- A special immigrant applicant gains another immigrant basis; or
- Another valid immigrant classification becomes strategically preferable.
Visa availability for derivative applicants
A derivative spouse or child generally depends on the principal applicant's preference classification and visa availability. The derivative must also remain legally eligible for derivative classification.
Visa-number analysis can become more complicated when:
- The derivative reaches age 21;
- The derivative marries;
- The principal changes adjustment basis;
- The family uses cross-chargeability;
- The principal adjusts before the derivative; or
- The priority date retrogresses while the derivative's case remains pending.
Visa availability and the Child Status Protection Act
Visa availability can directly affect a child's protected age under the Child Status Protection Act. CSPA uses specialized rules to determine when a visa is considered available and whether the applicant timely sought to acquire lawful permanent residence.
USCIS revised its CSPA policy effective August 15, 2025. For adjustment applications filed on or after that date, USCIS generally determines visa availability for CSPA age-calculation purposes using the Final Action Dates chart.
CSPA questions should be evaluated using the policy applicable to the date and procedural posture of the particular adjustment application.