Since October 2015, each Visa Bulletin has published two charts for the family and employment preference categories. They answer different questions, and confusing them is the most common way people misread the bulletin.
Final action date
The final action date is the cutoff for approving a case. When your priority date is earlier than the final action date for your category and country, a visa number is available: USCIS can approve an adjustment of status application, and a consulate can issue an immigrant visa.
This is the date that measures your wait. Every backlog figure, chart and wait history on this site uses the final action date. You can check both dates for your priority date.
Date for filing
The date for filing is earlier in the process. It tells you when you may submit your paperwork, so that the case is ready when your final action date arrives. It is usually later than the final action date in the same bulletin, which lets people file months or years before they can be approved.
For people applying from abroad, the National Visa Center uses the date for filing to invite applicants to submit their documents. For people in the United States filing Form I-485, USCIS decides each month which of the two charts it will accept. It announces the choice on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page, separately for family and employment cases. Some months USCIS accepts the date for filing chart; other months it requires the final action chart.
The two dates side by side
These are the current dates for some of the most watched categories. The gap between the two columns is how far ahead of approval you may be able to file:
| Category | Bulletin | Final action date | Date for filing | Backlog | Times moved back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-2 India | October 2026 | Nov 1, 2013 | Jan 15, 2015 | 12.9 yr | 19 |
| EB-3 India | October 2026 | Jan 1, 2014 | Jan 15, 2015 | 12.7 yr | 11 |
| EB-2 China | October 2026 | Oct 1, 2021 | Jan 1, 2023 | 5.0 yr | 9 |
| EB-3 China | October 2026 | Jan 8, 2022 | Apr 1, 2024 | 4.7 yr | 12 |
| F2B Mexico | October 2026 | May 15, 2010 | Mar 22, 2011 | 16.4 yr | 7 |
| F3 Philippines | October 2026 | Jul 22, 2006 | Oct 22, 2006 | 20.2 yr | 9 |
What filing early does and does not give you
Filing on the date for filing chart lets an I-485 applicant apply for a work permit and travel document while the application is pending. It does not move your priority date or your place in line. Approval still waits for the final action date.
The date for filing can also retrogress, and USCIS can switch charts from one month to the next. If you plan around the filing chart, check the USCIS chart page each month after the bulletin is released.
On this site, each green card wait page shows the latest date for filing next to the final action date, and each bulletin page reproduces both charts in full.