What is the Visa Bulletin? How Do I Read It?
The Visa Bulletin is an important resource for anyone with a pending immigrant application or petition. The Bulletin is updated on a monthly basis and can be found here.
The Visa Bulletin is organized according to preference categories depending on whether the petition is family- or employment-based and the basis for the application. Furthermore, there are certain countries that have their own column in the Bulletin because there are so many applications and petitions pending for individuals from those countries (India, China, the Philippines, and Mexico).
If the Bulletin has the letter “C,” it means that there is an available immigrant visa for an individual in that specific preference. If a date is listed, it means that the individual must wait until his or her priority date is the same or earlier than the date listed. For example, if a man has a priority date of April 12, 2020 and the date in the Visa Bulletin is April 2018, he must wait until the date April 2020 becomes current to warrant further action in the application process.
For your own reference, below are the preference categories and their definitions.
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:
A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First: Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
Second: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.
Third: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "*Other Workers".
Fourth: Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.
Fifth: Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.
