- The US Citizenship and Immigration Services published a guide explaining how the Visa Bulletin works for prospective immigrants seeking lawful permanent residency
- The guide outlines how priority dates, preference categories, and country of chargeability determine whether an immigrant visa is currently available
- Specific codes in the Visa Bulletin indicate whether visas in a given category are immediately available, oversubscribed, or temporarily unavailable
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a detailed guide explaining how prospective immigrants can use the Visa Bulletin to confirm whether an immigrant visa is available before beginning the final steps of their application process.
The guide is directed at individuals seeking lawful permanent residency in the United States.
Source: UGC
It explains that because the number of people seeking immigrant visas far exceeds the supply, not every applicant can receive one immediately.
How long a person waits depends on three key factors: their priority date, their preference category, and the country to which their visa will be charged.
What the Visa Bulletin Shows
The Visa Bulletin, published monthly by the US Department of State, lists cut-off dates for each preference category and country.
An immigrant visa is considered available when an applicant's priority date falls earlier than the cut-off date shown for their specific category and country in the bulletin.
When demand for visas in a particular category exceeds the available supply, that category and country are classified as "oversubscribed," and a cut-off date is applied to control how many visas are issued.
The bulletin uses specific codes to communicate visa status at a glance. A "C" beside a category means visas are currently available to all qualified applicants in that group.
A "U" means visas in that category are temporarily unavailable.
Priority Dates and Preference Categories
An applicant's priority date is typically the date their petition was filed. For family-sponsored cases, this is when a relative submitted a petition on their behalf.
For employment-based cases, it is generally the date a labour certification application or immigrant petition was filed.
The USCIS guide covers priority dates for both family-sponsored and employment-based preference cases, and also addresses diversity lottery visas.
It further explains the concepts of visa retrogression, which occurs when cut-off dates move backwards due to increased demand, and concurrent filing, which allows certain applicants to file adjustment of status applications at the same time as the underlying petition.
The guide makes clear that confirming visa availability through the Visa Bulletin is a necessary step before an applicant can move forward with adjusting their status to that of a lawful permanent resident inside the United States.
US announces 1 green card route
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that US government's EB-1 visa category covers three types of applicants, but only one allows individuals to file their own petition without employer involvement.
Applicants under the Extraordinary Ability category must satisfy at least 3 of 10 set criteria, or present evidence of a major internationally recognised achievement.
Source: Legit.ng