The Visa Bulletin is issued by the U.S. Department of State and contains detailed information on the availability of immigrant visa numbers. The U.S. has placed legal limits on how many foreign nationals can immigrate each year. These limits apply to the family-based, employment-based, and diversity lottery categories.

What is a Priority Date?

A priority date is a date when a case was initiated/filed to either the USCIS or the DOL. For family-based applicants, this is the date the USCIS first received the immigrant petition filed on the foreign national’s behalf. For employment-based applicants, this is the date PERM (an application for labor certification) is received by the DOL or the date an immigrant preference petition (Form I-140) was filed if no labor certification is required.

What is a cutoff date?

In the visa bulletin, there are charts that list dates by category and country under the family-based and employment-based immigrant applications. These dates are known as cutoff dates. The State Department determines the cutoff dates by viewing the priority date of the first applicant who could not file for adjustment of status due to the previous month’s dates and quota.

What is the significance of the priority dates and the cutoff dates?

For those foreign nationals who are subject to the annual immigrant visa quota, the priority date and the cutoff date determine when they can file an application to adjust status to permanent resident (Form I-485) or Consular Processing. To be eligible for a visa number, the priority date must fall before the cutoff date (being current). Otherwise, they must wait until the cutoff date passes their priority date.

For example, you are applying for first preference family-based immigration with a priority date of 06/04/2019. According to the State Department, the cutoff date for this group is currently 01/01/2018. Since your priority date is not earlier than the cutoff date, you must wait to apply for adjustment of status until the cutoff date passes the priority date.

Or you are applying for fourth preference employment-based immigration with a priority date of 06/12/2018. The State Department has the cutoff date for this category listed as “current.” This means that all qualified applicants may adjust status or consular process, regardless of priority date. Thus you can apply for adjustment of status as soon as you wish.

Who should pay close attention to their priority dates and who may not?

Those foreign nationals who are subject to the annual immigrant visa quota should pay attention to their priority dates; this includes both family-based and employment=-based categories. However, the visa numbers for the first preference in employment-based immigrant petition (EB-1, aliens with extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational executives), the fourth preference (EB-4, certain special immigrants), the fifth preference (EB-5 investors) and the religious workers in employment-based immigrant petition are usually “current” all the time. Thus, qualified EB-1, EB-4, and EB-5 applicants are able to adjust status or consular process at any time.
Applicants who are immediate family members of U.S. citizens (parents, spouses, and unmarried children under the age of 21 of U.S. citizens) need not concern themselves with the priority date because they are not subject to the annual immigrant visa quota.

Visa Bulletins are updated on a monthly basis. The most recent U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html.