The Visa Bulletin is a monthly report by the Department of state. In it, a priority date is published. This is understood as a person’s turn to receive a Family Sponsored Visa.
Said date corresponds to the date the family made the petition. This petition could have been filed at an office of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or at an embassy or consulate abroad.
What is the usefulness of the Visa Bulletin?
If you are waiting to obtain a resident card or for the result of any migratory process – be it your family’s or an employment sponsorship -, this bulletin will let you know how much time is left until your petition is approved.
Who does it apply to?
This applies to Family Sponsorships. However, petitions made by spouses, parents of American citizens and of unmarried children under the age of 21 are excluded.
How must this be interpreted?
- Find your type of Visa on the first column on the left.
- Stay on that column and go to the right to find the date that corresponds to your country of birth.
Take into account that:
- The Visa Bulletin allows the potential migrant to know their place in the Visa waiting list. To that purpose, it publishes the earliest date a number of Visas will be available for the different categories and counties.
- A petition shall be understood as available when its priority date precedes the due date published in the Visa Bulletin.
- A Visa must be available before a potential migrant carries out one of the final steps of the process to become a permanent resident.
There are more potential migrants interested in obtaining a Visa than the established limit. For that reason, not all potential migrants may obtain the Visa immediately. The time they shall wait will depend on their priority date