Visa Bulletin Chart A vs Chart B: What Final Action Dates and Filing Dates Mean

Chart A lists the final action dates, which represent the cutoff priority dates that must be met before USCIS can actually approve an adjustment of status application or before a consular officer can issue an immigrant visa. This is the chart that ultimately controls whether your case can be finally approved, regardless of when you were allowed to file. Chart A dates reflect the pace at which the Department of State is actually allocating final immigrant visa numbers for the category and country in a given month, and they are recalculated monthly based on updated demand and number availability throughout the fiscal year. Because Chart A numbers are tied directly to the finite annual allocation for each category and country combination, they tend to move more conservatively than Chart B, and can even retrogress if filing volume runs ahead of the pace the Department of State can sustain for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Chart B lists the dates for filing, which represent an earlier, more generous cutoff that determines only whether you are permitted to submit your Form I-485 application in a given month, not whether it can be approved. Chart B exists to let applicants get into the system earlier, submitting biometrics, medical exams, and gaining eligibility for interim benefits like an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole travel document, even while their final approval waits for their priority date to become current under Chart A. Because Chart B dates are typically set further ahead than Chart A dates, being eligible to file under Chart B does not mean your case will be approved soon, only that you can begin the process and obtain the interim benefits that come with a pending I-485.

Each month, USCIS announces on its website whether applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B) or must use the Final Action Dates chart (Chart A) to determine I-485 filing eligibility for that specific month, and this determination can change from month to month. When USCIS designates Chart B as usable, applicants whose priority date is earlier than the Chart B cutoff for their category and country may file I-485, even if their date is not yet current under Chart A. When USCIS designates that only Chart A applies for a given month, applicants must wait until their priority date is current under the more restrictive Chart A cutoff before filing. This decision is separate from and made independently of the Department of State's monthly bulletin publication itself.

To determine your status in a given month, first locate the current month's Visa Bulletin and find your specific category (such as EB-2 or EB-3) and country of birth column under both Chart A and Chart B. Compare your priority date against the Chart A cutoff to determine whether your case can be finally approved that month. Then check the current USCIS filing announcement to see which chart governs I-485 filing eligibility for that month, and compare your priority date against whichever chart is designated. If your priority date is earlier than the applicable cutoff, you are considered current for that specific purpose. Because the filing chart designation and the bulletin itself update monthly and independently, checking both sources fresh each month rather than relying on memory of a prior month's rules is the most reliable approach.