#priority-date

Tagged #priority-date

Every article we've published on this topic, sorted by the agency's own announcement date.

DOS

Visa Bulletin: Final Action Date vs Date for Filing, and When DOS Flips the DFF Toggle

What the two date charts in the monthly Visa Bulletin actually mean, when USCIS lets adjustment applicants use the Dates for Filing chart, and how DOS makes the call.

visa bulletin 6 min
DOS

EB-2 and EB-3 Cross-Chargeability: Using a Spouse's Birth Country to Escape Retrogression

How INA § 202(b) lets an India- or China-born EB-2 / EB-3 principal charge to a spouse's country of birth, with the timing and proof the consulate and USCIS expect.

visa bulletin 7 min
DOS

EB-2 ROW, India, and China: Priority-Date Math and Forecasting When a Date Goes Current

How the EB-2 annual cap, per-country limits, and unused-family-preference spillover combine to set the EB-2 cut-off dates for India, China, and the Rest of the World.

visa bulletin 7 min
USCIS

EB-3 to EB-2 Upgrade: Porting a Priority Date Through a Second PERM and I-140

Why employers file a second PERM and I-140 to upgrade an employee from EB-3 to EB-2 — how 8 CFR 204.5(e) priority-date porting works and what USCIS demands as proof.

employment based 7 min
DOS

Family Preference Categories F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4 — Eligibility and Priority-Date Cuts

How the four family-preference categories work under INA § 203(a), who falls in which, the annual caps that drive each line, and how F2A's spousal rule differs from the others.

family based 7 min
DOS

Reading the DOS Visa Bulletin: Family vs Employment Charts and the Country Columns

A working guide to the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin — the family and employment charts, the country columns, and how to translate priority dates into wait estimates.

visa bulletin 7 min
USCIS

AC21 §104(c): The 3-Year H-1B Extension Beyond the 6-Year Cap

When an approved I-140 in an oversubscribed category traps an H-1B worker past year six, AC21 §104(c) provides a 3-year extension. Here is the eligibility test, the documentary record, and the most common denials.

employment based 6 min
USCIS

EB-5 Priority-Date Math: Set-Asides, the RIA 2022 Carve-Outs, and the Reserved Categories on the Visa Bulletin

How the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 split EB-5 into Unreserved and three reserved set-asides — Rural, High-Unemployment, Infrastructure — and how priority dates run inside each.

employment based 7 min