USCIS Visa Bulletin: What the Monthly USCIS Notice Actually Decides for AOS Filers

There is no separate "USCIS visa bulletin." USCIS does not publish the bulletin — the bulletin comes from the State Department. What USCIS publishes is one short notice each month deciding which of the bulletin's two charts I-485 (adjustment-of-status) filers may use that month. That single decision shifts AOS filing windows by months.

The bulletin's two charts, in 30 seconds

• Final Action Dates (Chart A) — cutoff for green-card approval. Visa number available; case can be adjudicated.
• Dates for Filing (Chart B) — earlier cutoff for when USCIS may accept the I-485 paperwork, even though the number is not yet available.

Each month USCIS posts a one-paragraph notice at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo saying, per category (EB or family), "use Chart A" or "use Chart B." That is the entire content of the notice. The chart selection only affects AOS filers inside the U.S. — consular processing always uses Final Action Dates.

Why the chart choice matters

The gap between Chart A and Chart B can be a year or more in backlogged categories (India EB-2, China EB-3, F2B Philippines). When USCIS allows Chart B, an AOS filer can:

• File I-485 a year or more earlier than their visa number actually becomes available.
• File I-765 (EAD) and I-131 (Advance Parole) alongside — work authorization decoupled from H-1B/L-1, plus travel flexibility.
• Lock in CSPA age for derivative children before they turn 21.
• Use AC21 to change jobs once the I-485 has been pending 180 days.

How to tell where you stand today

Reading the bulletin is two lookups: your category × your chargeability country. The per-country pages on this site show both charts overlaid plus a 12-month projection — pick whichever applies:

• India — employment-based
• China — employment-based
• Philippines — employment-based
• Mexico — employment-based
• All other countries — employment-based
• Family-sponsored — all countries

On each page: switch Action Type between "Final Action" and "Filing" to compare the two charts side by side. The projection table shows the model's estimated cutoff at the next bulletin, 6 months, and 12 months out — which answers "when does my I-485 window open under each chart?"

Historical prediction accuracy → How the model works →

Two questions people ask

What if USCIS picks Chart A this month but I filed under Chart B last month?

Filings USCIS accepted in a prior month stay pending. The chart change only affects new filings in the current month. Your pending I-485 still waits for Final Action Dates to reach your priority date before it can be approved — that part never changes.

Can I predict which chart USCIS will pick next month?

USCIS picks Chart B when their pending-I-485 inventory is low (to let more cases in) and Chart A when it is full (to slow intake). Their inventory is not published in real time, so chart selection is harder to predict than the underlying cutoff movement. The projection on this site forecasts cutoffs, not chart selection — but cutoff projections under both charts are usually the more actionable number anyway, because once your priority date passes either cutoff the chart selection is no longer a constraint.