If you are applying for immigration procedures in the U.S., the visa bulletin from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an essential tool. It informs about the USCIS nonimmigrant visa availability in each category. Additionally, it allows checking priority dates to make better decisions about when is better to apply reducing the waiting times.
If you want to know how the visa bulletin works, and how it can help you,¡Do not miss this article!
How to know the availability of USCIS nonimmigrant visas?
To accomplish certain immigration procedures, for example, an adjustment of status, it is important to know:
- ¿What is the nonimmigrant visa category you are applying for?
- ¿Has USCIS the visa for the category you are applying for, at this moment?
Monthly, USCIS offers several visas according to the nonimmigrant categories. To accept a visa application in a certain category, there must be more offers than demands. Therefore, USCIS cannot respond to your nonimmigrant visa application if the category to which you are applying, at that time, does not have visa availability.
To know the availability of visas for immigrants you should consult the updates of the visa bulletin on the USCIS website.
What is the USCIS Visa Bulletin?
The Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication that provides information on the availability of nonimmigrant visas in each category. Visa categories include family, employment, diversity, and refugee/asylee.
This bulletin is divided into Table A, which shows the priority current dates for each visa category, and Table B, which shows the priority dates retrograde. Priority dates refer to the date the immigration petition was filed with USCIS.
How to use the USCIS Visa Bulletin?
Nonimmigrant visas are assigned in order of priority, starting with the earliest priority dates. If your visa category appears in Table A and your priority date is before the current cut-off date, then there are visas available for your category. If your priority date is after the cut-off date, then you must wait until visas are available in your category.
If your visa category appears in Table B, it means that there is a downgrade because the current priority dates are Older than the priority dates shown in the previous Visa Bulletin. In this case, you may need to wait longer to receive your nonimmigrant visa.
Advantages of using the Visa Bulletin
The Visa Bulletin is an important tool for immigration applicants and their sponsors since this allows make informed decisions. Some of the practical applications of the Visa Bulletin are:
1. To plan when to submit your visa application:
The visa bulletin allows you to plan when to apply. If an applicant's priority date is close to the current cut-off date, they may want to apply immediately to ensure they will be assigned a visa before the cut-off date moves back.
2. To predict the waiting time for getting your nonimmigrant visa:
With this tool, you can also evaluate how long will you have to wait to receive your nonimmigrant visa. If an applicant's priority date is too far from the current cut-off date, then they may have to wait several months or even years to receive their immigrant visa.
In this case, the applicant may choose to explore other visa options or look for ways to speed up the immigration process, such as applying for a visa application. expedited processing.
3. Keep you informed about updates on court dates:
The Visa Bulletin also provides monthly updates on changes in court dates for each visa category. Immigration applicants and their sponsors need to be aware of these changes, as they can have a significant impact on the wait time to receive an immigrant visa.
4. Obtain information about visa requirements:
With this tool, you can also get information on the specific requirements for each category of visa. For example, some visa categories may require a certain amount of work experience or education to be eligible. This way, you can ensure that you meet the requirements before submitting your immigration application.
