Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing

How the bulletin itself works and how to find your cell is covered in the visa bulletin overview. How to determine your place in line is in the priority date article.

How Final Action Dates differ from Dates for Filing

The easiest way to remember: Table B opens the door, Table A opens the finish line.

Mixing up the tables is common, even among those who have already gone through part of the process:

There are two tables, one is final action date, the other is called filing date, I think. And you have to read the instructions to understand which one to use.

They compare the same thing with both tables: their priority date from the I-797 form.

If your case PD is C (Current) or the PD is earlier than the bulletin, then you can keep filling out the forms. If not, then you wait until it becomes Current.

Which table USCIS accepts this month

The choice of table is not your decision, nor your attorney's. Each month, USCIS posts an announcement on the filing charts page stating which of the two tables they accept for I-485 filing.

The practical result: the visa bulletin alone is not enough. Every time you plan to submit something, open two pages: the current bulletin on travel.state.gov and the filing charts page on the USCIS website.

What early filing under Dates for Filing gives you

If USCIS accepts Table B and your priority date is current under it, you can file the I-485 without waiting for Table A to become current. Your case will not be approved earlier than allowed, but you will receive two documents:

1. EAD (Employment Authorization Document) - authorization to work for any employer, not just your visa sponsor.
2. Advance Parole - the ability to leave and re-enter the US without abandoning your application.

Community members describe how this affects everyday life in a matter-of-fact way:

If the date is current, with AP and EAD you can fully live, work, and travel abroad.

There is a third, less obvious effect: once you file, your application is protected from date retrogression. If retrogression happens after you apply, your I-485 is not canceled. That's why you should use the early filing window right away and not postpone it.

For those who were ready for EB2NIW - as soon as it suddenly became current - they filed right away, not waiting and only now beginning to prepare.

Inside the US vs Abroad: Two Different Paths

Both tables are interpreted the same way, but what they allow depends on where you are.

The difference is significant. Inside the US, early filing immediately gives you work authorization, so the Table B window is valuable in itself. Abroad, early access lets you gather and send your packet sooner, but you still cannot have your interview scheduled until your date is current under Table A.

Further steps for both paths are discussed in the article what happens after petition approval.

Retrogression: what happens to already filed documents

Retrogression is when the date in the bulletin is moved back. This happens when it becomes clear that not enough visa numbers are left for the fiscal year, and it usually takes place in August and September, at the end of the fiscal year.

The first question that comes up: will already filed documents be lost? No.

If you have already filed the I-485, and then the dates move back (retrogression), your application is NOT denied. It is simply "frozen" (put on hold) at USCIS until your date becomes Current again. The application remains at the same service center. When your date becomes current again, processing will resume. USCIS recommends keeping your address up to date and reporting any changes.

This leads to a simple planning rule: if the window is open and you are ready, file your application. Having your filing frozen is an inconvenience, but missing an open window can mean losing months or even years.

It is also important to distinguish two concepts that are often confused. A lower cutoff in the bulletin does not mean they have reduced the annual quota. The cutoff and the quota are different things: the cutoff manages the queue and allocation of numbers, not the total annual limit.

Expediting the petition for a bulletin date is pointless

Premium processing only speeds up processing of the I-140 petition itself; it does not move your date forward or make a visa number available. If there is a backlog in your category, approval will not come before the bulletin date anyway.

Premium can get your documents accepted for review very quickly, but the approval will not come before the bulletin date. So for EB-2, it usually makes sense just to wait for your date, and expediting the petition is pointless.

The opposite misconception is just as common: people postpone filing the I-140 while the cutoff is not current in the bulletin. This is unnecessary. An unavailable visa number usually does not prevent you from filing the petition itself: for EB-1 and EB-2, your priority date is set by when USCIS receives your I-140, and you only need a current date for the next stage. The sooner you file the petition, the sooner you get your place in line.

Procedure: how to check the bulletin

1. Open the current bulletin at travel.state.gov and find your row (1st for EB-1, 2nd for EB-2 and NIW) and the column for your country of birth.
2. Open the filing charts page on the USCIS website and see which table they allow for I-485 filings this month.
3. Take the date from the relevant table and compare it to your priority date from the I-797 form.
4. If your date is earlier, take action: I-485 inside the US or documents to NVC and DS-260 abroad.
5. If your category shows C, there are no date restrictions, and you can file I-140 and I-485 together if you wish.
6. If your date is not current yet, return to step 1 next month: dates are updated monthly.

To avoid comparing bulletins manually, you can use the third-party service eb-timeline.space, which matches visa bulletins from different months for free and shows how many days the dates have advanced.

Conclusions

1. Table B (Dates for Filing) allows you to submit your application, while Table A (Final Action Dates) allows for final approval. These are two separate events, not just two versions of a single date.
2. USCIS decides which table applies each month and publishes it on the filing charts page. Filing based on the wrong table incurs filing fees.
3. Early filing of the I-485 using Table B provides EAD and Advance Parole and protects the pending application from date retrogression.
4. If you are abroad, an early date only gives you the right to send documents to the NVC. The interview will only be scheduled when Table A becomes current.
5. Retrogression does not cancel a pending I-485, but suspends it until the date becomes current again, so keeping your address updated in USCIS is important.
6. Premium processing does not move the date in the bulletin, and the bulletin queue does not prevent you from filing the I-140 petition.
7. Open dates in the bulletin do not guarantee you will get a visa: consular limitations exist separately from the queue.

Current EB-2 Priority Dates 2026

The dates change every month, so they are not repeated here: the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing charts for EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 (all other countries, China, India) and the month-by-month history of fiscal year 2026 are on the page Visa Bulletin: current dates. The same page says which of the two charts USCIS accepts for the I-485 this month.

EB-2 India Wait Time: The Backlog Explained

Why is the EB-2 India backlog so long, and is there any way to shorten your wait?

Why India Has the Longest Queue

The U.S. tech industry employs hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals on H-1B visas. Many have employer-sponsored green card applications in the EB-2 queue. The 7% per-country cap limits India to roughly 2,800 EB-2 visas per year against an estimated backlog of over 300,000 applicants. The queue grows faster than it can be processed.

Current Estimated Wait: Years, Not Months

In April and May 2026 the EB-2 India Final Action Date stood at July 15, 2014, from July through September 2026 the cell read U - no numbers, and the October 2026 bulletin sets it at November 1, 2013 (State Department bulletins, month-by-month table).

Think about Chinese applicants sitting in the EB-2 queue waiting 5-6 years, or Indians waiting 12+. The idea of passing green card queue rights to your children by inheritance was seriously discussed - that is how long the wait has become.

Cross-Chargeability: Using Your Spouse's Country of Birth

If your spouse was born in a country with better dates, you can use their country of birth. This is called cross-chargeability.

Will the Backlog Ever Clear?

Without legislative change, the EB-2 India backlog will not clear. Bills like the EAGLE Act and Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act have been introduced but never passed. Realistic alternatives:

1. EB-1 route - a much shorter queue for India (the October 2026 bulletin sets the Final Action Date at February 1, 2023) if you qualify for EB-1A
2. Cross-chargeability - if your spouse was born in a country with a shorter queue
3. EB-3 downgrade then upgrade - sometimes EB-3 India has better dates; port the priority date back to EB-2 later
4. Wait for legislation - stalled for years, but remains a possibility

Rest of World: EB-2 Is No Longer Current (October 2026 Bulletin)

What does the EB-2 retrogression mean for rest-of-world applicants (including Russia)?

What Changed in October 2026

From April through September 2026, EB-2 for all other countries read C (current) in the Final Action Dates chart - there was no bulletin queue. The October 2026 bulletin sets the EB-2 rest-of-world Final Action Date at January 1, 2025 and the Dates for Filing at March 15, 2026 (State Department bulletins, month-by-month table). In October 2026 USCIS accepts I-485 filings under the Dates for Filing chart.

In practice: you can file an I-485 in October if your priority date is earlier than March 15, 2026, but USCIS can approve the green card only once your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date (January 1, 2025 in October 2026). The dates change every month - check the current bulletin.

Why EB-2 Was Current and Why People Warned About It

While EB-2 stayed current, this was attributed to administration actions in 2025-2026 that reduced consular visa issuance worldwide (Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998, suspension for 75 countries): with fewer visas issued at consulates, more numbers went to I-485 filers inside the US. The warning was that the window could close and give way to retrogression - with the October 2026 bulletin, EB-2 for the rest of the world is no longer current.

Since EB-2 NIW became Current, I had everything ready to file over the weekend. The window might not stay open, so I did not wait.

How to Check for Monthly Updates

Where and when should you check for visa bulletin updates?

USCIS Visa Bulletin Page

The official source: travel.state.gov/visa-bulletin. New bulletins typically publish between the 10th and 18th of the preceding month.

USCIS Filing Charts

After the bulletin drops, check which table USCIS is using: uscis.gov filing charts.

Charles Oppenheim Predictions

Charles Oppenheim, former Chief of the State Department's Immigrant Visa Control Division, regularly predicted future bulletin movements before retiring in 2020. Immigration attorneys who worked with him continue sharing insights. Follow established law firms for monthly analysis.

Community Trackers and Forums

Immigration forums, Telegram groups, attorney blogs, and community spreadsheets track month-over-month movements. The EliteSkillset forum has active discussions about priority dates and filing strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Materials

Related materials - Wait for the decision

• How to track your case after filing an O-1/EB-1 petition
• RFE: What Is a Request for Evidence
• Why an RFE Comes: Causes and Statistics
• RFE response: how to answer USCIS step by step
• How to format evidence so USCIS counts it: real RFEs
• NOID: how to respond to a Notice of Intent to Deny
• What Happens After EB-1 / EB-2 Petition Approval
• How to Read the Visa Bulletin for EB-1 and EB-2
• Priority Date: How to Find It and What It Means
• The standards that trigger an RFE
• How the evidence was gathered
• Mandamus and Congress: what really works in case of delay
• USCIS uses AI: Claude, ELIS, ATLAS, and FOIA requests

All articles in «Wait for the decision»

Next stepInterview prepReach the interview calmly: question rehearsal with self-check plus a readiness checklist.

From community discussions

• «At my consulate they nitpicked at the fact that in one place we wrote My Device Inc instead of My Device, when it was about the period when the company wasn't registered yet, and they started pressing that we were thereby misleading them. So they really do look even at such small things.»

  Ksenia · from public community chats

• «If you're planning to hire a lawyer, then first find out whether your friends in America agree to such an adventure. Because all the effort could turn out to be useless.»

  community member · from public community chats

• «The lawyer's job: advise you on the right visa type based on your credentials, request materials from you per a list, properly package it all into a sellable case and file the petition. There's also a market factor - demand has spiked sharply, and lawyers may simply ignore new clients if the case isn't interesting to them or is too complex.»

  community member · from public community chats

Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.

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