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Visa bulletin Every line

EB-3, India

Where this line's cutoff stands, how it has moved a fiscal year at a time, and what USCIS counts behind it. From the State Department's bulletins, October 2014 to September 2026.

This month

Final action, September 2026
Jan 1, 2014
Dates for filing, September 2026
Jan 15, 2015
Across the archive
It moved 122 months of priority dates across 143 months of bulletins. It went backwards or shut 6 times, most recently in July 2023.

Final action decides when a green card can be approved; dates for filing, when USCIS allows it, decides when an I-485 can be filed. How the visa bulletin works.

Check your priority date

Is my priority date current?

And which way the cutoff has been moving. Cutoffs go backwards as well as forwards.

When a green card can actually be approved.

Reading the September 2026 visa bulletin.

These figures come from that bulletin and the ones before it. Cutoffs change every month, in both directions.

Open the current visa bulletin at travel.state.gov

How the cutoff has moved

Bulletin month along the bottom, the cutoff it published up the side. The shaded part of each column is the range of priority dates that qualified that month, so a taller column is a month more people were current in.

October 2014: cutoff November 15, 2003November 2014: cutoff November 22, 2003December 2014: cutoff December 1, 2003January 2015: cutoff December 15, 2003February 2015: cutoff December 22, 2003March 2015: cutoff January 1, 2004April 2015: cutoff January 8, 2004May 2015: cutoff January 15, 2004June 2015: cutoff January 22, 2004July 2015: cutoff February 1, 2004August 2015: cutoff June 1, 2004September 2015: cutoff December 22, 2004October 2015: cutoff March 8, 2004November 2015: cutoff April 1, 2004December 2015: cutoff April 22, 2004January 2016: cutoff May 15, 2004February 2016: cutoff June 15, 2004March 2016: cutoff July 15, 2004April 2016: cutoff August 8, 2004May 2016: cutoff September 1, 2004June 2016: cutoff September 22, 2004July 2016: cutoff October 22, 2004August 2016: cutoff November 8, 2004September 2016: cutoff February 15, 2005October 2016: cutoff March 1, 2005November 2016: cutoff March 8, 2005December 2016: cutoff March 15, 2005January 2017: cutoff March 15, 2005February 2017: cutoff March 22, 2005March 2017: cutoff March 22, 2005April 2017: cutoff March 24, 2005May 2017: cutoff March 25, 2005June 2017: cutoff May 15, 2005July 2017: cutoff February 15, 2006August 2017: cutoff July 15, 2006September 2017: cutoff October 15, 2006October 2017: cutoff October 15, 2006November 2017: cutoff October 15, 2006December 2017: cutoff October 15, 2006January 2018: cutoff November 1, 2006February 2018: cutoff December 1, 2006March 2018: cutoff January 1, 2007April 2018: cutoff February 1, 2008May 2018: cutoff May 1, 2008June 2018: cutoff May 1, 2008July 2018: cutoff November 1, 2008August 2018: cutoff January 1, 2009September 2018: cutoff January 1, 2003October 2018: cutoff January 1, 2009November 2018: cutoff January 1, 2009December 2018: cutoff March 1, 2009January 2019: cutoff March 1, 2009February 2019: cutoff April 22, 2009March 2019: cutoff May 22, 2009April 2019: cutoff June 22, 2009May 2019: cutoff July 1, 2009June 2019: cutoff July 1, 2009July 2019: cutoff July 1, 2009August 2019: cutoff January 1, 2006September 2019: cutoff July 1, 2005October 2019: cutoff January 1, 2009November 2019: cutoff January 1, 2009December 2019: cutoff January 1, 2009January 2020: cutoff January 1, 2009February 2020: cutoff January 8, 2009March 2020: cutoff January 15, 2009April 2020: cutoff January 22, 2009May 2020: cutoff March 1, 2009June 2020: cutoff April 1, 2009July 2020: cutoff June 1, 2009August 2020: cutoff October 1, 2009September 2020: cutoff October 1, 2009October 2020: cutoff January 15, 2010November 2020: cutoff March 1, 2010December 2020: cutoff March 15, 2010January 2021: cutoff March 22, 2010February 2021: cutoff April 1, 2010March 2021: cutoff July 1, 2010April 2021: cutoff September 1, 2010May 2021: cutoff February 1, 2011June 2021: cutoff November 1, 2011July 2021: cutoff January 1, 2013August 2021: cutoff July 1, 2013September 2021: cutoff January 1, 2014October 2021: cutoff January 1, 2014November 2021: cutoff January 15, 2012December 2021: cutoff January 15, 2012January 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012February 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012March 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012April 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012May 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012June 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012July 2022: cutoff January 15, 2012August 2022: cutoff February 15, 2012September 2022: cutoff February 15, 2012October 2022: cutoff April 1, 2012November 2022: cutoff April 1, 2012December 2022: cutoff June 15, 2012January 2023: cutoff June 15, 2012February 2023: cutoff June 15, 2012March 2023: cutoff June 15, 2012April 2023: cutoff June 15, 2012May 2023: cutoff June 15, 2012June 2023: cutoff June 15, 2012July 2023: cutoff January 1, 2009August 2023: cutoff January 1, 2009September 2023: cutoff January 1, 2009October 2023: cutoff May 1, 2012November 2023: cutoff May 1, 2012December 2023: cutoff May 1, 2012January 2024: cutoff June 1, 2012February 2024: cutoff July 1, 2012March 2024: cutoff July 1, 2012April 2024: cutoff August 15, 2012May 2024: cutoff August 15, 2012June 2024: cutoff August 22, 2012July 2024: cutoff September 22, 2012August 2024: cutoff October 22, 2012September 2024: cutoff October 22, 2012October 2024: cutoff November 1, 2012November 2024: cutoff November 1, 2012December 2024: cutoff November 8, 2012January 2025: cutoff December 1, 2012February 2025: cutoff December 15, 2012March 2025: cutoff February 1, 2013April 2025: cutoff April 1, 2013May 2025: cutoff April 15, 2013June 2025: cutoff April 15, 2013July 2025: cutoff April 22, 2013August 2025: cutoff May 22, 2013September 2025: cutoff May 22, 2013October 2025: cutoff August 22, 2013November 2025: cutoff August 22, 2013December 2025: cutoff September 22, 2013January 2026: cutoff November 15, 2013February 2026: cutoff November 15, 2013March 2026: cutoff November 15, 2013April 2026: cutoff November 15, 2013May 2026: cutoff November 15, 2013June 2026: cutoff December 15, 2013July 2026: cutoff January 1, 2014August 2026: cutoff January 1, 2014September 2026: cutoff January 1, 2014Cutoff date May 2002 Jul 2008 Aug 2014 Oct 2014 Oct 2018 Oct 2020 Sep 2022 Sep 2026Bulletin month
  • The cutoff that month
  • Dates that qualified

From the 144 visa bulletins published between October 2014 and September 2026.

What this can’t tell you

  • Enter a priority date to see where it sits against the cutoff.
  • It can’t tell you this month's cutoff. It holds archived bulletins only, and the archive itself stops at September 2026. Check the current bulletin before acting on any of it.

A fiscal year at a time

The final action cutoff in each year's first bulletin (October) against its last (September), the year the State Department plans visa numbers for. Newest first.

Fiscal year First bulletin Last bulletin Moved Steps back
FY2026 Aug 22, 2013 Jan 1, 2014 +132 days 0
FY2025 Nov 1, 2012 May 22, 2013 +202 days 0
FY2024 May 1, 2012 Oct 22, 2012 +174 days 0
FY2023 Apr 1, 2012 Jan 1, 2009 -1,186 days 1
FY2022 Jan 1, 2014 Feb 15, 2012 -686 days 1
FY2021 Jan 15, 2010 Jan 1, 2014 +1,447 days 0
FY2020 Jan 1, 2009 Oct 1, 2009 +273 days 0
FY2019 Jan 1, 2009 Jul 1, 2005 -1,280 days 2
FY2018 Oct 15, 2006 Jan 1, 2003 -1,383 days 1
FY2017 Mar 1, 2005 Oct 15, 2006 +593 days 0
FY2016 Mar 8, 2004 Feb 15, 2005 +344 days 0
FY2015 Nov 15, 2003 Dec 22, 2004 +403 days 0

What USCIS counts in this line

Approved petitions waiting for a visa number
106,214
as of June 2026, primary applicants
I-485s pending, visa number available
2,506 to 3,028
inventory of 2026-08-05
I-485s pending, waiting for a visa number
13,395
inventory of 2026-08-05

The approved count is USCIS's quarterly file and counts petitions, not people: no family members, and one person can hold more than one. The I-485 counts are USCIS's monthly inventory, where cells of 1 to 10 are withheld, so they're ranges. People getting their visa abroad aren't in the I-485 counts at all.

Count everyone ahead of your date in this line

Alert

Email me when my cutoff moves

Pick your category and country. When a new bulletin changes that final-action cutoff, we email the change, before and after. Nothing on the months it doesn't move.

Double opt-in: you confirm by email first, so an address can't be signed up by someone who doesn't control it, and one click opts out. We send one confirmation every 10 minutes per address - if nothing lands, wait that long before trying again.

Visa bulletin: adoption.state.gov (the State Department's own page, served to scripts; travel.state.gov refuses them) · data through Sep 2026 · monthly Cutoff dates as the State Department published them each month. Nothing here is forecast.

Petitions awaiting a visa: USCIS approved employment-based petitions awaiting a visa (uscis.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly Approved I-140, I-360 and I-526 petitions whose beneficiary is still waiting for a visa number, by preference and country of birth, as of the month USCIS states. Primary beneficiaries only, dependents excluded.

I-485 pending inventory has not refreshed in 54 days. It should update monthly, so the figures below are the last ones that arrived rather than the current ones. Source: USCIS employment-based I-485 inventory (uscis.gov) · data through Aug 5, 2026.

The rules behind these numbers

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