The Visa Bulletin becomes much easier once you stop asking one chart to answer every question. The Department of State and USCIS use the bulletin for related but not identical decisions.
Quick conclusion
- Want to know when a visa or Green Card may actually be approved? Look at Final Action Dates.
- Want to know whether you may prepare and sometimes file earlier? Look at Dates for Filing, but only after checking the USCIS monthly chart-selection page.
- Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens generally do not live inside these numerical waiting lines. The bulletin matters most for preference categories.
Comparison criteria
This comparison was checked on 2026-07-27 against Department of State and USCIS guidance. The main issues are what each chart controls, who uses it, how priority date and country of chargeability affect it, and what a chart does not mean.
Comparison table
| Question | Final Action Dates | Dates for Filing |
|---|---|---|
| What does it answer? | Whether a visa number is available for approval or issuance | Whether applicants may be told to assemble or submit documents earlier |
| Who uses it? | USCIS and consular processing for actual final action | National Visa Center and, in some months, USCIS adjustment applicants |
| What date do you compare? | Your priority date versus the cutoff date | Your priority date versus the filing-date chart, if USCIS allows it |
| What does it not mean? | It does not waive all other eligibility rules | It does not mean a Green Card can be approved immediately |
Chart analysis
Final Action Dates
Final Action Dates answer the “can the government finish this case now?” question. If your priority date is earlier than the listed cutoff, a visa number may be available for final approval, assuming the rest of the case is approvable.
That is why applicants who only look at Dates for Filing often misread their place in line. Filing readiness and final availability are not the same thing.
Dates for Filing
Dates for Filing serve an earlier-stage function. DOS uses them to tell applicants when to gather and submit immigrant-visa paperwork. USCIS may also let adjustment applicants in the United States use that chart in some months when visa-number demand allows it.
The important catch is that USCIS makes that decision monthly. You cannot assume that because the Dates for Filing chart exists, you may always use it for Form I-485.
Priority date and country of chargeability
USCIS explains that numerically limited categories are affected by preference category, country of chargeability, and annual visa limits. Your priority date is your place in line; the chart tells you whether the line has moved far enough for your case.
Recommendations by scenario
You are filing adjustment of status inside the United States
Read the monthly DOS Visa Bulletin and the USCIS chart-selection page. USCIS decides whether family-based and employment-based filers may use Final Action Dates or Dates for Filing that month.
You are going through consular processing abroad
The Visa Bulletin still matters, but the workflow is different. Dates for Filing may allow document collection earlier, while final immigrant-visa issuance still waits for final visa availability.
You are comparing category backlogs
Do not compare only one headline date. Country limits and preference categories can create very different queues, even for the same overall immigration path.
Limitations and FAQ
- A current chart position does not approve the case by itself. All other eligibility rules still matter.
- Charts can move backward. Retrogression is part of the system.
- USCIS chart selection changes monthly. For example, USCIS says that for August 2026, family-sponsored adjustment applicants use the Dates for Filing chart, while employment-based adjustment applicants use the Final Action Dates chart.
- Immediate relatives are different. USCIS explains that visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not numerically limited in the same way.
Sources and update date
Checked on 2026-07-27 against the Department of State Visa Bulletin page, USCIS visa-availability guidance, and the USCIS adjustment-of-status filing-chart page.