Visa Bulletin Tracker: How to track priority dates and know if your US settlement application has come through yet

Visa Bulletin Tracker: How to track priority dates and know if your US settlement application has come through yet

For people waiting for US settlement documents under F1, F2A, F2B, F3 or F4 status, Priority Date is one of the most important information to monitor.

But just knowing Priority Date is not enough.

Applicants must also monitor Visa Bulletin each month to know where their priority date is compared to the cut-off date announced by the US Department of State.

The problem is that the Visa Bulletin changes from month to month.

There is a limit to progress.

Some months are almost unchanged.

There are times when the cut-off date may be pushed back.

If users only check manually when they remember, it is easy for users to miss an important change.

WHAT IS A BULLETIN VISA?

Visa Bulletin is a monthly information sheet published by the Department of State to show immigrant visa status and some types of adjustment of status under preference.

Family-sponsored preference areas that are often of interest to Vietnamese people include:

F1

F2A

F2B

F3

F4

Each category has its own visa limits.

In addition to visa status, the cut-off date may also vary depending on the chargeability area.

Therefore, it is not possible to look at the date of one profile and apply it to all documents.

WHAT IS PRIORITY DATE?

Priority Date is an important date used to determine the priority order of applications in the visa preference system.

For many family records, the Priority Date is often tracked by the sponsor or applicant over the years.

For example, a person with a Priority Date of August 2013 in the F3 category will not be able to just look at the current year to know if the application has come forward.

You need to compare the Priority Date with the cut-off date of the correct visa category and the correct table being applied.

WHAT IS FINAL ACTION DATE?

Final Action Date is one of the most important columns in the Visa Bulletin.

In principle, for restricted categories, visa numbers are only issued to people whose Priority Date is earlier than the published Final Action Date.

Hypothetical example:

The Priority Date of the profile is 10 AUG 2013.

Final Action Date is 15 AUG 2013.

In case all other conditions are suitable, this priority date is before the cut-off date.

But if the Final Action Date is 01 AUG 2013, the record has not yet reached its turn according to the Final Action Dates table.

The important point is to compare the correct date, correct category and correct chargeability area.

WHAT ARE DATES FOR FILING?

Dates for Filing is another table in the Visa Bulletin.

This table may allow applicants to prepare or submit documents earlier than the visa number can actually be issued, depending on the process applicable to the application.

For immigrant visas processed through NVC, the Department of State explains that people with a Priority Date earlier than the date in the Dates for Filing table may be allowed to begin gathering and submitting documents to NVC after receiving instructions from NVC.

For adjustment of status in the United States, USCIS's permission to use Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates must be checked according to each month's USCIS guidance.

Therefore, you should not see Dates for Filing advance and conclude that the visa is available.

THIS IS THE MISTAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE

There are two different questions:

“Can the application begin preparation or submit according to the applicable table?”

and

"Does the application have a visa number available to be granted a visa?"

These two questions do not always have the same answer.

Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates have different purposes.

Therefore, profile watchers need to know which board they are looking at.

WHAT DOES VISA BULLETIN AUGUST 2026 SHOW?

For example, in the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, the Department of State published Final Action Dates for the family-sponsored preference group.

For All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed, the August 2026 table shows:

F1: 15 DEC 2018

F2A: 22 JUL 2026

F2B: 01 JAN 2018

F3: MAY 15, 2012

F4: 01 SEP 2009

This is just data for a specific month.

These dates should not be used as fixed predictions for the following months.

The new Visa Bulletin should be checked each time the Department of State publishes a new update.

WHY VISA BULLETIN MAY INCREASE