If like thousands of other American citizens who marry foreign spouses each year, you are looking to make a new beginning in the United States with your spouse, you came to the right place. We prepared this guide to help you understand the basic timeline of the complete application procedure to be aware of how long your marriage-based green card procedure will take and how to make life plans accordingly.
The final action date charts (for both family and employment) indicate which priority date has reached the front of the line. For example, if the chart says 08JUL15, that means green card applications filed before July 8, 2015, can now apply for approval. Applicants who qualify should apply for their green card immediately.
Generally, the cut-off dates in the Visa Bulletin indicate exactly where the front of the line is. If you have an application date earlier than the cut-off date, then you can apply for a green card. There is a catch/a condition though where the cut-off date could be moved backward.
Workers seeking employment green cards have two-time challenges. The first challenge is that the priority date of their application must be before the cutoff date set forth in the US Visa Bulletin. The second challenge is that the eligibility of the applicant for a visa or green card depends on the country of the applicant. Some countries (China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines, and possibly others) have limits on the percentage of available visas and green cards.
The Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication issued by the US Department of State. The visa bulletin discloses the following three items of information:
In the green card process of getting a permanent residence, the prospective immigrants should stay well-informed and track changes in immigrant numbers stated in the monthly U.S. Visa Bulletin, published by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). This document contains the priority dates for every preference category determined by the date when the petition is filled.
Understanding when you are able to file your application for Adjustment of Status (“AOS”) may seem confusing at a glance, but once you understand how to read the Visa Bulletin, it’s not as complicated as you think!
Each year, the USCIS sets a quota for family and employment-based visas. Once the quota is met, the USCIS stops issuing visas until the next fiscal year, thus creating a backlog of visa applicants. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference categories of family-sponsored immigrant visas. Classified as F2A category visas are qualified immigrants who are spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years old) of permanent resident aliens.
