Visa Bulletin history, month by month since 2001
Choose any bulletin from December 2001 to today and a category to see the cutoffs printed that month and where the same box stands now.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error
In the October 2015 bulletin
Not current
EB-2: advanced degree or exceptional ability
| Final Action Date | May 1, 2005 |
|---|---|
| Date for Filing | July 1, 2009 · yours did not |
| Became current later | March 2021, 5 years 5 months later |
Estimate from public data, not legal advice. Your case may differ (cross-chargeability, CSPA, waivers). For advice, see a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. Not affiliated with USCIS or the Department of State. Method and past error
Our archive holds 294 Visa Bulletins, from December 2001 to October 2026, each read from the State Department's own pages and stored as published. Five months are missing from the source we read (March 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2009, October 2012), and the calculations skip them rather than guess. The record shows a queue that rarely moves in a straight line. Employment categories went from current to unavailable between July and August 2007. Family cutoffs fell sharply in January 2011. A second chart, Dates for Filing, first appeared in October 2015. Several categories that had been current for years, F2A and EB-3 among them, retrogressed during 2023, and EB-1 India lost 121 months in a single bulletin in August 2023. EB-2 India has stepped back 19 times. Every forecast on this site is built from this archive, with its gaps marked.
Twenty-five years in one screen
Each of the 294 bulletins is stored the way it was printed: a date, Current (C) or Unavailable (U) in every box. Pick a month in the explorer and you see that month's charts beside today's. The table below the text lines up every October since 2002 for six of the most searched boxes, because October opens the fiscal year and makes the cleanest comparison from one year to the next.
The eras the archive shows
The early 2000s. In December 2001, a brother or sister born in the Philippines needed a priority date before November 1, 1979. Mexico was already on its own line, and in July 2005 it lurched back: F1 Mexico went from October 22, 1994 to January 1, 1983 in one bulletin.
July 2007. Nearly every employment box read Current (C); the next month they read Unavailable (U). No other month in the record shows the whole employment system opening and shutting so quickly.
January 2011. After a fast run in 2010, family cutoffs were pulled back: F2A for most of the world from August 1, 2010 to January 1, 2008, F3 from June 1, 2002 to January 1, 2001.
May 2012. EB-2 India and China fell from May 1, 2010 to August 15, 2007, then to Unavailable (U) the following month.
October 2015. The bulletin added Dates for Filing. That first month, EB-2 India read May 1, 2005 for approval and July 1, 2009 for filing, and USCIS began choosing each month which chart it accepts (USCIS filing charts).
2019 to 2022. F2A, spouses and children of green card holders, turned current in July 2019 and stayed there through the pandemic years, as did EB-3 for most countries for long stretches.
2023. The current boxes closed. F2A dropped to September 8, 2020 in April and October 8, 2017 in August; EB-3 worldwide to May 1, 2020; EB-1 India to January 1, 2012. Since 2001, EB-3 worldwide has stepped back 15 times and F2A 7 times.
Using the past without overreading it
The archive is what our forecasts learn from, and also a warning: every one of these episodes came after a period that looked steady. The retrogression guide explains why steps back happen, and the predictions page shows where the record is regular enough to forecast. Sources: the State Department Visa Bulletin index and its archive host.
October cutoffs, 2002 to today
| October of | F2A All other countries | F2B Mexico | F4 Philippines | EB-2 India | EB-3 India | EB-2 China (mainland born) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | July 15, 1997 | October 22, 1991 | October 8, 1981 | Current (C) | Current (C) | Current (C) |
| 2003 | September 15, 1998 | December 1, 1991 | September 22, 1981 | Current (C) | Current (C) | Current (C) |
| 2004 | May 1, 2000 | November 22, 1991 | May 22, 1982 | Current (C) | Current (C) | Current (C) |
| 2005 | November 1, 2001 | December 1, 1991 | May 1, 1983 | Current (C) | March 1, 2001 | Current (C) |
| 2006 | April 22, 2001 | February 15, 1992 | April 1, 1984 | June 15, 2002 | April 22, 2001 | April 1, 2005 |
| 2007 | November 15, 2002 | March 15, 1992 | July 8, 1985 | April 1, 2004 | April 22, 2001 | January 1, 2006 |
| 2008 | January 1, 2004 | April 22, 1992 | March 8, 1986 | April 1, 2003 | July 1, 2001 | April 1, 2004 |
| 2009 | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) |
| 2010 | April 1, 2010 | June 22, 1992 | April 1, 1991 | May 8, 2006 | January 15, 2002 | May 22, 2006 |
| 2011 | January 8, 2009 | November 22, 1992 | August 1, 1988 | July 15, 2007 | July 15, 2002 | July 15, 2007 |
| 2012 | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) | Unavailable (U) |
| 2013 | September 8, 2013 | March 8, 1994 | March 22, 1990 | June 15, 2008 | September 22, 2003 | September 15, 2008 |
| 2014 | February 1, 2013 | August 1, 1994 | April 8, 1991 | May 1, 2009 | November 15, 2003 | November 15, 2009 |
| 2015 | April 15, 2014 | August 1, 1995 | May 1, 1992 | May 1, 2005 | March 8, 2004 | January 1, 2012 |
| 2016 | December 22, 2014 | October 1, 1995 | April 15, 1993 | January 15, 2007 | March 1, 2005 | February 15, 2012 |
| 2017 | October 22, 2015 | July 15, 1996 | June 1, 1994 | September 15, 2008 | October 15, 2006 | May 22, 2013 |
| 2018 | August 22, 2016 | May 15, 1997 | June 8, 1995 | March 26, 2009 | January 1, 2009 | April 1, 2015 |
| 2019 | Current (C) | August 1, 1998 | July 8, 1998 | May 12, 2009 | January 1, 2009 | January 1, 2015 |
| 2020 | Current (C) | April 8, 1999 | January 1, 2002 | September 1, 2009 | January 15, 2010 | March 1, 2016 |
| 2021 | Current (C) | March 15, 2000 | August 22, 2002 | September 1, 2011 | January 1, 2014 | July 1, 2018 |
| 2022 | Current (C) | April 1, 2001 | August 22, 2002 | April 1, 2012 | April 1, 2012 | June 8, 2019 |
| 2023 | February 8, 2019 | January 1, 2002 | August 22, 2002 | January 1, 2012 | May 1, 2012 | October 1, 2019 |
| 2024 | November 22, 2021 | January 15, 2005 | February 1, 2004 | July 15, 2012 | November 1, 2012 | March 22, 2020 |
| 2025 | February 1, 2024 | December 15, 2007 | March 22, 2006 | April 1, 2013 | August 22, 2013 | April 1, 2021 |
| 2026 | September 22, 2026 | May 15, 2010 | May 15, 2008 | November 1, 2013 | January 1, 2014 | October 1, 2021 |