The U.S. Department of State released its Visa Bulletin for March 2021. That’s a big deal if you’re waiting for your priority date to be current so that your green card application can move forward.
If you don’t know what a “visa bulletin” or a “priority date” is, we’ve got you covered. Start by checking out the Boundless guide on How to Read the Visa Bulletin.
If you’re already familiar with those terms, scroll down to our summary of key developments or to the filing category that’s most relevant to you:
- F-1: Unmarried Children (Age 21 and Older) of U.S. Citizens
- F-2A: Spouses and Unmarried Children (Under Age 21) of U.S. Green Card Holders
- F-2B: Unmarried Children (Age 21 or Older) of U.S. Green Card Holders
- F-3: Married Children of U.S. Citizens
- F-4: Siblings of U.S. Citizens
- EB-1: Extraordinary People, Outstanding Researchers and Professors, and Multinational Executives and Managers
- EB-2: Exceptional People and Advanced Degree Holders
- EB-3: Bachelor’s Degree Holders, Skilled Workers, and Unskilled Workers
- EB-4: Special Immigrants
- EB-5: Investors
Every month, USCIS announces whether applicants already living in the United States should file their “adjustment of status” applications based on the “Final Action Dates” or the “Dates for Filing.”
For March, all family-based applicants — except those in the F-2A category — must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website), whereas F-2A must use the “Final Action Dates.” Employment-based visa applicants must use the “Final Action Dates, as must applicants filing from outside the United States.
Family-Based Green Card Backlogs
F-1: UNMARRIED CHILDREN (AGE 21 AND OLDER) OF U.S. CITIZENS
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | 8-Aug-15 | 8-Aug-15 | No change |
| China | 8-Aug-15 | 8-Aug-15 | No change |
| India | 8-Aug-15 | 8-Aug-15 | No change |
| Mexico | 1-Mar-00 | 1-Mar-00 | No change |
| Philippines | 22-Oct-12 | 22-Oct-12 | No change |
- No countries advance this month, therefore all countries retain the same priority date.
F-2A: SPOUSES AND UNMARRIED CHILDREN (UNDER AGE 21) OF U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDERS
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| China | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| India | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| Mexico | No wait | No wait | No Change |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No Change |
- This category has seen no change, with all countries remaining current.
F-2B: unmarried children (age 21 or older) of U.S. green card holders
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | 22-May-16 | 22-May-16 | No change |
| China | 22-May-16 | 22-May-16 | No change |
| India | 22-May-16 | 22-May-16 | No change |
| Mexico | 22-Dec-99 | 22-Dec-99 | No change |
| Philippines | 15-Apr-12 | 15-Apr-12 | No change |
This category sees no change, which means no movement for all countries.
F-3: married children of U.S. citizens
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | 22-Jun-09 | 22-Jun-09 | No change |
| China | 22-Jun-09 | 22-Jun-09 | No change |
| India | 22-Jun-09 | 22-Jun-09 | No change |
| Mexico | 8-Sep-00 | 8-Sep-00 | No change |
| Philippines | 8-Jan-03 | 8-Jan-02 | No change |
- This category sees no change, which means no movement for all countries.
F-4: siblings of U.S. citizens
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | 1-Oct-07 | 1-Oct-07 | No change |
| China | 1-Oct-07 | 1-Oct-07 | No change |
| India | 1-Dec-05 | 1-Dec-05 | No change |
| Mexico | 8-May-99 | 8-May-99 | No change |
| Philippines | 1-Oct-02 | 1-Oct-02 | No change |
- This category sees no change, which means no movement for all countries.
EB-1: extraordinary people, outstanding researchers and professors, and multinational executives and managers
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | No wait | No wait | No change |
| China | 1-Aug-20 | 1-Jan-20 | -7 months |
| Central America | No wait | No wait | No change |
| India | 01Aug20 | 01Jan20 | -7 months |
| Mexico | No wait | No wait | No change |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No change |
| Vietnam | No wait | No wait | No change |
Most countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) and two see movement in this category:
- No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines.
- Seven-month advance for India and China.
EB-2: exceptional people and advanced degree holders
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | No wait | No wait | No change |
| China | 15-Jul-16 | 15-Jun-16 | -1 month |
| Central America | No wait | No wait | No change |
| India | 15-Jan-10 | 12-Oct-09 | -3 months, 3 days |
| Mexico | No wait | No wait | No change |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No change |
| Vietnam | No wait | No wait | No change |
Most countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) and two see movement in this category:
- No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines.
- Three-month advance for India and one-month advance for China.
EB-3: bachelor’s degree holders, skilled workers, and unskilled workers
| Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Category | No wait | No wait | No change |
| China | 8-Feb-18 | 1-Jan-18 | -1 month, 1 week |
| Central America | No wait | No wait | No change |
| India | 1-Jul-10 | 1-Apr-10 | -3 months |
| Mexico | No wait | No wait | No change |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No change |
| Vietnam | No wait | No wait | No change |
Most countries remain current (meaning there is no wait) and two see movement in this category:
- No wait for the General Category, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines.
- One-month advance for China and three-month advance for India.
In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category, most countries remain current, and Central America and Mexico advance.
In the EB-5 category almost all countries remain current, except for Vietnam, which sees a three-week advance, while China remains static.
| Category | Country | New Cut-off Date | Old Cut-off Date | Change in Wait Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-4: Special Immigrants | General Category | No wait | No wait | No change |
| China | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| Central America | 01Jun18 | 15Apr18 | -1 month, 2 weeks, 3 days | |
| India | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| Mexico | 1-Jan-19 | 15-Dec-18 | -2 weeks, 3 days | |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| Vietnam | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| EB-5: Investors | General Category | No wait | No wait | No change |
| China | 15-Aug-15 | 15-Aug-15 | No change | |
| Central America | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| India | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| Mexico | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| Philippines | No wait | No wait | No change | |
| Vietnam | 22-Oct-17 | 1-Oct-17 | -21 days |
Why This Matters
If you’re in line for a green card, it’s important to keep track of actual changes (and likely future developments) in the Visa Bulletin. It’s always a good idea to prepare all the documents needed for your green card application ahead of time, so you can be ready to file as quickly as possible once the Visa Bulletin shows that a green card is available to you. By failing to file in a month when a green card is available, you risk facing a surprise backward movement (“retrogression”) in the next Visa Bulletin, which would close your window of opportunity for filing a green card application. Stay tuned for next month’s update! As always, we’ll highlight all the important changes for you.