Author:
Updated
May 13, 2022

May 2022 US Visa Bulletin Archive

Read the May Visa Bulletin changes to find out if you can apply for a green card this month.

The U.S. Department of State released its Visa Bulletin for May 2022. 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:

Family-based categories

Employment-based categories

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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 May, family-based applicants must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website). Employment-based visa applicants must also use the Dates for Filing, 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
15-May-16
15-May-16
No Change
China
15-May-16
15-May-16
No Change
India
15-May-16
15-May-16
No Change
Mexico
1-May-01
1-May-01
-1 month
Philippines
22-Apr-15
22-Apr-15
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

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 sees 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-Sep-16
22-Sep-16
No Change
China
22-Sep-16
22-Sep-16
No Change
India
22-Sep-16
22-Sep-16
No Change
Mexico
1-May-01
22-Apr-01
-1 week
Philippines
1-Oct-13
1-Oct-13
No Change

This category sees no change 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-Aug-09
22-Aug-09
No Change
China
22-Aug-09
22-Aug-09
No Change
India
22-Aug-09
22-Aug-09
No Change
Mexico
1-Mar-01
1-Mar-01
No Change
Philippines
8-Nov-03
8-Nov-03
No Change

This category sees no change 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
22-Feb-06
22-Feb-06
No Change
Mexico
1-Mar-01
22-Dec-00
-2 months, 21 days
Philippines
22-Apr-04
22-Apr-04
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a change of 2 months, 21 days.

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
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 sees no change for all countries.

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
1-Apr-19
1-Apr-19
No Change
Central America
No wait
No wait
No Change
India
1-Dec-14
1-Sept-14
-3 months
Mexico
No wait
No wait
No Change
Philippines
No wait
No wait
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except India, which sees a change of 3 months.

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
1-Apr-18
1-Apr-18
No Change
Central America
No wait
No wait
No Change
India
22-Jan-12
22-Jan-12
No Change
Mexico
No wait
No wait
No Change
Philippines
No wait
No wait
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category and the EB-5 “investors” category, all countries remain current or see no change.

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
15-Jun-17
15-Jun-17
No Change
 
India
No wait
No wait
No Change
 
Mexico
No wait
No wait
No Change
 
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
No wait
No wait
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
No wait
No wait
No Change

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.

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The U.S. Department of State released its Visa Bulletin for May 2022. 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:

Family-based categories

Employment-based categories

{{newsletter-component}}

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 May, family-based applicants must use the “Dates for Filing” (available on the State Department’s website). Employment-based visa applicants must also use the Dates for Filing, 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
15-May-16
15-May-16
No Change
China
15-May-16
15-May-16
No Change
India
15-May-16
15-May-16
No Change
Mexico
1-May-01
1-May-01
-1 month
Philippines
22-Apr-15
22-Apr-15
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

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 sees 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-Sep-16
22-Sep-16
No Change
China
22-Sep-16
22-Sep-16
No Change
India
22-Sep-16
22-Sep-16
No Change
Mexico
1-May-01
22-Apr-01
-1 week
Philippines
1-Oct-13
1-Oct-13
No Change

This category sees no change 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-Aug-09
22-Aug-09
No Change
China
22-Aug-09
22-Aug-09
No Change
India
22-Aug-09
22-Aug-09
No Change
Mexico
1-Mar-01
1-Mar-01
No Change
Philippines
8-Nov-03
8-Nov-03
No Change

This category sees no change 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
22-Feb-06
22-Feb-06
No Change
Mexico
1-Mar-01
22-Dec-00
-2 months, 21 days
Philippines
22-Apr-04
22-Apr-04
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except Mexico, which sees a change of 2 months, 21 days.

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
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 sees no change for all countries.

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
1-Apr-19
1-Apr-19
No Change
Central America
No wait
No wait
No Change
India
1-Dec-14
1-Sept-14
-3 months
Mexico
No wait
No wait
No Change
Philippines
No wait
No wait
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries except India, which sees a change of 3 months.

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
1-Apr-18
1-Apr-18
No Change
Central America
No wait
No wait
No Change
India
22-Jan-12
22-Jan-12
No Change
Mexico
No wait
No wait
No Change
Philippines
No wait
No wait
No Change

This category sees no change for all countries.

In the EB-4 “special immigrants” category and the EB-5 “investors” category, all countries remain current or see no change.

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
15-Jun-17
15-Jun-17
No Change
 
India
No wait
No wait
No Change
 
Mexico
No wait
No wait
No Change
 
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
No wait
No wait
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
No wait
No wait
No Change

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.

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Alison Moodie
Head of Content

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