Visa Bulletin
Many U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders) apply for family members who are subject to visa caps each year. The categories of relatives subject to these caps includes: adult children of U.S. Citizens, siblings of U.S. Citizens and spouses and unmarried children of Legal Permanent Residents.
The Visa Bulletin is an important monthly publication put out by the Bureau of Consular Affairs that provides information on visa availability. The Bulletin contains the immigrant visa availability for many types of visas that are subject to annual numerical limitations, such as: family-based, employment-based and diversity-based applications for Legal Permanent Resident status (a “Green Card”).
If you have an application pending with USCIS based on family, employment or the diversity lottery, it is important to regularly check the Visa Bulletin. There may be deadlines that prevent you from obtaining Legal Permanent Resident status for yourself, your family or your employee. Petitioners are often not notified of these deadlines. It is important to consult with one of our immigration attorneys to obtain more information about any deadlines that could apply to your case.
Of note, USCIS and the Department of State recently revised the procedures for the Visa Bulletin. This led to significant confusion for petitioners and their beneficiaries. Our experienced immigration attorneys can also assist you in navigating this process to avoid unnecessary delays and denials.
Once your priority date is current on the Visa Bulletin, you can proceed with the consular processing portion of your case. This process involves proving to USCIS that the beneficiary is not ineligible for a visa. This involves a legal analysis of the beneficiary’s history and circumstances, which is best done by an immigration attorney.
The immigration attorneys at RA Law are experienced with navigating the Visa Bulletin and the National Visa Center. Contact one of our attorneys today at 612-333-3343 for a free consultation.
Find the most recent Visa Bulletin here.