F1 — China (mainland-born)
In the July 2026 Visa Bulletin, F1 for China (mainland-born) has a Final Action Dates cut-off of 1 February 2018 and a Dates for Filing cut-off of 1 January 2019. The Final Action cut-off has been advancing, so the page shows its measured pace and what that pace would imply for a given priority date — as an estimate, never a prediction. This page carries the full published history State printed for this combination: 254 Final Action Dates bulletins back to January 2005, and 130 Dates for Filing bulletins back to October 2015 — every cut-off, every month it moved, and the exact text State printed in each cell. It reports what was published; it is not legal advice.
Source bulletin July 2026 U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs — Visa Bulletin. A work of the U.S. Government, in the public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). Every figure below is the one State printed, kept with its exact source text.
The July 2026 cut-offs
State publishes two charts for F1, and they are not interchangeable. Both are shown here as printed. China (mainland-born) has its own column because demand from applicants chargeable there exceeds the per-country limit, so its cut-offs are usually further behind than the "all other countries" column.
- Final Action Dates
1 February 2018
When a visa can actually be issued. From the July 2026 bulletin · State printed this cell as 01FEB18
- Dates for Filing
1 January 2019
When the application may be submitted. From the July 2026 bulletin · State printed this cell as 01JAN19
This is not legal advice This page republishes cut-off dates exactly as the State Department published them. It cannot tell you what will happen to your case, and being current in a chart is not the same as a visa being issued. Cut-off dates routinely stall, and they can move backward without warning. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney.
Final Action Dates
The chart that decides whether a visa can be issued. State has published a Final Action Dates figure for F1 / China (mainland-born) in 254 bulletins since January 2005.
Final Action Dates: when would a priority date be reached?
The cut-off to compare against The Final Action Dates cut-off in the July 2026 bulletin is 1 February 2018. A priority date earlier than that has been reached.
Enter a priority date to compare it against the July 2026 cut-off of 1 February 2018.
Any estimate here is an estimate Estimate only. It projects the cut-off forward at its average pace over the trailing published bulletins and assumes that pace holds. It is not a prediction and not a guarantee: cut-off dates routinely stall, and they can move BACKWARD (retrogress) without warning. Not legal advice.
How fast has this cut-off actually moved?
| Window | Bulletins used | Total movement | Average per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last 3 bulletins April 2026 – July 2026 | 3 of 3 carried a measurable move | 276 days forward | about 92 days forward |
| Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 | 6 of 6 carried a measurable move | 450 days forward | about 75 days forward |
| Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 | 12 of 12 carried a measurable move | 566 days forward | about 47.2 days forward |
This table describes what already happened; it is not a forecast and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from. A pace can be zero, or negative when the cut-off has been moving backward, and some windows have nothing measurable in them at all — a category that spent the window Current or Unavailable has no distance to average. A category State has stopped moving can also keep showing a pace from a window that closed years ago, which describes that window and nothing since.
Every published cut-off is on the line above; the table below lists every month it moved.
- Published cut-off date
- Retrogression — the cut-off moved backward (6)
- No bulletin in the public record — the line stops rather than crossing it
| Bulletin | From | To | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 1 September 2017 | 1 February 2018 | Advanced153 days |
| May 2026 | 1 May 2017 | 1 September 2017 | Advanced123 days |
| April 2026 | 8 November 2016 | 1 May 2017 | Advanced174 days |
| October 2025 | 15 July 2016 | 8 November 2016 | Advanced116 days |
| July 2025 | 8 June 2016 | 15 July 2016 | Advanced37 days |
| June 2025 | 15 March 2016 | 8 June 2016 | Advanced85 days |
| April 2025 | 22 November 2015 | 15 March 2016 | Advanced114 days |
| January 2025 | 22 October 2015 | 22 November 2015 | Advanced31 days |
| July 2024 | 8 July 2015 | 22 October 2015 | Advanced106 days |
| May 2024 | 8 February 2015 | 8 July 2015 | Advanced150 days |
| March 2024 | 1 January 2015 | 8 February 2015 | Advanced38 days |
| August 2023 | 15 December 2014 | 1 January 2015 | Advanced17 days |
| May 2023 | 1 December 2014 | 15 December 2014 | Advanced14 days |
| September 2021 | 22 November 2014 | 1 December 2014 | Advanced9 days |
| August 2021 | 15 November 2014 | 22 November 2014 | Advanced7 days |
| July 2021 | 1 November 2014 | 15 November 2014 | Advanced14 days |
| June 2021 | 22 October 2014 | 1 November 2014 | Advanced10 days |
| May 2021 | 8 October 2014 | 22 October 2014 | Advanced14 days |
| April 2021 | 22 September 2014 | 8 October 2014 | Advanced16 days |
| March 2021 | 15 September 2014 | 22 September 2014 | Advanced7 days |
| September 2020 | 15 August 2014 | 15 September 2014 | Advanced31 days |
| August 2020 | 8 July 2014 | 15 August 2014 | Advanced38 days |
| July 2020 | 22 May 2014 | 8 July 2014 | Advanced47 days |
| June 2020 | 22 March 2014 | 22 May 2014 | Advanced61 days |
Show the earlier 150 changes — back to January 2005
| Bulletin | From | To | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2020 | 1 January 2014 | 22 March 2014 | Advanced80 days |
| April 2020 | 8 October 2013 | 1 January 2014 | Advanced85 days |
| March 2020 | 22 August 2013 | 8 October 2013 | Advanced47 days |
| February 2020 | 15 July 2013 | 22 August 2013 | Advanced38 days |
| January 2020 | 15 May 2013 | 15 July 2013 | Advanced61 days |
| December 2019 | 1 March 2013 | 15 May 2013 | Advanced75 days |
| November 2019 | 15 January 2013 | 1 March 2013 | Advanced45 days |
| October 2019 | 1 January 2013 | 15 January 2013 | Advanced14 days |
| September 2019 | 1 July 2012 | 1 January 2013 | Advanced184 days |
| August 2019 | 8 March 2012 | 1 July 2012 | Advanced115 days |
| July 2019 | 15 February 2012 | 8 March 2012 | Advanced22 days |
| June 2019 | 8 January 2012 | 15 February 2012 | Advanced38 days |
| May 2019 | 1 December 2011 | 8 January 2012 | Advanced38 days |
| April 2019 | 22 October 2011 | 1 December 2011 | Advanced40 days |
| March 2019 | 22 September 2011 | 22 October 2011 | Advanced30 days |
| February 2019 | 22 August 2011 | 22 September 2011 | Advanced31 days |
| January 2019 | 8 August 2011 | 22 August 2011 | Advanced14 days |
| December 2018 | 22 June 2011 | 8 August 2011 | Advanced47 days |
| November 2018 | 1 June 2011 | 22 June 2011 | Advanced21 days |
| October 2018 | 8 April 2011 | 1 June 2011 | Advanced54 days |
| September 2018 | 8 May 2011 | 8 April 2011 | Retrogressed30 days |
| August 2018 | 22 April 2011 | 8 May 2011 | Advanced16 days |
| July 2018 | 8 April 2011 | 22 April 2011 | Advanced14 days |
| April 2018 | 22 March 2011 | 8 April 2011 | Advanced17 days |
| March 2018 | 15 March 2011 | 22 March 2011 | Advanced7 days |
| January 2018 | 1 February 2011 | 15 March 2011 | Advanced42 days |
| December 2017 | 22 January 2011 | 1 February 2011 | Advanced10 days |
| November 2017 | 22 December 2010 | 22 January 2011 | Advanced31 days |
| October 2017 | 1 May 2010 | 22 December 2010 | Advanced235 days |
| September 2017 | 22 December 2010 | 1 May 2010 | Retrogressed235 days |
| June 2017 | 8 December 2010 | 22 December 2010 | Advanced14 days |
| May 2017 | 15 October 2010 | 8 December 2010 | Advanced54 days |
| April 2017 | 1 June 2010 | 15 October 2010 | Advanced136 days |
| March 2017 | 22 February 2010 | 1 June 2010 | Advanced99 days |
| February 2017 | 8 January 2010 | 22 February 2010 | Advanced45 days |
| January 2017 | 1 December 2009 | 8 January 2010 | Advanced38 days |
| December 2016 | 22 October 2009 | 1 December 2009 | Advanced40 days |
| November 2016 | 22 September 2009 | 22 October 2009 | Advanced30 days |
| October 2016 | 15 September 2009 | 22 September 2009 | Advanced7 days |
| September 2016 | 22 May 2009 | 15 September 2009 | Advanced116 days |
| August 2016 | 22 March 2009 | 22 May 2009 | Advanced61 days |
| July 2016 | 15 January 2009 | 22 March 2009 | Advanced66 days |
| June 2016 | 22 November 2008 | 15 January 2009 | Advanced54 days |
| May 2016 | 22 September 2008 | 22 November 2008 | Advanced61 days |
| April 2016 | 8 August 2008 | 22 September 2008 | Advanced45 days |
| March 2016 | 8 July 2008 | 8 August 2008 | Advanced31 days |
| February 2016 | 15 May 2008 | 8 July 2008 | Advanced54 days |
| January 2016 | 1 April 2008 | 15 May 2008 | Advanced44 days |
| December 2015 | 22 February 2008 | 1 April 2008 | Advanced39 days |
| November 2015 | 15 January 2008 | 22 February 2008 | Advanced38 days |
| October 2015 | 15 December 2007 | 15 January 2008 | Advanced31 days |
| September 2015 | 1 November 2007 | 15 December 2007 | Advanced44 days |
| August 2015 | 1 October 2007 | 1 November 2007 | Advanced31 days |
| July 2015 | 1 September 2007 | 1 October 2007 | Advanced30 days |
| June 2015 | 15 August 2007 | 1 September 2007 | Advanced17 days |
| May 2015 | 1 August 2007 | 15 August 2007 | Advanced14 days |
| March 2015 | 22 July 2007 | 1 August 2007 | Advanced10 days |
| February 2015 | 8 July 2007 | 22 July 2007 | Advanced14 days |
| January 2015 | 22 June 2007 | 8 July 2007 | Advanced16 days |
| December 2014 | 8 June 2007 | 22 June 2007 | Advanced14 days |
| November 2014 | 22 May 2007 | 8 June 2007 | Advanced17 days |
| October 2014 | 1 May 2007 | 22 May 2007 | Advanced21 days |
| September 2014 | 22 April 2007 | 1 May 2007 | Advanced9 days |
| August 2014 | 1 April 2007 | 22 April 2007 | Advanced21 days |
| July 2014 | 22 March 2007 | 1 April 2007 | Advanced10 days |
| June 2014 | 8 March 2007 | 22 March 2007 | Advanced14 days |
| May 2014 | 22 February 2007 | 8 March 2007 | Advanced14 days |
| April 2014 | 1 February 2007 | 22 February 2007 | Advanced21 days |
| March 2014 | 1 January 2007 | 1 February 2007 | Advanced31 days |
| February 2014 | 8 December 2006 | 1 January 2007 | Advanced24 days |
| January 2014 | 15 November 2006 | 8 December 2006 | Advanced23 days |
| December 2013 | 22 October 2006 | 15 November 2006 | Advanced24 days |
| November 2013 | 1 October 2006 | 22 October 2006 | Advanced21 days |
| October 2013 | 15 September 2006 | 1 October 2006 | Advanced16 days |
| September 2013 | 1 September 2006 | 15 September 2006 | Advanced14 days |
| August 2013 | 1 June 2006 | 1 September 2006 | Advanced92 days |
| July 2013 | 22 April 2006 | 1 June 2006 | Advanced40 days |
| June 2013 | 1 April 2006 | 22 April 2006 | Advanced21 days |
| May 2013 | 8 March 2006 | 1 April 2006 | Advanced24 days |
| April 2013 | 15 February 2006 | 8 March 2006 | Advanced21 days |
| March 2013 | 15 January 2006 | 15 February 2006 | Advanced31 days |
| February 2013 | 22 December 2005 | 15 January 2006 | Advanced24 days |
| January 2013 | 1 December 2005 | 22 December 2005 | Advanced21 days |
| December 2012 | 1 November 2005 | 1 December 2005 | Advanced30 days |
| November 2012 over 2 months, from the September 2012 bulletin — no bulletin was published for October 2012 | 1 October 2005 | 1 November 2005 | Advanced31 days |
| September 2012 | 1 August 2005 | 1 October 2005 | Advanced61 days |
| August 2012 | 8 July 2005 | 1 August 2005 | Advanced24 days |
| July 2012 | 22 June 2005 | 8 July 2005 | Advanced16 days |
| June 2012 | 1 May 2005 | 22 June 2005 | Advanced52 days |
| May 2012 | 1 April 2005 | 1 May 2005 | Advanced30 days |
| April 2012 | 1 February 2005 | 1 April 2005 | Advanced59 days |
| March 2012 | 22 December 2004 | 1 February 2005 | Advanced41 days |
| February 2012 | 15 October 2004 | 22 December 2004 | Advanced68 days |
| January 2012 | 1 September 2004 | 15 October 2004 | Advanced44 days |
| December 2011 | 22 July 2004 | 1 September 2004 | Advanced41 days |
| November 2011 | 15 June 2004 | 22 July 2004 | Advanced37 days |
| October 2011 | 1 May 2004 | 15 June 2004 | Advanced45 days |
| April 2011 | 1 January 2005 | 1 May 2004 | Retrogressed245 days |
| January 2011 | 15 February 2006 | 1 January 2005 | Retrogressed410 days |
| October 2010 | 1 January 2006 | 15 February 2006 | Advanced45 days |
| September 2010 | 1 August 2005 | 1 January 2006 | Advanced153 days |
| August 2010 | 1 April 2005 | 1 August 2005 | Advanced122 days |
| July 2010 | 8 November 2004 | 1 April 2005 | Advanced144 days |
| June 2010 | 8 September 2004 | 8 November 2004 | Advanced61 days |
| May 2010 | 8 July 2004 | 8 September 2004 | Advanced62 days |
| April 2010 | 22 June 2004 | 8 July 2004 | Advanced16 days |
| March 2010 | 1 June 2004 | 22 June 2004 | Advanced21 days |
| February 2010 | 1 April 2004 | 1 June 2004 | Advanced61 days |
| January 2010 | 22 January 2004 | 1 April 2004 | Advanced70 days |
| December 2009 over 4 months, from the August 2009 bulletin — no bulletin was published for September 2009, October 2009, November 2009 | 8 January 2003 | 22 January 2004 | Advanced379 days |
| August 2009 | 15 November 2002 | 8 January 2003 | Advanced54 days |
| July 2009 | 8 November 2002 | 15 November 2002 | Advanced7 days |
| June 2009 | 22 September 2002 | 8 November 2002 | Advanced47 days |
| May 2009 | 15 August 2002 | 22 September 2002 | Advanced38 days |
| April 2009 over 2 months, from the February 2009 bulletin — no bulletin was published for March 2009 | 8 July 2002 | 15 August 2002 | Advanced38 days |
| February 2009 | 15 June 2002 | 8 July 2002 | Advanced23 days |
| January 2009 | 22 May 2002 | 15 June 2002 | Advanced24 days |
| December 2008 | 1 May 2002 | 22 May 2002 | Advanced21 days |
| November 2008 | 15 April 2002 | 1 May 2002 | Advanced16 days |
| October 2008 | 1 April 2002 | 15 April 2002 | Advanced14 days |
| September 2008 | 15 March 2002 | 1 April 2002 | Advanced17 days |
| June 2008 | 8 March 2002 | 15 March 2002 | Advanced7 days |
| May 2008 | 22 February 2002 | 8 March 2002 | Advanced14 days |
| April 2008 | 15 February 2002 | 22 February 2002 | Advanced7 days |
| March 2008 | 8 February 2002 | 15 February 2002 | Advanced7 days |
| February 2008 | 1 February 2002 | 8 February 2002 | Advanced7 days |
| January 2008 | 8 January 2002 | 1 February 2002 | Advanced24 days |
| December 2007 | 8 December 2001 | 8 January 2002 | Advanced31 days |
| November 2007 | 8 November 2001 | 8 December 2001 | Advanced30 days |
| October 2007 | 1 October 2001 | 8 November 2001 | Advanced38 days |
| September 2007 | 8 August 2001 | 1 October 2001 | Advanced54 days |
| August 2007 | 1 July 2001 | 8 August 2001 | Advanced38 days |
| July 2007 | 1 June 2001 | 1 July 2001 | Advanced30 days |
| June 2007 | 15 May 2001 | 1 June 2001 | Advanced17 days |
| May 2007 | 8 May 2001 | 15 May 2001 | Advanced7 days |
| April 2007 | 1 May 2001 | 8 May 2001 | Advanced7 days |
| February 2007 | 22 April 2001 | 1 May 2001 | Advanced9 days |
| November 2006 | 1 May 2000 | 22 April 2001 | Advanced356 days |
| October 2006 | 1 January 1998 | 1 May 2000 | Advanced851 days |
| September 2006 | 1 January 1997 | 1 January 1998 | Advanced365 days |
| August 2006 | 1 January 2000 | 1 January 1997 | Retrogressed1,095 days |
| July 2006 | 22 April 2001 | 1 January 2000 | Retrogressed477 days |
| October 2005 | 15 April 2001 | 22 April 2001 | Advanced7 days |
| September 2005 | 8 April 2001 | 15 April 2001 | Advanced7 days |
| June 2005 | 1 April 2001 | 8 April 2001 | Advanced7 days |
| May 2005 | 15 March 2001 | 1 April 2001 | Advanced17 days |
| April 2005 | 22 February 2001 | 15 March 2001 | Advanced21 days |
| March 2005 | 22 January 2001 | 22 February 2001 | Advanced31 days |
| February 2005 | 22 December 2000 | 22 January 2001 | Advanced31 days |
| January 2005 | not published | 22 December 2000 | First published |
Dates for Filing
The chart that decides when an application may be submitted — usually the more optimistic of the two. It did not exist before October 2015, so its history is shorter by design, not by omission: 130 bulletins since October 2015.
Dates for Filing: when would a priority date be reached?
The cut-off to compare against The Dates for Filing cut-off in the July 2026 bulletin is 1 January 2019. A priority date earlier than that has been reached.
Enter a priority date to compare it against the July 2026 cut-off of 1 January 2019.
Any estimate here is an estimate Estimate only. It projects the cut-off forward at its average pace over the trailing published bulletins and assumes that pace holds. It is not a prediction and not a guarantee: cut-off dates routinely stall, and they can move BACKWARD (retrogress) without warning. Not legal advice.
How fast has this cut-off actually moved?
| Window | Bulletins used | Total movement | Average per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last 3 bulletins April 2026 – July 2026 | 3 of 3 carried a measurable move | 306 days forward | about 102 days forward |
| Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 | 6 of 6 carried a measurable move | 487 days forward | about 81.2 days forward |
| Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 | 12 of 12 carried a measurable move | 487 days forward | about 40.6 days forward |
This table describes what already happened; it is not a forecast and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from. A pace can be zero, or negative when the cut-off has been moving backward, and some windows have nothing measurable in them at all — a category that spent the window Current or Unavailable has no distance to average. A category State has stopped moving can also keep showing a pace from a window that closed years ago, which describes that window and nothing since.
Every published cut-off is on the line above; the table below lists every month it moved.
- Published cut-off date
| Bulletin | From | To | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 1 October 2018 | 1 January 2019 | Advanced92 days |
| May 2026 | 1 March 2018 | 1 October 2018 | Advanced214 days |
| April 2026 | 1 September 2017 | 1 March 2018 | Advanced181 days |
| July 2023 | 1 January 2017 | 1 September 2017 | Advanced243 days |
| May 2023 | 8 August 2016 | 1 January 2017 | Advanced146 days |
| August 2022 | 1 July 2016 | 8 August 2016 | Advanced38 days |
| July 2022 | 15 May 2016 | 1 July 2016 | Advanced47 days |
| July 2021 | 1 March 2016 | 15 May 2016 | Advanced75 days |
| June 2021 | 1 October 2015 | 1 March 2016 | Advanced152 days |
| May 2021 | 15 September 2015 | 1 October 2015 | Advanced16 days |
| April 2021 | 8 August 2015 | 15 September 2015 | Advanced38 days |
| February 2021 | 22 July 2015 | 8 August 2015 | Advanced17 days |
| September 2020 | 8 June 2015 | 22 July 2015 | Advanced44 days |
| August 2020 | 22 April 2015 | 8 June 2015 | Advanced47 days |
| July 2020 | 15 February 2015 | 22 April 2015 | Advanced66 days |
| June 2020 | 22 November 2014 | 15 February 2015 | Advanced85 days |
| May 2020 | 1 September 2014 | 22 November 2014 | Advanced82 days |
| April 2020 | 8 June 2014 | 1 September 2014 | Advanced85 days |
| March 2020 | 22 March 2014 | 8 June 2014 | Advanced78 days |
| February 2020 | 15 March 2014 | 22 March 2014 | Advanced7 days |
| January 2020 | 15 November 2013 | 15 March 2014 | Advanced120 days |
| December 2019 | 1 September 2013 | 15 November 2013 | Advanced75 days |
| November 2019 | 15 July 2013 | 1 September 2013 | Advanced48 days |
| October 2019 | 1 May 2013 | 15 July 2013 | Advanced75 days |
Show the earlier 16 changes — back to October 2015
| Bulletin | From | To | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2019 | 1 March 2013 | 1 May 2013 | Advanced61 days |
| August 2019 | 8 November 2012 | 1 March 2013 | Advanced113 days |
| July 2019 | 8 October 2012 | 8 November 2012 | Advanced31 days |
| June 2019 | 22 August 2012 | 8 October 2012 | Advanced47 days |
| May 2019 | 1 July 2012 | 22 August 2012 | Advanced52 days |
| April 2019 | 22 April 2012 | 1 July 2012 | Advanced70 days |
| March 2019 | 8 April 2012 | 22 April 2012 | Advanced14 days |
| February 2019 | 8 March 2012 | 8 April 2012 | Advanced31 days |
| July 2018 | 8 January 2012 | 8 March 2012 | Advanced60 days |
| May 2018 | 1 January 2012 | 8 January 2012 | Advanced7 days |
| October 2017 | 22 July 2011 | 1 January 2012 | Advanced163 days |
| May 2017 | 1 January 2011 | 22 July 2011 | Advanced202 days |
| October 2016 | 1 January 2010 | 1 January 2011 | Advanced365 days |
| August 2016 | 1 October 2009 | 1 January 2010 | Advanced92 days |
| January 2016 | 1 May 2009 | 1 October 2009 | Advanced153 days |
| October 2015 | not published | 1 May 2009 | First published |
How to read this page
What a priority date is
A priority date is the date that fixes your place in the queue for an immigrant visa number. For most family-sponsored categories it is the date the petition was filed; for employment-based categories that require labour certification, it is the date that certification was filed. It is printed on the I-797 receipt or approval notice. Your priority date does not move — the cut-off moves toward it.
Congress caps how many immigrant visas may be issued each year, both in total per category and per country of chargeability. When more people want a category than the cap allows, a queue forms, and State publishes a cut-off date each month: the priority date it has reached. If your priority date is earlier than the cut-off, your turn has come in that chart.
Why China (mainland-born) has its own column
Chargeability is normally your country of birth — not your citizenship or where you live. State gives China (mainland-born) its own column because demand from applicants chargeable there exceeds the per-country limit, so its queue is tracked separately and its cut-offs are usually further behind than the "all other countries" column. Applicants from countries without their own column are all counted together in that column instead.
The two charts are not interchangeable
Final Action Dates is when a visa can actually be issued or a green card approved. Dates for Filing is when the application may be submitted; it is usually the earlier and more optimistic of the two, and being past it does not mean a visa can be issued. Which chart U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will accept for adjustment-of-status filings is announced by USCIS each month and is not decided by State or by this site. The Dates for Filing chart was introduced in October 2015 and does not exist for any earlier bulletin.
What Current and Unavailable mean
Current (printed C) means there is no backlog at all: every priority date in the category is being acted on. Unavailable (printed U) means no visas are being issued in the category at all that month — usually because the annual limit has been reached. Neither is a date, and neither can be compared to one, so this site never plots them on a date axis and never projects from them.
Retrogression: the cut-off can move backward
A cut-off is not a promise and does not only move forward. When more people apply than the annual limit allows — often after a period of rapid advancement draws in filings — State pulls the cut-off back to an earlier date. This is called retrogression, and it can undo years of progress in a single bulletin. It has happened 359 times across the whole published record this site holds. The largest on record is F3 for Mexico in August 2006, which moved back 12.79 years in one month. Retrogressions on this page are marked on the chart with a ▼ mark and listed in the movement tables with a ↓ glyph — never by colour alone.
Where F1 sits among the family preferences
Family-sponsored preference categories run F1 through F4, and they are separate queues with separate annual limits: F1 (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens), F2A (spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents), F2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents), F3 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) and F4 (brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens). Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens — spouses, minor children and parents — are not subject to these limits and do not appear in the Visa Bulletin at all.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the F1 priority date cut-off for China (mainland-born) in the July 2026 Visa Bulletin?
- The Final Action Dates cut-off is 1 February 2018 and the Dates for Filing cut-off is 1 January 2019. State printed those cells as "01FEB18" and "01JAN19". A priority date earlier than 1 February 2018 has been reached in the Final Action chart.
- What is the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for F1?
- They answer different questions and they are not interchangeable. Final Action Dates is when a visa can actually be issued or a green card approved. Dates for Filing is when the application may be submitted — it is usually the earlier and more optimistic of the two, and being past it does not mean a visa can be issued. For F1 and China (mainland-born) in the July 2026 bulletin they read 1 February 2018 and 1 January 2019 respectively. Which chart U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services accepts for adjustment-of-status filings is announced by USCIS each month and is not decided by this site. The Dates for Filing chart did not exist before October 2015.
- What is a priority date?
- A priority date is the date that fixes your place in the queue for a visa number. For most family-sponsored and employment-based categories it is the date the petition was filed with the government (for employment categories requiring labour certification, it is the date that certification was filed). It is printed on the I-797 receipt or approval notice. The Visa Bulletin publishes a cut-off date each month for each category and country of chargeability; if your priority date is earlier than the cut-off, your turn has come in that chart. Your priority date never changes on its own — the cut-off moves toward it.
- Has the F1 cut-off for China (mainland-born) ever moved backward?
- Yes. Moving backward is called retrogression, and it happens when more people apply in a category than the annual limit allows, forcing State to pull the cut-off back to an earlier date. This combination has retrogressed 6 times in the published record — 6 in the Final Action Dates chart and 0 in the Dates for Filing chart. The largest was in August 2006, when the Final Action cut-off moved back from 1 January 2000 to 1 January 1997 — 1,095 days, or about 3.0 years, in a single bulletin.
- When will a priority date in F1 become current for China (mainland-born)?
- Nobody can tell you that, and this site does not claim to. What can be measured is the pace: over the trailing published bulletins the Final Action Dates cut-off has advanced by an average of about 47.2 days per bulletin. The tool on this page projects the published cut-off of 1 February 2018 forward at that pace to estimate which bulletin would reach a given priority date. That is an estimate and assumes the pace holds. It is not a prediction and not a guarantee: cut-off dates routinely stall, and they can move backward without warning. This is not legal advice.
- Where does this F1 history come from, and how far back does it go?
- Every figure is the one the U.S. Department of State printed in its monthly Visa Bulletin, kept alongside the exact cell text it came from. This page carries 254 Final Action Dates bulletins back to January 2005 and 130 Dates for Filing bulletins back to October 2015. The Visa Bulletin is a work of the U.S. Government and is in the public domain (17 U.S.C. section 105). 5 months are absent from the public record in that span (March 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2009, October 2012); they are shown as a break in the chart and are never filled in from a neighbouring month.
Source and method
Every figure on this page is read from the U.S. Department of State's monthly Visa Bulletin — the July 2026 edition for the current cut-offs, and each bulletin's own edition for the history. The Visa Bulletin is a work of the U.S. Government prepared by federal employees in the course of their duties, and is therefore in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. §105. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Department of State or any government agency.
This page carries 384 published cut-off cells for F1 / China (mainland-born) and 214 recorded changes across both charts. Each cell is stored with the exact text State printed for it (the 01FEB18 shown above is the source's own), so every figure here is traceable back to the bulletin it came from.
5 months in the December 2001 to July 2026 span are absent from the public record — March 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2009, October 2012. They are recorded as gaps and shown as breaks in the charts above, never filled in from a neighbouring month.
Data version visa-bulletin-derived-v1 · 291 bulletins, December 2001 to July 2026 · Next monthly bulletin. The State Department publishes one bulletin per month, typically mid-month for the following month; past bulletins are immutable once published.