Visa Bulletin Tracker

F4 — China (mainland-born)

Family-sponsored preference · Final Action Dates 1 January 2009 · Dates for Filing 1 March 2010 · July 2026 bulletin

In the July 2026 Visa Bulletin, F4 for China (mainland-born) has a Final Action Dates cut-off of 1 January 2009 and a Dates for Filing cut-off of 1 March 2010. 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 F4, 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.

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 F4 / 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 January 2009. A priority date earlier than that has been reached.

The date your petition was filed — it is printed on your I-797 receipt notice. Nothing is sent anywhere: this runs entirely in your browser.

Enter a priority date to compare it against the July 2026 cut-off of 1 January 2009.

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?
Measured movement of the Final Action Dates cut-off over its trailing published bulletins. This describes what already happened. It is not a forecast, and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from.
Window Bulletins used Total movement Average per month
Last 3 bulletins April 2026 – July 2026 3 of 3 carried a measurable move 207 days forward about 69 days forward
Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 6 of 6 carried a measurable move 359 days forward about 59.8 days forward
Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 12 of 12 carried a measurable move 366 days forward about 30.5 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.

Final Action Dates — the full published history January 2005 – July 2026 · 254 published bulletins · cut-offs from 22 November 1992 to 1 January 2009
Final Action Dates: F4, China (mainland-born), January 2005 – July 2026 Final Action Dates for F4, China (mainland-born), January 2005 – July 2026. 254 of 254 published bulletins carry a dated cut-off, ranging from 22 November 1992 to 1 January 2009. 5 retrogressions (the cut-off moving backward) are marked. 3 breaks in the line where months are missing; the line is never drawn across them. C 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 No bulletin in the public record: March 2009. The line is not drawn across it. No bulletin in the public record: September 2009 to November 2009. The line is not drawn across it. No bulletin in the public record: October 2012. The line is not drawn across it. Retrogressed August 2006: 1 May 1995 back to 1 July 1994 (304 days backward) Retrogressed February 2011: 1 January 2002 back to 1 January 2000 (731 days backward) Retrogressed June 2016: 22 July 2003 back to 1 January 2003 (202 days backward) Retrogressed September 2017: 8 May 2004 back to 1 January 2002 (858 days backward) Retrogressed February 2020: 1 February 2007 back to 1 July 2006 (215 days backward) U 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

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 (5)
  • No bulletin in the public record — the line stops rather than crossing it
Final Action Dates — the 24 most recent of 184 bulletins in which this cut-off changed, newest first. Months in which it held steady are not listed: it held in 70 of the published bulletins. Direction is shown by the ↑ / ↓ glyph and the word, never by colour alone.
Bulletin From To What changed
July 20268 November 20081 January 2009Advanced54 days
June 202615 September 20088 November 2008Advanced54 days
May 20268 June 200815 September 2008Advanced99 days
April 20268 January 20088 June 2008Advanced152 days
October 20251 January 20088 January 2008Advanced7 days
May 20251 August 20071 January 2008Advanced153 days
July 202422 July 20071 August 2007Advanced10 days
May 20248 June 200722 July 2007Advanced44 days
March 202422 May 20078 June 2007Advanced17 days
January 202422 April 200722 May 2007Advanced30 days
July 20238 April 200722 April 2007Advanced14 days
May 202322 March 20078 April 2007Advanced17 days
September 20211 March 200722 March 2007Advanced21 days
August 20218 February 20071 March 2007Advanced21 days
July 20218 December 20068 February 2007Advanced62 days
June 20218 November 20068 December 2006Advanced30 days
May 20211 November 20068 November 2006Advanced7 days
April 202122 October 20061 November 2006Advanced10 days
March 202115 October 200622 October 2006Advanced7 days
February 20218 October 200615 October 2006Advanced7 days
January 202122 September 20068 October 2006Advanced16 days
September 20208 September 200622 September 2006Advanced14 days
August 202022 August 20068 September 2006Advanced17 days
July 20208 August 200622 August 2006Advanced14 days
Show the earlier 160 changes — back to January 2005
The remaining 160 bulletins in which the Final Action Dates cut-off changed, newest first, back to January 2005. 3 of these span more than one month, because State published no bulletin for the months named in the row — the change is real, but it did not happen in a single month, and is not shown as if it did.
Bulletin From To What changed
June 202022 July 20068 August 2006Advanced17 days
May 20201 July 200622 July 2006Advanced21 days
February 20201 February 20071 July 2006Retrogressed215 days
December 20191 January 20071 February 2007Advanced31 days
November 201922 November 20061 January 2007Advanced40 days
October 20191 November 200622 November 2006Advanced21 days
September 20191 October 20061 November 2006Advanced31 days
August 201915 June 20061 October 2006Advanced108 days
July 20191 April 200615 June 2006Advanced75 days
June 201915 February 20061 April 2006Advanced45 days
May 20191 January 200615 February 2006Advanced45 days
April 201922 September 20051 January 2006Advanced101 days
March 201922 June 200522 September 2005Advanced92 days
February 201922 May 200522 June 2005Advanced31 days
January 201922 April 200522 May 2005Advanced30 days
December 201822 March 200522 April 2005Advanced31 days
November 201815 February 200522 March 2005Advanced35 days
October 20188 January 200515 February 2005Advanced38 days
September 201822 December 20048 January 2005Advanced17 days
August 201815 November 200422 December 2004Advanced37 days
July 201822 October 200415 November 2004Advanced24 days
June 20181 October 200422 October 2004Advanced21 days
May 201815 September 20041 October 2004Advanced16 days
April 201822 August 200415 September 2004Advanced24 days
March 201822 July 200422 August 2004Advanced31 days
February 201822 June 200422 July 2004Advanced30 days
January 20188 June 200422 June 2004Advanced14 days
December 201722 May 20048 June 2004Advanced17 days
November 20178 May 200422 May 2004Advanced14 days
October 20171 January 20028 May 2004Advanced858 days
September 20178 May 20041 January 2002Retrogressed858 days
April 201722 February 20048 May 2004Advanced76 days
March 201722 January 200422 February 2004Advanced31 days
February 201722 November 200322 January 2004Advanced61 days
January 20171 October 200322 November 2003Advanced52 days
December 20161 August 20031 October 2003Advanced61 days
November 20161 May 20031 August 2003Advanced92 days
October 20161 January 20031 May 2003Advanced120 days
June 201622 July 20031 January 2003Retrogressed202 days
April 20161 July 200322 July 2003Advanced21 days
March 20168 June 20031 July 2003Advanced23 days
February 201622 April 20038 June 2003Advanced47 days
January 201622 March 200322 April 2003Advanced31 days
December 20151 March 200322 March 2003Advanced21 days
November 20158 February 20031 March 2003Advanced21 days
October 201515 January 20038 February 2003Advanced24 days
September 20151 December 200215 January 2003Advanced45 days
August 201522 October 20021 December 2002Advanced40 days
July 20158 September 200222 October 2002Advanced44 days
June 20151 August 20028 September 2002Advanced38 days
May 201515 June 20021 August 2002Advanced47 days
April 201515 May 200215 June 2002Advanced31 days
March 201515 April 200215 May 2002Advanced30 days
February 201522 March 200215 April 2002Advanced24 days
January 201522 February 200222 March 2002Advanced28 days
December 20148 February 200222 February 2002Advanced14 days
November 201422 January 20028 February 2002Advanced17 days
October 20141 January 200222 January 2002Advanced21 days
August 201422 December 20011 January 2002Advanced10 days
July 201415 December 200122 December 2001Advanced7 days
June 20148 December 200115 December 2001Advanced7 days
May 201422 November 20018 December 2001Advanced16 days
April 20148 November 200122 November 2001Advanced14 days
March 201422 October 20018 November 2001Advanced17 days
February 20141 October 200122 October 2001Advanced21 days
January 20148 September 20011 October 2001Advanced23 days
December 201322 August 20018 September 2001Advanced17 days
November 20138 August 200122 August 2001Advanced14 days
October 201322 July 20018 August 2001Advanced17 days
September 201322 June 200122 July 2001Advanced30 days
August 201322 May 200122 June 2001Advanced31 days
July 20131 May 200122 May 2001Advanced21 days
April 201322 April 20011 May 2001Advanced9 days
March 201315 April 200122 April 2001Advanced7 days
February 20138 April 200115 April 2001Advanced7 days
January 20131 April 20018 April 2001Advanced7 days
December 201215 March 20011 April 2001Advanced17 days
November 2012 over 2 months, from the September 2012 bulletin — no bulletin was published for October 201222 January 200115 March 2001Advanced52 days
September 20128 January 200122 January 2001Advanced14 days
July 201215 December 20008 January 2001Advanced24 days
June 201222 November 200015 December 2000Advanced23 days
May 20128 November 200022 November 2000Advanced14 days
April 20128 October 20008 November 2000Advanced31 days
March 20128 September 20008 October 2000Advanced30 days
February 201215 August 20008 September 2000Advanced24 days
January 201215 July 200015 August 2000Advanced31 days
December 201115 June 200015 July 2000Advanced30 days
November 201115 May 200015 June 2000Advanced31 days
October 201115 April 200015 May 2000Advanced30 days
September 20118 April 200015 April 2000Advanced7 days
August 20118 March 20008 April 2000Advanced31 days
June 201122 January 20008 March 2000Advanced46 days
May 20111 January 200022 January 2000Advanced21 days
February 20111 January 20021 January 2000Retrogressed731 days
November 20101 December 20011 January 2002Advanced31 days
October 201015 October 20011 December 2001Advanced47 days
September 20101 June 200115 October 2001Advanced136 days
August 20101 January 20011 June 2001Advanced151 days
July 20101 September 20001 January 2001Advanced122 days
June 201015 May 20001 September 2000Advanced109 days
May 20101 March 200015 May 2000Advanced75 days
April 201015 January 20001 March 2000Advanced46 days
March 201015 November 199915 January 2000Advanced61 days
February 20101 October 199915 November 1999Advanced45 days
January 20108 September 19991 October 1999Advanced23 days
December 2009 over 4 months, from the August 2009 bulletin — no bulletin was published for September 2009, October 2009, November 200922 December 19988 September 1999Advanced260 days
August 200922 October 199822 December 1998Advanced61 days
July 200915 August 199822 October 1998Advanced68 days
June 200922 March 199815 August 1998Advanced146 days
May 20098 January 199822 March 1998Advanced73 days
April 2009 over 2 months, from the February 2009 bulletin — no bulletin was published for March 200922 September 19978 January 1998Advanced108 days
February 200922 August 199722 September 1997Advanced31 days
January 200915 July 199722 August 1997Advanced38 days
December 20088 June 199715 July 1997Advanced37 days
November 20081 May 19978 June 1997Advanced38 days
October 20088 April 19971 May 1997Advanced23 days
September 200822 February 19978 April 1997Advanced45 days
August 200815 February 199722 February 1997Advanced7 days
July 20081 February 199715 February 1997Advanced14 days
June 200815 January 19971 February 1997Advanced17 days
May 200815 December 199615 January 1997Advanced31 days
April 20081 December 199615 December 1996Advanced14 days
March 200815 November 19961 December 1996Advanced16 days
February 20081 November 199615 November 1996Advanced14 days
January 20088 October 19961 November 1996Advanced24 days
December 20078 September 19968 October 1996Advanced30 days
November 200715 August 19968 September 1996Advanced24 days
October 200722 July 199615 August 1996Advanced24 days
August 20071 March 199622 July 1996Advanced143 days
July 20078 January 19961 March 1996Advanced53 days
June 200722 November 19958 January 1996Advanced47 days
May 200715 October 199522 November 1995Advanced38 days
April 200722 August 199515 October 1995Advanced54 days
March 200722 July 199522 August 1995Advanced31 days
February 200722 June 199522 July 1995Advanced30 days
January 200722 May 199522 June 1995Advanced31 days
December 200622 April 199522 May 1995Advanced30 days
November 20061 February 199522 April 1995Advanced80 days
October 20061 October 19941 February 1995Advanced123 days
September 20061 July 19941 October 1994Advanced92 days
August 20061 May 19951 July 1994Retrogressed304 days
July 20061 March 19951 May 1995Advanced61 days
June 20061 January 19951 March 1995Advanced59 days
May 20068 November 19941 January 1995Advanced54 days
April 20061 October 19948 November 1994Advanced38 days
March 200622 August 19941 October 1994Advanced40 days
February 200615 June 199422 August 1994Advanced68 days
January 20061 May 199415 June 1994Advanced45 days
December 200515 March 19941 May 1994Advanced47 days
November 20051 February 199415 March 1994Advanced42 days
October 200515 December 19931 February 1994Advanced48 days
September 20058 October 199315 December 1993Advanced68 days
August 20058 September 19938 October 1993Advanced30 days
July 20051 August 19938 September 1993Advanced38 days
June 20051 July 19931 August 1993Advanced31 days
May 200515 May 19931 July 1993Advanced47 days
April 20051 March 199315 May 1993Advanced75 days
March 20058 January 19931 March 1993Advanced52 days
February 200522 November 19928 January 1993Advanced47 days
January 2005not published22 November 1992First 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 March 2010. A priority date earlier than that has been reached.

The date your petition was filed — it is printed on your I-797 receipt notice. Nothing is sent anywhere: this runs entirely in your browser.

Enter a priority date to compare it against the July 2026 cut-off of 1 March 2010.

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?
Measured movement of the Dates for Filing cut-off over its trailing published bulletins. This describes what already happened. It is not a forecast, and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from.
Window Bulletins used Total movement Average per month
Last 3 bulletins April 2026 – July 2026 3 of 3 carried a measurable move 290 days forward about 96.7 days forward
Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 6 of 6 carried a measurable move 365 days forward about 60.8 days forward
Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 12 of 12 carried a measurable move 539 days forward about 44.9 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.

Dates for Filing — the full published history October 2015 – July 2026 · 130 published bulletins · cut-offs from 1 February 2004 to 1 March 2010
Dates for Filing: F4, China (mainland-born), October 2015 – July 2026 Dates for Filing for F4, China (mainland-born), October 2015 – July 2026. 130 of 130 published bulletins carry a dated cut-off, ranging from 1 February 2004 to 1 March 2010. C 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 U 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026

Every published cut-off is on the line above; the table below lists every month it moved.

  • Published cut-off date
Dates for Filing — the 24 most recent of 42 bulletins in which this cut-off changed, newest first. Months in which it held steady are not listed: it held in 88 of the published bulletins. Direction is shown by the ↑ / ↓ glyph and the word, never by colour alone.
Bulletin From To What changed
July 202622 December 20091 March 2010Advanced69 days
June 20261 September 200922 December 2009Advanced112 days
May 202615 May 20091 September 2009Advanced109 days
April 20261 March 200915 May 2009Advanced75 days
October 20251 January 20091 March 2009Advanced59 days
August 20258 September 20081 January 2009Advanced115 days
July 20251 June 20088 September 2008Advanced99 days
May 20251 April 20081 June 2008Advanced61 days
April 20251 March 20081 April 2008Advanced31 days
July 20231 February 20081 March 2008Advanced29 days
May 202315 December 20071 February 2008Advanced48 days
August 20228 November 200715 December 2007Advanced37 days
July 20221 October 20078 November 2007Advanced38 days
February 202115 September 20071 October 2007Advanced16 days
September 20201 September 200715 September 2007Advanced14 days
August 202015 August 20071 September 2007Advanced17 days
July 202031 July 200715 August 2007Advanced15 days
June 202028 July 200731 July 2007Advanced3 days
May 202025 July 200728 July 2007Advanced3 days
April 202022 July 200725 July 2007Advanced3 days
December 20191 July 200722 July 2007Advanced21 days
November 201915 May 20071 July 2007Advanced47 days
October 20198 March 200715 May 2007Advanced68 days
September 201915 December 20068 March 2007Advanced83 days
Show the earlier 18 changes — back to October 2015
The remaining 18 bulletins in which the Dates for Filing cut-off changed, newest first, back to October 2015.
Bulletin From To What changed
July 20191 December 200615 December 2006Advanced14 days
June 20191 October 20061 December 2006Advanced61 days
May 20191 August 20061 October 2006Advanced61 days
April 201922 June 20061 August 2006Advanced40 days
March 201915 June 200622 June 2006Advanced7 days
February 201915 May 200615 June 2006Advanced31 days
January 20191 February 200615 May 2006Advanced103 days
December 20181 June 20051 February 2006Advanced245 days
October 20181 May 20051 June 2005Advanced31 days
July 20181 April 20051 May 2005Advanced30 days
May 20188 March 20051 April 2005Advanced24 days
April 201822 January 20058 March 2005Advanced45 days
March 201815 November 200422 January 2005Advanced68 days
May 20171 July 200415 November 2004Advanced137 days
October 201615 June 20041 July 2004Advanced16 days
August 20161 May 200415 June 2004Advanced45 days
January 20161 February 20041 May 2004Advanced90 days
October 2015not published1 February 2004First 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 F4 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 F4 priority date cut-off for China (mainland-born) in the July 2026 Visa Bulletin?
The Final Action Dates cut-off is 1 January 2009 and the Dates for Filing cut-off is 1 March 2010. State printed those cells as "01JAN09" and "01MAR10". A priority date earlier than 1 January 2009 has been reached in the Final Action chart.
What is the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for F4?
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 F4 and China (mainland-born) in the July 2026 bulletin they read 1 January 2009 and 1 March 2010 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 F4 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 5 times in the published record — 5 in the Final Action Dates chart and 0 in the Dates for Filing chart. The largest was in September 2017, when the Final Action cut-off moved back from 8 May 2004 to 1 January 2002 — 858 days, or about 2.4 years, in a single bulletin.
When will a priority date in F4 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 30.5 days per bulletin. The tool on this page projects the published cut-off of 1 January 2009 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 F4 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 F4 / China (mainland-born) and 226 recorded changes across both charts. Each cell is stored with the exact text State printed for it (the 01JAN09 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.

All 75 categories in the July 2026 bulletin →