Visa Bulletin Tracker

F4 — Mexico

Family-sponsored preference · Final Action Dates 8 April 2001 · Dates for Filing 30 April 2001 · July 2026 bulletin

In the July 2026 Visa Bulletin, F4 for Mexico has a Final Action Dates cut-off of 8 April 2001 and a Dates for Filing cut-off of 30 April 2001. 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: 291 Final Action Dates bulletins back to December 2001, 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. Mexico 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 / Mexico in 291 bulletins since December 2001.

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 8 April 2001. 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 8 April 2001.

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 0 days about 0 days
Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 6 of 6 carried a measurable move 0 days about 0 days
Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 12 of 12 carried a measurable move 24 days forward about 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.

Final Action Dates — the full published history December 2001 – July 2026 · 291 published bulletins · cut-offs from 1 January 1987 to 8 April 2001
Final Action Dates: F4, Mexico, December 2001 – July 2026 Final Action Dates for F4, Mexico, December 2001 – July 2026. 291 of 291 published bulletins carry a dated cut-off, ranging from 1 January 1987 to 8 April 2001. 8 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 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 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 July 2005: 1 August 1993 back to 1 January 1987 (2,404 days backward) Retrogressed August 2006: 15 August 1993 back to 1 January 1993 (226 days backward) Retrogressed August 2007: 22 July 1994 back to 1 February 1993 (536 days backward) Retrogressed September 2007: 1 February 1993 back to 1 September 1990 (884 days backward) Retrogressed July 2010: 8 December 1995 back to 1 March 1995 (282 days backward) Retrogressed August 2010: 1 March 1995 back to 1 January 1994 (424 days backward) Retrogressed June 2015: 15 July 1997 back to 1 March 1997 (136 days backward) Retrogressed July 2019: 8 February 1998 back to 1 January 1997 (403 days backward) U 2004 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 (8)
  • No bulletin in the public record — the line stops rather than crossing it
Final Action Dates — the 24 most recent of 195 bulletins in which this cut-off changed, newest first. Months in which it held steady are not listed: it held in 95 of the published bulletins. Direction is shown by the ↑ / ↓ glyph and the word, never by colour alone.
Bulletin From To What changed
October 202515 March 20018 April 2001Advanced24 days
April 20251 March 200115 March 2001Advanced14 days
November 202422 February 20011 March 2001Advanced7 days
October 20248 February 200122 February 2001Advanced14 days
July 20241 February 20018 February 2001Advanced7 days
June 202422 January 20011 February 2001Advanced10 days
May 202415 October 200022 January 2001Advanced99 days
March 202415 September 200015 October 2000Advanced30 days
November 20231 August 200015 September 2000Advanced45 days
November 20221 June 20001 August 2000Advanced61 days
July 20221 March 20001 June 2000Advanced92 days
June 20221 January 20001 March 2000Advanced60 days
April 202222 April 19991 January 2000Advanced254 days
January 202215 March 199922 April 1999Advanced38 days
December 20218 February 199915 March 1999Advanced35 days
September 202122 January 19998 February 1999Advanced17 days
August 202115 December 199822 January 1999Advanced38 days
July 20211 September 199815 December 1998Advanced105 days
June 20218 August 19981 September 1998Advanced24 days
May 202122 July 19988 August 1998Advanced17 days
April 202115 July 199822 July 1998Advanced7 days
March 20218 July 199815 July 1998Advanced7 days
February 20211 July 19988 July 1998Advanced7 days
January 202122 June 19981 July 1998Advanced9 days
Show the earlier 171 changes — back to January 2002
The remaining 171 bulletins in which the Final Action Dates cut-off changed, newest first, back to January 2002. 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
September 202015 June 199822 June 1998Advanced7 days
August 20201 June 199815 June 1998Advanced14 days
July 20208 May 19981 June 1998Advanced24 days
June 202015 April 19988 May 1998Advanced23 days
May 202015 March 199815 April 1998Advanced31 days
April 202015 February 199815 March 1998Advanced28 days
March 202015 January 199815 February 1998Advanced31 days
February 20208 January 199815 January 1998Advanced7 days
January 202015 December 19978 January 1998Advanced24 days
October 20191 January 199715 December 1997Advanced348 days
July 20198 February 19981 January 1997Retrogressed403 days
November 201822 January 19988 February 1998Advanced17 days
October 201815 January 199822 January 1998Advanced7 days
July 20188 January 199815 January 1998Advanced7 days
May 20188 December 19978 January 1998Advanced31 days
April 201815 November 19978 December 1997Advanced23 days
March 20188 November 199715 November 1997Advanced7 days
February 20181 November 19978 November 1997Advanced7 days
January 20188 October 19971 November 1997Advanced24 days
November 20171 October 19978 October 1997Advanced7 days
October 201715 September 19971 October 1997Advanced16 days
August 20171 August 199715 September 1997Advanced45 days
July 201715 July 19971 August 1997Advanced17 days
June 20171 July 199715 July 1997Advanced14 days
May 201715 June 19971 July 1997Advanced16 days
April 20171 June 199715 June 1997Advanced14 days
March 201722 May 19971 June 1997Advanced10 days
February 201715 May 199722 May 1997Advanced7 days
December 20168 May 199715 May 1997Advanced7 days
November 20161 May 19978 May 1997Advanced7 days
October 201622 April 19971 May 1997Advanced9 days
September 201615 April 199722 April 1997Advanced7 days
June 20168 April 199715 April 1997Advanced7 days
April 20161 April 19978 April 1997Advanced7 days
November 201522 March 19971 April 1997Advanced10 days
October 201515 March 199722 March 1997Advanced7 days
September 20151 March 199715 March 1997Advanced14 days
June 201515 July 19971 March 1997Retrogressed136 days
May 20158 July 199715 July 1997Advanced7 days
April 20151 June 19978 July 1997Advanced37 days
March 201522 April 19971 June 1997Advanced40 days
February 201522 March 199722 April 1997Advanced31 days
January 20151 March 199722 March 1997Advanced21 days
December 201415 February 19971 March 1997Advanced14 days
November 20141 February 199715 February 1997Advanced14 days
October 201422 January 19971 February 1997Advanced10 days
September 20141 January 199722 January 1997Advanced21 days
August 201415 December 19961 January 1997Advanced17 days
July 20148 December 199615 December 1996Advanced7 days
June 20141 December 19968 December 1996Advanced7 days
May 201422 November 19961 December 1996Advanced9 days
April 201415 November 199622 November 1996Advanced7 days
March 20148 November 199615 November 1996Advanced7 days
February 20141 November 19968 November 1996Advanced7 days
January 201422 October 19961 November 1996Advanced10 days
November 201315 October 199622 October 1996Advanced7 days
October 20138 October 199615 October 1996Advanced7 days
September 201322 September 19968 October 1996Advanced16 days
July 201315 September 199622 September 1996Advanced7 days
June 20138 September 199615 September 1996Advanced7 days
May 20131 September 19968 September 1996Advanced7 days
April 201315 August 19961 September 1996Advanced17 days
March 20131 August 199615 August 1996Advanced14 days
February 201322 July 19961 August 1996Advanced10 days
December 20128 July 199622 July 1996Advanced14 days
November 2012 over 2 months, from the September 2012 bulletin — no bulletin was published for October 201215 June 19968 July 1996Advanced23 days
August 20128 June 199615 June 1996Advanced7 days
July 20121 June 19968 June 1996Advanced7 days
April 201222 May 19961 June 1996Advanced10 days
March 201215 May 199622 May 1996Advanced7 days
February 20128 May 199615 May 1996Advanced7 days
January 20121 May 19968 May 1996Advanced7 days
December 201122 April 19961 May 1996Advanced9 days
November 20118 April 199622 April 1996Advanced14 days
October 201122 March 19968 April 1996Advanced17 days
September 20118 March 199622 March 1996Advanced14 days
August 20111 March 19968 March 1996Advanced7 days
July 201115 February 19961 March 1996Advanced15 days
May 20111 February 199615 February 1996Advanced14 days
April 201122 January 19961 February 1996Advanced10 days
March 20111 January 199622 January 1996Advanced21 days
February 201122 December 19951 January 1996Advanced10 days
December 201015 December 199522 December 1995Advanced7 days
November 20108 December 199515 December 1995Advanced7 days
October 20101 January 19948 December 1995Advanced706 days
August 20101 March 19951 January 1994Retrogressed424 days
July 20108 December 19951 March 1995Retrogressed282 days
March 20101 December 19958 December 1995Advanced7 days
February 201022 November 19951 December 1995Advanced9 days
January 201015 November 199522 November 1995Advanced7 days
December 2009 over 4 months, from the August 2009 bulletin — no bulletin was published for September 2009, October 2009, November 20091 August 199515 November 1995Advanced106 days
August 200915 June 19951 August 1995Advanced47 days
July 200922 May 199515 June 1995Advanced24 days
June 20091 May 199522 May 1995Advanced21 days
May 200922 April 19951 May 1995Advanced9 days
April 2009 over 2 months, from the February 2009 bulletin — no bulletin was published for March 200922 March 199522 April 1995Advanced31 days
February 20098 March 199522 March 1995Advanced14 days
January 200915 February 19958 March 1995Advanced21 days
December 200822 January 199515 February 1995Advanced24 days
November 200815 January 199522 January 1995Advanced7 days
September 20088 January 199515 January 1995Advanced7 days
August 200822 December 19948 January 1995Advanced17 days
July 200815 December 199422 December 1994Advanced7 days
May 20081 December 199415 December 1994Advanced14 days
April 200815 November 19941 December 1994Advanced16 days
March 20081 November 199415 November 1994Advanced14 days
February 20081 October 19941 November 1994Advanced31 days
January 200822 September 19941 October 1994Advanced9 days
December 200722 August 199422 September 1994Advanced31 days
November 200722 July 199422 August 1994Advanced31 days
October 20071 September 199022 July 1994Advanced1,420 days
September 20071 February 19931 September 1990Retrogressed884 days
August 200722 July 19941 February 1993Retrogressed536 days
July 200715 July 199422 July 1994Advanced7 days
June 20071 July 199415 July 1994Advanced14 days
May 20078 June 19941 July 1994Advanced23 days
April 20071 May 19948 June 1994Advanced38 days
March 200715 March 19941 May 1994Advanced47 days
February 200722 January 199415 March 1994Advanced52 days
January 200722 November 199322 January 1994Advanced61 days
December 200622 October 199322 November 1993Advanced31 days
November 200615 September 199322 October 1993Advanced37 days
October 20061 January 199315 September 1993Advanced257 days
August 200615 August 19931 January 1993Retrogressed226 days
April 200622 May 199315 August 1993Advanced85 days
March 20061 January 199322 May 1993Advanced141 days
February 20061 September 19921 January 1993Advanced122 days
January 20061 April 19921 September 1992Advanced153 days
December 20051 August 19911 April 1992Advanced244 days
November 20051 February 19911 August 1991Advanced181 days
October 20051 January 19871 February 1991Advanced1,492 days
July 20051 August 19931 January 1987Retrogressed2,404 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 20058 October 199222 November 1992Advanced45 days
December 20041 September 19928 October 1992Advanced37 days
November 200415 August 19921 September 1992Advanced17 days
August 20048 August 199215 August 1992Advanced7 days
July 20048 July 19928 August 1992Advanced31 days
June 200415 June 19928 July 1992Advanced23 days
May 200422 May 199215 June 1992Advanced24 days
April 20048 May 199222 May 1992Advanced14 days
March 20041 April 19928 May 1992Advanced37 days
February 200422 February 19921 April 1992Advanced39 days
January 20041 February 199222 February 1992Advanced21 days
December 200315 January 19921 February 1992Advanced17 days
November 200315 December 199115 January 1992Advanced31 days
October 20031 November 199115 December 1991Advanced44 days
September 200322 September 19911 November 1991Advanced40 days
August 200315 August 199122 September 1991Advanced38 days
July 20038 July 199115 August 1991Advanced38 days
June 20031 June 19918 July 1991Advanced37 days
May 200322 April 19911 June 1991Advanced40 days
April 20038 March 199122 April 1991Advanced45 days
March 20038 February 19918 March 1991Advanced28 days
February 20038 January 19918 February 1991Advanced31 days
January 20031 November 19908 January 1991Advanced68 days
December 200215 August 19901 November 1990Advanced78 days
November 200222 May 199015 August 1990Advanced85 days
October 200222 April 199022 May 1990Advanced30 days
September 20028 April 199022 April 1990Advanced14 days
August 200222 March 19908 April 1990Advanced17 days
July 200215 March 199022 March 1990Advanced7 days
May 200215 February 199015 March 1990Advanced28 days
April 200222 January 199015 February 1990Advanced24 days
March 20021 January 199022 January 1990Advanced21 days
February 20021 December 19891 January 1990Advanced31 days
January 20028 November 19891 December 1989Advanced23 days

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 30 April 2001. 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 30 April 2001.

No estimate is possible: the cut-off is not advancing

The cut-off has not advanced (or has moved BACKWARD) over the trailing published bulletins. A linear projection would divide by zero or point into the past, so no wait is estimated. Whether a priority date is ALREADY current is still answered exactly — that is a comparison, not a projection.

The cut-off has held at 30 April 2001 across the trailing published bulletins. A cut-off that is not moving gives nothing to project from: any "months to wait" figure derived from a pace of zero would be an artefact of the arithmetic, not information about this category. This page therefore shows no such figure.

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 0 days about 0 days
Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 6 of 6 carried a measurable move 0 days about 0 days
Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 12 of 12 carried a measurable move 0 days about 0 days

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 December 1997 to 30 April 2001
Dates for Filing: F4, Mexico, October 2015 – July 2026 Dates for Filing for F4, Mexico, October 2015 – July 2026. 130 of 130 published bulletins carry a dated cut-off, ranging from 1 December 1997 to 30 April 2001. 1 retrogressions (the cut-off moving backward) are marked. C 1998 1999 2000 2001 Retrogressed October 2016: 1 June 1998 back to 1 December 1997 (182 days backward) 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
  • Retrogression — the cut-off moved backward (1)
Dates for Filing — the 24 most recent of 40 bulletins in which this cut-off changed, newest first. Months in which it held steady are not listed: it held in 90 of the published bulletins. Direction is shown by the ↑ / ↓ glyph and the word, never by colour alone.
Bulletin From To What changed
August 202428 April 200130 April 2001Advanced2 days
July 202427 April 200128 April 2001Advanced1 day
June 202422 April 200127 April 2001Advanced5 days
May 202415 April 200122 April 2001Advanced7 days
July 20231 April 200115 April 2001Advanced14 days
November 202215 March 20011 April 2001Advanced17 days
July 20221 March 200115 March 2001Advanced14 days
May 202222 December 20001 March 2001Advanced69 days
April 20221 September 200022 December 2000Advanced112 days
March 202222 August 19991 September 2000Advanced376 days
January 20221 August 199922 August 1999Advanced21 days
December 20211 June 19991 August 1999Advanced61 days
September 20218 May 19991 June 1999Advanced24 days
February 202122 April 19998 May 1999Advanced16 days
September 20201 April 199922 April 1999Advanced21 days
August 20208 March 19991 April 1999Advanced24 days
July 20208 February 19998 March 1999Advanced28 days
June 202022 January 19998 February 1999Advanced17 days
May 202015 January 199922 January 1999Advanced7 days
April 20208 January 199915 January 1999Advanced7 days
March 20201 January 19998 January 1999Advanced7 days
October 201922 December 19981 January 1999Advanced10 days
September 201915 December 199822 December 1998Advanced7 days
August 20198 December 199815 December 1998Advanced7 days
Show the earlier 16 changes — back to October 2015
The remaining 16 bulletins in which the Dates for Filing cut-off changed, newest first, back to October 2015.
Bulletin From To What changed
July 20191 December 19988 December 1998Advanced7 days
June 201922 November 19981 December 1998Advanced9 days
May 201915 November 199822 November 1998Advanced7 days
April 20198 November 199815 November 1998Advanced7 days
March 20191 November 19988 November 1998Advanced7 days
February 20198 October 19981 November 1998Advanced24 days
January 201915 September 19988 October 1998Advanced23 days
December 201822 June 199815 September 1998Advanced85 days
October 20181 June 199822 June 1998Advanced21 days
July 20188 May 19981 June 1998Advanced24 days
May 20188 February 19988 May 1998Advanced89 days
October 20178 January 19988 February 1998Advanced31 days
May 20171 December 19978 January 1998Advanced38 days
October 20161 June 19981 December 1997Retrogressed182 days
November 20151 May 19981 June 1998Advanced31 days
October 2015not published1 May 1998First 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 Mexico has its own column

Chargeability is normally your country of birth — not your citizenship or where you live. State gives Mexico 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 Mexico in the July 2026 Visa Bulletin?
The Final Action Dates cut-off is 8 April 2001 and the Dates for Filing cut-off is 30 April 2001. State printed those cells as "08APR01" and "30APR01". A priority date earlier than 8 April 2001 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 Mexico in the July 2026 bulletin they read 8 April 2001 and 30 April 2001 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 Mexico 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 9 times in the published record — 8 in the Final Action Dates chart and 1 in the Dates for Filing chart. The largest was in July 2005, when the Final Action cut-off moved back from 1 August 1993 to 1 January 1987 — 2,404 days, or about 6.6 years, in a single bulletin.
When will a priority date in F4 become current for Mexico?
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 2 days per bulletin. The tool on this page projects the published cut-off of 8 April 2001 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 291 Final Action Dates bulletins back to December 2001 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 421 published cut-off cells for F4 / Mexico and 235 recorded changes across both charts. Each cell is stored with the exact text State printed for it (the 08APR01 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 →