Filing Date Chart vs Final Action Date Chart: A Practitioner Walkthrough

Every monthly visa bulletin publishes two charts. Most investors look at the wrong one.

The Final Action Date chart (sometimes called Chart A) controls when a visa can actually be issued. The Filing Date chart (Chart B) controls when USCIS and the National Visa Center will accept paperwork. They are not interchangeable, and the chart that matters depends on what step of your case you are at. This article walks through both charts, when each applies for EB-5, and how USCIS announces which one Adjustment of Status filers should use.

The two charts in plain terms#

Chart A: Application Final Action Dates. The cutoff for actual visa issuance and final approval. If your priority date is on or before the Chart A cutoff for your country and category, a visa number is available to your case.

Chart B: Dates for Filing Applications. A cutoff that is typically several months ahead of Chart A. If your priority date is on or before the Chart B cutoff, the National Visa Center will collect documents and prepare consular cases, and (in months when USCIS allows it) USCIS will accept I-485 Adjustment of Status filings.

Think of it this way: Chart B is a "you can start the paperwork" line. Chart A is a "you can finish the case" line.

When Chart B matters more than Chart A#

Chart B advances earlier than Chart A. For an investor watching the bulletin, hitting Chart B is the first practical milestone: paperwork starts, the case enters the processing pipeline, and the investor moves from passive waiting to active document collection.

For consular cases at the National Visa Center, hitting Chart B means: NVC collects civil documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, police certificates), DS-260 immigrant visa application becomes available, fee notices are issued, and the case enters the queue for interview scheduling once Chart A clears.

Inside USCIS, Adjustment of Status filers face an extra step: Chart B applies only in months when USCIS publishes a determination accepting it for I-485 filings. The announcement appears at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo and changes month to month based on USCIS's adjudication capacity and projected visa availability.

When Chart A matters more than Chart B#

Chart A is the line that controls visa issuance. Hitting Chart A means the case can be approved (for I-485) or interviewed and issued a visa (for consular processing).

If your case is documentarily-qualified at NVC, you wait for Chart A to clear your priority date before the interview is scheduled. If your I-485 is filed and pending, you wait for Chart A to clear your priority date before USCIS can approve it.

For an EB-5 investor tracking progress, the practical sequence is: Chart B clears (paperwork stage begins), then Chart A clears (case can be finalized).

EB-5 specifics: how USCIS announces which chart to use#

Each month, USCIS publishes a determination at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo titled "When to File Your Adjustment of Status Application for the Family-Sponsored or Employment-Based Preference Visas." The page lists, by category and country, which chart Adjustment of Status filers should use that month.

USCIS switches between the two charts. In 2026 it required the Final Action Dates chart (Chart A) for employment-based filings in some months, including June and July 2026, and it directed employment-based filers to the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B) for November 2026. In months when Chart B applies, India-born and China-born investors with priority dates on or before the Filing Date can file I-485 even while Chart A is behind their priority date. The benefit is real: filing I-485 unlocks Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole eligibility, both of which materially improve the family's U.S. work and travel flexibility while waiting for final action.

USCIS can change the chart-to-use decision any month. Practitioners check the USCIS page when each bulletin is published (usually in the first half of the prior month) to confirm.

Current EB-5 chart values (November 2026 bulletin)#

For India unreserved investors, Chart A (Final Action) was Unavailable from July 2026 through the end of FY2026 after the category hit its per-country limit, and the October 2026 (FY2027) bulletin restored it to December 1, 2023. Chart B (Filing) held at May 1, 2024 throughout. An investor with a priority date on or before May 1, 2024 can file I-485 in months when USCIS accepts Chart B, as it did for November 2026.

China unreserved investors had a gap of only about 3 months through September 2026 (Chart B at March 1, 2017). The October 2026 bulletin moved Chart B to March 1, 2021, so the gap is now more than four years (Chart A at December 1, 2016). For November 2026, USCIS directed employment-based adjustment filers to Chart B, which lets China-born investors in the United States with priority dates before March 1, 2021 file I-485 while they wait for a final action date.

Operational use of Chart B for consular processing#

For India-born and China-born EB-5 investors processing through a U.S. consulate abroad (not adjusting status from inside the U.S.), Chart B controls when the National Visa Center prepares the case. Once Chart B clears the priority date, NVC sends the case to the consulate for interview scheduling. The interview is scheduled when Chart A clears.

The practical effect for India consular cases: NVC has been actively preparing cases with priority dates through May 1, 2024 (Chart B), even though those cases will not interview until Chart A advances to their priority date. The NVC paperwork phase is no longer the bottleneck for India consular EB-5; the bottleneck is the Chart A advance.

What Chart B does NOT do#

Three things Chart B clearance does not give you:

• It does not guarantee visa availability. A case can be documentarily-qualified at NVC and waiting for years before Chart A advances enough to schedule the interview. Chart B advancement is necessary for paperwork progress; it is not sufficient for visa issuance.
• It does not lock in the priority date. Your priority date is fixed at I-526E receipt. Chart B advancing past your priority date lets the case advance to the next paperwork stage; it does not change your priority date or queue position.
• It does not bypass the per-country cap. If your country's cumulative documentarily-qualified inventory at NVC exceeds the per-country cap, the Visa Office can retrogress Chart B (move it backward) to slow new paperwork intake. India Chart B has held flat at May 1, 2024 since January 2026.

FAQ: Filing Date vs Final Action Date#

Q: My priority date is between Chart A and Chart B. What can I do?

A: Plenty. You can file I-485 if USCIS announced this month that Chart B applies for I-485 filings. If you are consular processing, NVC will collect documents and prepare your case. You cannot get the final visa or I-485 approval until Chart A reaches your priority date.

Q: How does USCIS decide which chart applies to I-485 filings?

A: USCIS evaluates monthly visa demand against available capacity. There is no fixed default: in 2026 USCIS required Chart A for employment-based filings in some months and allowed Chart B in others, including November 2026. Chart B months give investors earlier I-485 filing and access to EAD and Advance Parole. The decision is published on uscis.gov/visabulletininfo on or around bulletin publication day.

Q: If USCIS switches back to Chart A for I-485 filings, what happens to cases already filed under Chart B?

A: Cases already filed remain pending. They do not get rejected. The switch only affects which priority dates can newly file I-485. Already-pending cases keep their pending status; they just wait for Chart A to reach their priority date before final approval.

Q: Does Chart B ever retrogress?

A: Yes. The Visa Office can move Chart B backward to slow new paperwork intake. India Chart B has held flat at May 1, 2024 for several months in 2026, which is a soft retrogression in that demand inside the priority-date band continues to grow while the chart does not advance.

Q: My consular case is at NVC and Chart B passed my priority date last year. Why is my interview not scheduled?

A: NVC paperwork stage and consular interview scheduling are different milestones. Chart B clearing means NVC will prepare the case. Interview scheduling requires Chart A to clear or to be close. For India consular cases with priority dates 2023 and later, the interview wait can be years even after Chart B clears.

Q: Where do I find the USCIS chart-to-use announcement each month?

A: uscis.gov/visabulletininfo. The page updates within a few days of the Department of State's monthly bulletin publication. Sign up for the Department of State's bulletin email distribution to get the State Department side automatically.

Methodology#

Chart A and Chart B definitions and the USCIS chart-to-use process come from the Department of State's monthly Visa Bulletin and USCIS's published policy at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo. Blue tier.

Current chart values (November 2026 bulletin) come from visa_bulletin_normalized ingested daily through our /api/cron/visa-bulletin sync. Blue tier.

The discussion of operational consequences (NVC paperwork timing, EAD and Advance Parole access via Chart B I-485 filing) reflects standard immigration practitioner workflow. Gray tier.

This article is not legal advice. Investors should consult immigration counsel about which chart governs their specific case and when to file.

What to read next#

• How to Read the EB-5 Visa Bulletin: full walkthrough of the bulletin's structure.
• Visa Bulletin page: live chart data sourced from the daily sync.

Track both charts against your priority date. The Priority Date Tracker shows your case against both Chart A and Chart B in real time.