A Monthly Visa Bulletin Review That Can Be Audited

Visa Bulletin work is not a single comparison between a client's priority date and one cutoff. The correct review depends on the matter's preference category, chargeability, priority date, procedural posture, the month's Department of State bulletin, and, for adjustment of status, the chart USCIS says applicants must use that month.

The Department of State Visa Bulletin publishes Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications. The bulletin explains that the charts can move forward, remain unchanged, retrogress, or become unavailable as number use changes. USCIS separately identifies which chart adjustment applicants must use through its Visa Bulletin filing-chart page.

The monthly operating job is mechanical only after counsel has selected and verified the legal inputs. The system should preserve those inputs, compare them consistently, and route movement to the lawyer. It should not tell a client they may file or that a visa is available without attorney review.

Keep the matter inputs structured and sourced

For every numerically limited matter, record:

• Beneficiary and principal or derivative role
• Petition type and receipt or approval source
• Preference category and subcategory
• Priority date and the document that establishes it
• Country of chargeability and any cross-chargeability issue
• Adjustment or consular-processing posture
• Current case stage
• Whether a petition amendment, conversion, transfer, downgrade, upgrade, retention, or porting issue may affect the analysis
• Attorney verification date

Do not treat category, chargeability, or priority date as unchanging merely because a field was completed once. Preserve the source and a history of changes.

Capture both monthly authorities

For each monthly review, retain:

1. Department of State bulletin month and URL
2. Relevant family-sponsored or employment-based table
3. Final Action Dates result
4. Dates for Filing result
5. USCIS adjustment chart selection for that month, if the matter is in adjustment posture
6. Date and person who verified the source
7. Any later bulletin correction or USCIS update

The Department of State page is the source for the bulletin. The USCIS page is the source for the chart adjustment applicants use. A screenshot without the URL, month, table, and verification date is weak evidence because it can be separated from its context.

Model the comparison correctly

For each matter, the comparison record should show:

• Matter priority date
• Selected category and chargeability column
• Applicable chart
• Published date or status for that cell
• Result: earlier than cutoff, not earlier than cutoff, current, or unavailable
• Change from the prior month
• Attorney review status

Do not collapse “C” and a dated cutoff into the same stored value. Do not convert “U” into an arbitrary future date. Keep the published notation and the interpreted comparison separately.

Treat chart selection as part of the result

For an adjustment matter, “the priority date is before the Dates for Filing cutoff” is not a complete filing conclusion. The review must also retain which chart USCIS selected for the month and whether the matter otherwise satisfies the requirements counsel is evaluating.

For consular processing, the National Visa Center and post-specific process create different operational questions. Keep the matter posture visible so a comparison intended for adjustment is not presented as universal advice.

Surface movement without overstating it

Use a restrained event vocabulary:

• Cutoff advanced
• Cutoff unchanged
• Cutoff retrogressed
• Category became current
• Category became unavailable
• Matter crossed the selected cutoff
• Matter no longer crosses the selected cutoff
• Attorney review required

Avoid “file now,” “priority date due,” or “visa available” as automated status labels. A cutoff comparison is one input to counsel's analysis. It does not establish that the client is eligible, the filing is complete, or the procedural path is correct.

Connect movement to matter readiness

The useful payoff is not an alert by itself. When a matter crosses a relevant cutoff, the file should show whether the work counsel may need is ready:

• Petition and approval record
• Civil documents and translations
• Identity and immigration history
• Medical examination posture where applicable
• Affidavit-of-support or financial evidence
• Current forms and filing edition
• Fees and payment method
• Address, status, employment, travel, family, and admissibility changes
• Attorney decisions still open

This turns the monthly review into an actionable queue. The attorney sees both the source movement and the state of the file.

Keep retrogression visible

Retrogression should not silently overwrite last month's result. Preserve:

• Prior published cutoff
• Current published cutoff
• Date the change was observed
• Matters affected
• Work already filed or submitted
• Client communication status
• Attorney decision on the current posture

For pending matters, distinguish the filing chart, final-action chart, and agency status. A matter can remain pending while the bulletin posture changes. The file should show those as separate facts.

Operating artifact: monthly bulletin review register

Use one row per category and chargeability combination the firm actually has in its caseload:

Complete a second-person or attorney spot check on at least one matter in every category used that month. Retain the checked source links and the review date even when no matter changed.

Sources checked

• Department of State – Current and archived Visa Bulletins
• USCIS – Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
• USCIS – How to Check if an Immigrant Visa Is Available

Sources were checked on August 13, 2026. The current bulletin, USCIS chart selection, case posture, and attorney analysis control.

DocketBuddy stores the priority date, category, chargeability, posture, monthly source, and change history with the immigration matter. It can surface the comparison and file gaps. Counsel decides the applicable chart, currentness, eligibility, timing, and client advice.