United States · green card
USCIS August 2026 Visa Bulletin: which chart to use to file for a Green Card
The August 2026 Visa Bulletin is out, and USCIS has set which chart adjustment-of-status applicants use: employment-based filers use Final Action Dates and family-sponsored filers use Dates for Filing. Here is how to read it for your case.
Published .
Reported and checked by Walter Armani. Last checked July 21, 2026. Research and verification follow the QueueCheck editorial standards. How we verify information
August filing charts: the decision you need first
Start with your category. If you are filing a Green Card adjustment of status inside the United States in August 2026, employment-based applicants use the Final Action Dates chart and family-sponsored applicants use the Dates for Filing chart. If your category is current, or your priority date is earlier than the cutoff on your chart, you may file if otherwise eligible. Confirm your exact category and country of chargeability on the official USCIS filing-chart page before acting.
Adjustment applicants deciding whether August permits filing
People filing or preparing a Green Card adjustment of status inside the United States in August 2026, in family-sponsored or employment-based preference categories, and anyone tracking a priority date.
Why family and employment applicants use different August charts
- The State Department released the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, the monthly reference for Green Card priority dates.
- For August 2026 adjustment of status, USCIS will accept employment-based applications using the Final Action Dates chart.
- For August 2026 adjustment of status, USCIS will accept family-sponsored applications using the Dates for Filing chart.
- Whether you can file depends on your preference category and country of chargeability, read against the correct chart.
- Consular immigrant visa cases at a U.S. embassy follow Final Action Dates and are separate from these USCIS adjustment-of-status filing rules.
The USCIS chart selection and State Department dates
USCIS announces each month which chart adjustment-of-status applicants use, and the choice can differ between family-sponsored and employment-based categories.
For August 2026, USCIS accepts employment-based adjustment applications on the Final Action Dates chart and family-sponsored applications on the Dates for Filing chart.
The Visa Bulletin is published by the State Department; USCIS separately decides which chart adjustment-of-status filers use each month.
Consular immigrant visa processing uses Final Action Dates regardless of the USCIS adjustment-of-status chart choice.
A category shown as current, marked C, has no cutoff date that month.
Which chart to use for August 2026 adjustment of status
August 2026 Visa Bulletin and USCIS filing-chart decision
USCIS named different charts for the two preference tracks this month. Match your track, then read that chart for your category and country.
Employment-based filers
Final Action Dates
USCIS accepts August employment-based adjustment applications on this chart.
Family-sponsored filers
Dates for Filing
USCIS accepts August family-sponsored adjustment applications on this chart.
Consular cases
Final Action Dates
Embassy immigrant visa cases follow this chart regardless of the USCIS choice.
| If you are | Use this chart in August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Employment-based, adjusting status in the U.S. | Final Action Dates |
| Family-sponsored, adjusting status in the U.S. | Dates for Filing |
| Consular processing at a U.S. embassy | Final Action Dates |
| Not sure of your category | Find your preference category first, then read its chart |
The two official pages that control the August answer
- State Department August 2026 Visa Bulletin
- USCIS adjustment-of-status filing charts
Do not file from the wrong chart
- Read by preference category and country of chargeability.
- Cut-off dates change monthly; confirm on the official charts.
August Visa Bulletin filing questions
I am worried I will use the wrong chart. How do I know which one is mine?
For August 2026, employment-based adjustment filers use Final Action Dates and family-sponsored filers use Dates for Filing. Find your preference category first, because that decides your chart. The official USCIS page names both, so confirm yours there before filing.
Does the August bulletin mean my priority date is current?
Not necessarily. Whether you can file depends on your category and country of chargeability read against the correct chart. Being current is shown as C; otherwise your priority date must be earlier than the listed cutoff for your category.
Why can employment and family filers use different charts?
USCIS decides each month, separately for each preference track, which chart to accept for adjustment of status. It is normal for the two to differ, as they do for August 2026, so always check the chart named for your own category.
What USCIS's August chart choice changes
If your category is current, or your priority date is earlier than the cutoff on your chart, you may file adjustment of status in August, if otherwise eligible.
Using the wrong chart is a common mistake this month, because employment and family categories are told to use different charts.
Cut-off dates vary sharply by category and country, so a movement reported for one category does not mean yours moved.
Verify category and chargeability before filing
- Identify whether you are family-sponsored or employment-based, and your country of chargeability, before reading any date.
- Open the official USCIS August filing-chart page and read the chart USCIS named for your category.
- Compare your priority date to the cutoff; if it is earlier, or the category is current, check whether you are otherwise eligible to file.
- If you are consular processing rather than adjusting status, use the Final Action Dates chart and follow NVC and embassy guidance instead.
Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing serve different purposes
Use the bulletin and the USCIS chart decision to understand filing eligibility; use your own USCIS case updates to understand your case stage.
Priority date movement is a queue signal for a whole category, not a decision on any single case.
A current date does not decide the I-485 case
- This update explains which chart USCIS named and how to use it; it does not reproduce the specific cut-off dates, which the official charts state authoritatively and which change monthly.
- It cannot say when any individual case will be approved.
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Official citation
Published July 21, 2026. Original source: USCIS adjustment-of-status filing charts.
- Also checked: U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin.