AC21 Job Portability (INA § 204(j)): A qualifying employment-based adjustment applicant whose Form I-485 has remained pending for at least 180 days may request portability to a new job in the same or a similar occupational classification. This is a portability rule for the qualifying petition and adjustment case; it should not be confused with priority-date retention.
Priority Date Status Checker
August 2026 EB-2 / EB-3 Visa Bulletin Snapshot
The following table reflects the U.S. Department of State's August 2026 employment-based Visa Bulletin. These dates are monthly cutoff dates and are not predictions of future movement.
| Chargeability | EB-2 Final Action | EB-2 Filing | EB-3 Final Action | EB-3 Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Unavailable | January 15, 2015 | January 1, 2014 | January 15, 2015 |
| China-mainland born | September 1, 2021 | January 1, 2022 | January 1, 2022 | January 8, 2022 |
| All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | Current | Current | September 1, 2024 | Current |
Important: The Department of State may advance, retrogress, or make a category unavailable as visa-number demand changes. The Dates for Filing chart does not by itself establish that an applicant may file Form I-485; adjustment applicants must also check USCIS's monthly chart designation.
Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing
These two Visa Bulletin charts serve different purposes. A listed cutoff date generally means that the applicant's priority date must be earlierthan the listed date. A "C" means current, while "U" means unavailable.
- Final Action Dates: Used to determine when immigrant visa numbers may be finally issued or employment-based adjustment applications may be approved, subject to all other requirements.
- Dates for Filing: Identifies an earlier filing/document submission stage when the applicable rules permit its use.
- Adjustment of status: USCIS separately announces each month whether employment-based applicants may use Dates for Filing instead of Final Action Dates for Form I-485 filing.
- Final approval: Being eligible to file under a filing chart does not mean that a visa number is immediately available for final approval.
Always check both the Department of State Visa Bulletin and the USCIS monthly adjustment-of-status filing-chart designation before filing Form I-485.
Statutory Regulations & Codes
| Statutory Regulation | Legal Subject | Operational Provisions |
|---|---|---|
| INA § 203(b)(2) / INA § 202(a)(2) | EB-2 Preference & Per-Country Limitation | INA § 203(b)(2) establishes the EB-2 employment preference allocation; INA § 202(a)(2) establishes the general 7% per-country limitation applicable to preference immigrants, subject to statutory allocation and prorating rules. |
| INA § 204(j) / AC21 § 106(c) | Employment-Based Job Portability | A qualifying employment-based I-485 applicant may port to a new job after the adjustment application has remained pending for at least 180 days, if the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification and the other portability requirements are satisfied. |
| 8 CFR § 204.5(e) | Priority-Date Retention | An approved EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petition generally accords its beneficiary the priority date for a later qualifying EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petition. The regulation contains specific exceptions and does not permit transfer of a priority date to another alien. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Green card retrogression occurs when demand and visa-number usage require the Department of State to move a category's Final Action Date backward to keep visa issuances within applicable annual, preference-category, and per-country numerical limits. INA § 203(b) establishes the employment-based preference categories and worldwide allocation structure, while INA § 202(a)(2) establishes the general 7% per-country limitation. Retrogression is therefore not caused solely by a single 7% rule.
An EB-2 to EB-3 downgrade generally involves filing a new EB-3 Form I-140 when the beneficiary and underlying labor certification support the EB-3 classification. Priority-date retention is a separate rule under 8 CFR § 204.5(e): an approved EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petition generally accords its priority date to a later qualifying EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petition, subject to the regulation's exceptions. The terms 'downgrade' and 'priority-date retention' should not be treated as the same legal process.
Under AC21 § 106(c), codified at INA § 204(j), a qualifying employment-based adjustment applicant whose Form I-485 has remained pending for at least 180 days may request job portability when the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job for which the original petition was filed. The portability rules have specific eligibility requirements and are separate from priority-date retention.
Final Action Dates determine when a green card can actually be issued or approved by USCIS. Dates for Filing indicate when applicants may submit their Form I-485 adjustment of status paperwork to USCIS when authorized.
Generally, yes. Under 8 CFR § 204.5(e), an approved EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petition accords its beneficiary the priority date of that approved petition for subsequently filed qualifying EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petitions, and multiple approved petitions generally allow retention of the earliest priority date. However, priority-date retention is subject to exceptions, including revocation based on fraud or willful misrepresentation, certain labor-certification revocations or invalidations, or a determination that petition approval was based on a material error. A denied petition does not establish a priority date, and a priority date cannot be transferred to another alien.
USCIS publishes a monthly determination explaining whether employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants should use the Final Action Dates chart or the Dates for Filing chart from the Department of State Visa Bulletin. Applicants should check the current USCIS Visa Bulletin information page rather than assuming that the Dates for Filing chart may be used.
The Visa Bulletin uses 'U' to mean unavailable. For August 2026, EB-2 India is listed as unavailable for Final Action. When a category is unavailable, immigrant visa numbers are not authorized for that category until numbers become available again under the applicable statutory limits.
Generally, no. When a specific cutoff date is listed, the Visa Bulletin states that the priority date must be earlier than the listed date. A priority date exactly equal to the cutoff is therefore not considered current under that listed cutoff.
No. A downgrade is a new EB-3 petition, while priority-date retention is governed separately by 8 CFR § 204.5(e). If the beneficiary has an eligible approved earlier employment-based petition, the applicable priority date may generally be retained for the later qualifying petition, subject to the regulation's exceptions.
No. The new job must generally be in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job for which the qualifying employment-based petition was filed, and the other portability requirements must be satisfied. The 180-day period is necessary but not by itself sufficient.
Official Government Portals
• U.S. Department of State Official Visa Bulletin: travel.state.gov/visabulletin
• USCIS Visa Bulletin Filing Information: uscis.gov/visabulletininfo
• USCIS Policy Manual — AC21 Portability: USCIS Policy Manual