For the past several decades, the State Department’s monthly
published Visa Bulletin has announced “cut off” dates to determine where
immigrant visa applicants were in the various quota queues applicable to
family, employment-based and Diversity-based immigrant visa categories. On
September 9, 2015, the US Department of State announced a new system for
determining eligibility to file for permanent residency.
As of October 1st, in an effort to maximize immigrant visa usage
in a fiscal year, the Department of State has established a system where there
are two different dates to track. “Application Final Action Dates” (AFADs) are
essentially the cut off dates that have always appeared in the Visa Bulletin.
“Dates for Filing Applications” (DFAs) are the dates applicants proceeding with
consular processing of green cards should be notified to begin gathering
documents for submission to the National Visa Center.
The new system applies to the family and employment-based green
card categories. The Diversity Visa cut off system is not changed and one chart
remains applicable in that category.
The DFAs are anywhere from several months to several years later
than the AFADs. Here are the differences on the October Bulletin.
