Every month the Department of State publishes a document that determines whether thousands of Brazilians with family-based green card petitions can take the next step — or keep waiting. It's the Visa Bulletin, and the September edition comes out around the 15th. The problem isn't that the line exists. It's that most people don't know how to read the chart, and end up depending on third parties for something you can check on your own in five minutes.
What happened
The Visa Bulletin is published once a month on travel.state.gov, always a few weeks ahead of the month it refers to. The September 2026 edition had not yet been released at the time this text was written — it should come out in the second half of August. When it does, it will include two charts that confuse first-time readers: "Final Action Dates" (Chart A) and "Dates for Filing" (Chart B).
Chart A tells you which petitions can already be approved/decided that month. Chart B tells you who can already file the adjustment of status, even if the final decision comes later. Each month USCIS publishes on its own website which of the two charts applies to adjustment of status applications filed within the U.S. — so looking only at the bulletin isn't enough; you have to check the USCIS page along with it.
For Brazil, the column that matters is "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed" — the general column. The separate columns for China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines do not apply to those born in Brazil.
What changes for you
The number that unlocks all of this is your priority date — the date USCIS received your I-130 petition. It's on the I-797 receipt that arrived after filing. Keep that date handy; it's the one you compare against the bulletin.
Reading it is straightforward. If your category shows the letter "C", that means current: there's no wait in line that month for that category. If it shows a date, only petitions with a priority date earlier than that date move forward. If your priority date is 03/10/2019 and the general column for your category shows 01/01/2019, yours hasn't come up yet. If it shows 06/01/2019, it has.
There are five family categories, and each has its own row: F1 (unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens), F2A (spouses and minor children of permanent residents), F2B (unmarried adult children of permanent residents), F3 (married children of U.S. citizens), and F4 (siblings of U.S. citizens). Different categories move at different paces — F4 tends to be the longest line, and F2A is the one that most often shows up as "C."
When people say "the line moved," they mean the cutoff date for their category advanced from one month to the next. When it "retrogressed," the date moved backward — which happens when demand exceeds the number of visas available in the fiscal year. None of this is a reading of your specific situation; these are the general rules for how the chart works.
In practice
- Write down your priority date (from the I-797 receipt) and your category (F1 through F4). Without these two pieces of information, the bulletin is just a chart of meaningless numbers.
- Always compare against the "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed" column — the general column applies to Brazil. Looking at the wrong column is the most common mistake.
- When the September edition comes out, also check the USCIS page that states whether the month uses Chart A (Final Action) or Chart B (Dates for Filing) for adjustment of status. Both sources together give you the answer; one alone does not.
Reading the bulletin yourself takes you out of the hands of anyone charging to "check the line" — information that is public and free. Prime prepares and organizes documents; decisions about eligibility and about what to do with your situation are up to you and a licensed professional. This text is general and does not decide anything about your case.
Sources
- The Visa Bulletin — U.S. Department of State
- Visa Bulletin 2026 (all editions)
- Visa Bulletin for August 2026
Educational information, not legal advice. Prime Immigration Office is a paralegal service — document preparation only. For legal advice, consult a licensed Texas attorney or DOJ-accredited representative.