Green card & visa guides
Plain-English explainers on the Visa Bulletin, priority dates and your options.
Visa Bulletin basics
Read the monthly bulletin and know where you stand.
How to Read the Visa Bulletin (Priority Dates Explained)A plain-English guide to the Visa Bulletin, priority dates, Final Action Dates vs Dates for Filing, and what "current" means.Visa Bulletin Retrogression: Why Your Priority Date Moved BackwardWhat retrogression is, why it happens, and what it means for your green card timeline, with a recent EB-2 India example.Dates for Filing vs Final Action: Can You File Your I-485 Yet?The Visa Bulletin has two charts. One lets you file your green card paperwork early; the other is when it can actually be approved. Here is the difference.
The India & China backlog
Why the wait is so long, and how the per-country caps work.
Why Is the India Green Card Wait So Long?The per-country cap, the annual limit, and the math behind the decades-long EB-2/EB-3 India green card backlog, in plain English.The China Employment Green Card Backlog, ExplainedHow the EB-2 and EB-3 China green card backlog works, why it is shorter than India but still multi-year, and what moves the cutoffs.Cross-Chargeability: Use Your Spouse's Country to Skip the BacklogIf your spouse was born outside India or China, cross-chargeability may let you use their country’s faster green card line. How it works.
Speeding up your case
Categories and strategies that can move you up the line.
EB-2 vs EB-3 for India: When Does a Downgrade Make Sense?EB-2 and EB-3 India cutoffs sometimes cross. Here is how an EB-3 downgrade works and the trade-offs to weigh.EB-1 for Indians: Can You Skip the EB-2/EB-3 Line?EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C explained for India-born applicants, and whether upgrading from EB-2/EB-3 can shorten your wait.EB-2 NIW for India: Does It Actually Speed Up Your Green Card?The National Interest Waiver skips PERM and the job offer — but does it shorten your India wait? The honest answer and the real benefits.EB-5 as a Backlog Shortcut for India and ChinaThe EB-5 investor green card, the reserved “set-aside” categories that move faster for India and China, and the cost and risk to weigh.
The H-1B lottery
Your odds, the new rules, and what to do if you are not selected.
The FY2027 H-1B Wage-Weighted Lottery: How Your Odds ChangedThe H-1B lottery is no longer purely random. Here is how the new wage-level weighting works and what it means for your selection chances.Not Selected in the H-1B Lottery? Your OptionsO-1, L-1, TN, cap-exempt H-1B, and green card self-petitions: a practical menu of paths when the H-1B lottery does not come through.The $100,000 H-1B Fee: Who It Applies ToA September 2025 proclamation introduced a six-figure fee on certain H-1B petitions. Here is who is affected and who is not.
When life changes
Job changes, layoffs and children aging out.
Changing Jobs With a Pending Green Card (AC21 Portability)A long backlog does not have to trap you at one employer. Here is how AC21 job portability works once your I-485 has been pending long enough.Will Your Child Age Out? CSPA and the Green Card BacklogHow the Child Status Protection Act protects kids from “aging out” at 21 during a long green card wait, and the recent USCIS update that helps.