Tracking the US Visa Bulletin as Open Data (Not Screenshots)

Description and use

A website and open dataset provide structured, queryable US Visa Bulletin data, eliminating manual PDF parsing and confusion between Table A and Table B.

Problem

Immigrant applicants struggled with interpreting the US Visa Bulletin, often relying on PDFs, screenshots, and manual table comparisons, leading to confusion between Table A and Table B and misreading of status codes like "C".

Outcome

The solution eliminates manual PDF parsing, reduces misinterpretation of the Visa Bulletin, and provides a stable, queryable dataset for users and developers.

Workflow

• 1. Identify category and chargeability country (e.g., EB‑2 China).
• 2. Check Table A to see if priority date is earlier than the final action cutoff.
• 3. If USCIS is accepting Chart B filings that month, check Table B for filing eligibility.
• 4. Review USCIS processing times for the specific form filed (I‑140, I‑485, etc.).

Evidence

For years, the practical workflow for a lot of people (including me) looked like this: open a PDF, squint at a table, paste a number into a spreadsheet, argue with friends about whether “C” means what they think it means.

Source

I got tired of that. So I built a small data site and an open dataset that re-publishes the bulletin in a form you can actually query.

Source

The bulletin has two charts that look almost identical and mean very different things: Table A – Final Action Dates; Table B – Dates for Filing.

Source

The companion repo visa-bulletin-cn stores structured bulletin snapshots so you can: Diff month-over-month movement by category and chargeability; Build your own alerts; Cite a stable URL instead of “see the screenshot I sent last Tuesday.”

Source