F4 · Timeline

Waiting for a visa number

A visa is available to your brother or sister when their priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for F4 and their country of chargeability in the applicable chart of the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin. Only then can they file Form I-485 in the U.S., or be scheduled for an immigrant visa interview abroad. "C" means visas are currently available to all qualified applicants in that category and country; "U" means visas are temporarily unavailable.^[1,2]

For Form I-485, USCIS designates each month which chart applies, Final Action Dates or Dates for Filing, and expects to do so within a week after the Visa Bulletin is published; unless USCIS says otherwise, the Final Action Dates chart applies, and in a month when that chart shows the category current or a later date than the Dates for Filing chart, it may be used. Dates can also move backward (visa retrogression) when more people apply than there are visas; a new supply of visa numbers becomes available when the fiscal year begins on October 1. The chart below shows the current month.^[1,3]

An approved F4 petition stays valid for as long as the sibling relationship and your status as established in the petition (a U.S. citizen) continue, unless it is terminated under INA 203(g) (see Common mistakes below) or revoked under the rules in 8 CFR part 205.^[4]