From the official announcement by USCIS ↗
According to a notice from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on August 3, 2026, the agency continues to use two different priority date tables when reviewing adjustment of status applications (Form I-485) depending on the category. Each month, USCIS selects one of two tables from the State Department — the Dates for Filing table or the Final Action Dates table — based on the number of immigrant visas remaining relative to the number of people waiting in each category.
Specifically, family-sponsored applications in August 2026 are permitted to use the Dates for Filing table, meaning applicants whose priority date falls within that range can file Form I-485 immediately even if that date has not yet become current on the Final Action Dates table. In contrast, employment-based applications must wait until their priority date becomes truly current on the Final Action Dates table before filing. This continues the approach from the previous month: according to a previous Saigon Sentinel article, July 2026 applied the same rule — family sponsorship used the filing table, while employment-based used the final action dates table.
USCIS announces which table it will use within approximately one week after the State Department releases the monthly Visa Bulletin. Those directly affected include tens of thousands of Vietnamese in the United States waiting to sponsor parents, children, and siblings, as well as EB category workers waiting for green cards through employer sponsorship — many of whom work in technology, healthcare, or own nail salons and restaurants sponsoring their employees.
In practice, this difference means family-sponsored applicants can file their cases and request temporary work permits and travel documents months or even years earlier than employment-based applicants with the same priority date — because employment-based applicants must wait for a visa to actually become available. An adjustment of status application is a process that allows applicants to remain in the United States while their permanent residence is pending, rather than having to return to their home country to apply for a visa through a consulate.
See the official USCIS notice at the source link below.
With the same priority date, a family-sponsored applicant could file a year ahead of an employment-based applicant.
Analysis
The choice of which table to use is not merely a technical matter. In May 2026, USCIS issued an internal memo asserting that adjustment of status is merely an "administrative privilege" and not intended to replace the standard consular procedure — a position that immigration attorneys Liz Goss and Jonathan Grode believe could be challenged in court since USCIS issued it through a memo rather than through the formal rulemaking process. Attorney David Keller at Keller Law Group also notes that a memo does not automatically change federal immigration law, which remains under the authority of Congress. Against this backdrop, the choice of which table is selected each month becomes increasingly sensitive, as it determines who can file in the United States and who is forced to wait abroad, carrying the risk of being barred from entry for years if they ever overstay their visa.
Diaspora Impact
Those with family sponsorship cases should check their priority date on the August 2026 Visa Bulletin and compare it to the Dates for Filing table to determine whether they are eligible to file Form I-485 immediately. Employment-based applicants need to monitor the Final Action Dates table, as they can only file when their priority date becomes truly current. This check is completely free to do yourself on the uscis.gov website and does not require intermediary services. Anyone in a situation involving a non-immigrant visa under the dual intent doctrine, or who has previously overstayed a visa, should consult an immigration attorney before filing, as recent policy changes may affect how their case is reviewed.
Bảo Nguyễn
Bảo Nguyễn founded Saigon Sentinel to give the Vietnamese diaspora truly independent, in-depth community coverage at a time when misinformation moves faster than fact-checks and the language barrier makes verification harder than it should be. He sets the editorial standards and quality controls that govern the reporting, chooses the subjects, writes and edits each article, reads it against its sources before publication, audits published output, and handles corrections.