U.S. Visa Bulletin October 2026: Priority Dates & How to Read It

What Is the U.S. Visa Bulletin?

The Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication of the U.S. Department of State, usually released around the 10th to 15th of the preceding month — so the October 2026 bulletin arrived on September 29, 2026. Its job: announce which immigrant visa numbers are available, by category and country, for the month ahead.

The United States caps family-sponsored green cards at 226,000 per year and employment-based green cards at 140,000 per year, and no single country may receive more than 7 percent of the visas in each category. When demand exceeds supply — and for India and China it has for two decades — a queue forms. The Visa Bulletin is the queue's public scoreboard: each month it lists a cut-off date for every category and oversubscribed country; applicants whose priority date is earlier than that cut-off may move forward.

Two things the bulletin does not do: it does not control nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B, L-1, F-1 or B1/B2 (governed by USCIS and consular policy, not visa numbers), and it does not set processing times — only visa-number availability.

How to Read the Visa Bulletin

Every bulletin contains two charts per category, and confusing them is the most common mistake applicants make.

Final Action Dates (the visa availability chart). This is the date that actually matters for approval. If your priority date is earlier than the final action date for your category and country, a visa number is available and your application can be finally approved.

Dates for Filing. This chart lets you submit your application earlier. If your priority date is earlier than the date for filing, you may file Form I-485 or begin the consular process even though a visa number is not yet available for final approval. USCIS announces each month which chart filers must use; for October 2026, both family and employment-based filers use the Dates for Filing chart. Reading the symbols: C means current — every qualified applicant may proceed. U means unauthorized — no visas are available.

Your priority date. This is your place in line: the date the immigrant petition was filed — the I-130 for family cases, the I-140 for employment cases (or the PERM labor certification filing date for PERM-based cases). It is printed on your I-797 receipt or approval notice.

Country of chargeability. The column you read is normally determined by your country of birth, not your nationality or passport. The exception is cross-chargeability: if your spouse was born in a different country, you may charge the case to that country's column.

October 2026 Final Action Dates — Family-Sponsored

The family-sponsored preference categories cover relatives of U.S. citizens and green card holders who are not immediate relatives (spouses, parents and unmarried children under 21 of citizens are uncapped). These are the October 2026 final action dates:

F2A is effectively current for most of the world at 22 September 2026, with Mexico the only exception at 22 March 2026. The bulletin carries a special note: F2A numbers are exempt from the per-country limit for priority dates earlier than 22 March 2026, subject to the limit for all except Mexico for dates between 22 March 2026 and 22 September 2026, and fully exempt for all Mexico cases.

At the other end, F4 remains the longest family wait: 22 October 2011 for most countries, but 15 December 2006 for India and 22 April 2001 for Mexico — a queue of more than two decades for Mexican siblings. F1 sits at 22 January 2020, with Mexico at 8 September 2008 and the Philippines at 1 November 2013. F2B is at 22 August 2019, and F3 at 22 October 2014.

October 2026 Final Action Dates — Employment-Based

The employment-based chart is where the October 2026 bulletin made its biggest news. These are the final action dates:

Read the EB-2 row carefully. For rest-of-world, Mexico and the Philippines, the category retrogressed from current in September to 1 January 2025 — a consequence of the fiscal year reset. India, Unavailable (U) for July through September 2026, reopened at 1 November 2013. China advanced one month to 1 October 2021.

EB-1 India advanced about 3.5 months, from 15 October 2022 to 1 February 2023, while China held at 1 July 2023. EB-3 shows 1 August 2024 for rest-of-world and Mexico, 1 April 2024 for China, 15 January 2015 for India and 1 January 2024 for the Philippines. EB-5 is current for most countries, with China at 1 December 2016 and India reopened at 1 December 2023.

The practical meaning: if your priority date is earlier than the date in your row, your visa can be finally approved this month; if later, you wait and re-check monthly. For the India queues, our EB-3 India priority date guide has the backlog math.

October 2026 Dates for Filing

The Dates for Filing charts let you submit your application before a visa number is available for final approval. USCIS confirmed on September 29, 2026 that it will use the Dates for Filing chart for October 2026 for both family and employment-based applicants — a change from September.

Family-Sponsored Dates for Filing (October 2026)

Employment-Based Dates for Filing (October 2026)

The China employment filing dates jumped dramatically — EB-1 to 1 July 2024, EB-2 to 1 January 2023, EB-3 to 1 April 2024 — so Chinese applicants can file their I-485 months earlier than the final action chart allows. Filing early starts the clock on employment authorization and advance parole. India's filing dates are unchanged, so the benefit is smaller there.

What Changed in October 2026

October bulletins are always the most consequential of the year, opening a new fiscal year with fresh visa numbers. Here is what moved between September and October 2026.

Employment-based:

• EB-1 India final action advanced about 3.5 months (15 October 2022 to 1 February 2023); China unchanged at 1 July 2023.
• EB-2 final action retrogressed from current to 1 January 2025 for rest-of-world, Mexico and the Philippines.
• EB-2 India reopened from Unavailable to 1 November 2013 after three months with no numbers at all.
• EB-2 China advanced one month (1 September 2021 to 1 October 2021).
• EB-5 India reopened from Unavailable to 1 December 2023; China held at 1 December 2016; rest-of-world current.
• China Dates for Filing advanced massively in every employment category (EB-1 to 1 July 2024, EB-2 to 1 January 2023, EB-3 to 1 April 2024).

Family-sponsored:

• F1 Mexico advanced 8 months (to 8 September 2008); F1 Philippines advanced 6 months (to 1 November 2013).
• F2A advanced about one month across the board.
• F2B Mexico advanced 15 months (to 15 May 2010).
• F3 Mexico advanced 16.6 months (to 1 July 2001).
• F4 Philippines advanced 8.8 months (to 15 May 2008); F4 India advanced 1.4 months (to 15 December 2006).

Two smaller notes: the SR (Certain Religious Workers) category was extended, and the bulletin noted special immigrant visas for U.S. government employees. The big picture: the fiscal year reset let the State Department reopen categories that had run dry — aggressively for Mexico and the Philippines in family categories, and for India EB-2 and EB-5 in employment. The lesson: end-of-year retrogression is usually temporary.

How to Find Your Priority Date

Your priority date is the single most important date in your immigration case, and finding it is usually straightforward.

For family-sponsored cases, the priority date is the date USCIS received the Form I-130 petition — not the approval date. It appears on your I-797 receipt notice (the NOA1) and again on the approval notice.

For employment-based cases, the priority date is normally the date the Form I-140 was filed. For PERM-based cases (most EB-2 and EB-3), it is the date the PERM labor certification was filed with the Department of Labor — even though the I-140 comes later.

Priority date retention. If you change employers, you can often keep your original priority date. An approved I-140 retains its priority date even if the employer later revokes it (unless for fraud or material error), and AC21 allows you to port it to a new I-140 in the same or a similar occupation. The priority date is the only asset that survives a job change.

Cross-chargeability. If you were born in a backlogged country but your spouse was born in a country with a shorter queue, you may charge the case to your spouse's country of birth. The per-country columns apply based on chargeability, so check this before assuming you are stuck in the India or China column. If you cannot find your receipt notice, our applications page catalogs the forms and their notices.

What to Do When Your Date Becomes Current

When your priority date becomes current, the bulletin has done its job — now the process splits into two paths.

Adjustment of status (Form I-485). If you are already in the United States in a valid status, you file the I-485 with USCIS, usually with the I-765 (employment authorization) and I-131 (advance parole) concurrently. You can work and travel while it is pending, and many employment-based cases are approved without an interview. The trade-off: you must maintain valid status, and departing without advance parole abandons the application.

Consular processing. If you are outside the United States — or ineligible to adjust — the approved petition goes to the National Visa Center, which collects fees and civil documents, declares you documentarily complete, and schedules an interview at a U.S. embassy. There is no work authorization during this stage, and the interview is mandatory. Dependents complete the DS-160 for their own appointments.

What to prepare either way: a civil document package (birth certificates, marriage certificates, police clearances, military records), a medical examination from an authorized panel physician, the affidavit of support (I-864) for family cases, and passport-style photos. The NVC reviews documents in order of completeness, so a complete package the first time is the biggest thing you can control.

One strategic note: because USCIS is using the Dates for Filing chart for October 2026, many applicants can file the I-485 before their final action date arrives. Filing early starts the EAD and advance parole clocks — often worth months of work and travel flexibility — but your case sits pending until the final action date catches up. Check the current month's chart before filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Resources