The U.S. Department of State has released the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, announcing several significant changes to employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visa categories.
This month’s bulletin features one-year advancements in several family-sponsored categories for Worldwide, China, and India, alongside more modest employment-based gains. No retrogressions are reported.
Which Chart Will USCIS Use in November 2026?
For November 2026, USCIS will use the Dates for Filing chart for both:
Family-sponsored preference categories
Employment-based preference categories
Eligible applicants may use these charts to determine whether they can file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
The Final Action Dates chart continues to determine when immigrant visas are available for final approval.
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the October 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.
Adjustment of Status Chart
For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of October, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.
For employment-based categories, USCIS will begin using the Dates for Filing Chart .
Highlights of the October 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of October?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives
EB-1 India will advance 3.6 months to February 1, 2023
EB-1 Except China, all other countries remain current
EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability
EB-2 India moves from unavailable to November 1, 2013
EB-2 China will advance 1 month to October 1, 2021
Worldwide, Mexico, Philippines moves from current to a cutoff date of January 1, 2025
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
EB-3 China will advance 1 week to January 8, 2022
EB-3 Philippines will advance 2 weeks to August 15, 2023
Worldwide and Mexico will retrogress 3.6 months from September 1, 2024, to May 15, 2024
EB-3 Other Workers
EB-3 China will advance 5 months to October 1, 2019
EB-3 Philippines will advance 1 month to January 1, 2022
Worldwide and Mexico will retrogress 3 months from April 1, 2022, to January 1, 2022
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the September 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.
Adjustment of Status Chart
For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of September, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.
For employment-based categories, USCIS will also continue using the Final Action Dates Chart.
Highlights of the September 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of September?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
No changes except for EB-4 which will advance 2 months to December 15, 2022
EB-2 India and EB-5 India remain unavailable
The State Department warns that the EB-2, EB-1 India, and EB-5 unreserved categories may become unavailable before the end of September, with availability resuming when the new fiscal year starts in October.
October 1 can change everything for green card applicants stuck in the immigrant visa backlog. With the start of the new fiscal year, a fresh supply of immigrant visa numbers becomes available—and applicants who are ready can move fast when their priority dates become current. If your case is close, the time to prepare is before October 1, not after.
If you are from India, China, the Philippines, or Mexico, you may already be familiar with the effects of high demand and limited immigrant visa availability. For example, the EB-2 category for India has been unavailable for final action since July 2026 because of heavy demand. On the family-sponsored side, countries such as India and Mexico have also faced significant backlogs as visa demand has outpaced the number of available visas.
While demand from these countries is expected to remain high, the October 1 fiscal-year reset brings a new annual supply of immigrant visa numbers, which can allow more applicants to move forward with interviews and final visa issuance.
In this video, we break down what you need to know—and what you should do now—to put yourself in the strongest position before October 1.
What Is the End-of-Year Fiscal Reset?
The U.S. government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30, and many employment- and family-based immigrant visa categories are subject to annual numerical limits set by Congress.
Except for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, applicants generally must wait until an immigrant visa number becomes available based on their priority date and country of nationality before they can be scheduled for an interview and ultimately receive an immigrant visa.
When the new fiscal year begins on October 1, those annual visa limits reset, allowing the government to begin using a new supply of immigrant visa numbers.
For applicants stuck in backlogged categories like EB-2 India and F2A Mexico, this reset is especially important because the allocation of new visa numbers creates new opportunities for eligible applicants to move forward in the green card process.
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the August 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.
Adjustment of Status Chart
For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of August, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.
For employment-based categories, USCIS will also continue using the Final Action Dates Chart.
Highlights of the August 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of August?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives
EB-1 China will advance 1 month to July 1, 2023
Except for India, all other countries will remain current
EB-1 India Visa Bulletin Note: High demand and number use by those chargeable to India in the EB-1 visa category may require making the category unavailable in the coming weeks
EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability
EB-2 India remains unavailable
Except for China, all other countries will remain current
EB-2 Visa Bulletin Note: Sufficient demand and increased number use in the EB-2 visa category may make it necessary to retrogress the final action date or make the category unavailable in the coming months
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
EB-3 China will advance 10 days to January 1, 2022
Worldwide and Mexico will advance 1 month to September 1, 2024
Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the July 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories next month.
Adjustment of Status Chart
For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of July, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.
For employment-based categories, USCIS will also continue using the Final Action Dates Chart.
Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the May 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories next month.
Highlights of the May 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of May?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-3 Other Workers
Worldwide and Mexico will advance 3 months to February 1, 2022
EB-5 Unreserved Categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5)
EB-5 China will advance 3 weeks to September 22, 2016
Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the April 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories next month.
USCIS Adjustment of Status
For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of April, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for the employment-based and family-sponsored categories.
Highlights of the April 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of April?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives
EB-1 India and China will advance one month to April 1, 2023
All other countries will remain current
EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability
EB-2 India will advance 10 months to July 15, 2014
Except China, all other countries (Worldwide, Mexico, Philippines) will become current
*Note, there is an immigrant visa freeze for all countries subject to the 75-country ban on immigrant visa issuance. Lawsuits opposing the freeze are currently pending.
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