The State Department released the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first bulletin of Fiscal Year 2027. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also clarified that all applicants may use the Dates of Filing chart to determine whether they can file for an adjustment of status.
How did employment-based categories move?
- EB-1 filing dates moved forward by 7 months for China and India (01DEC23 → 01JUL24). Rest of World (ROW), Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
- EB-1 final action dates moved forward ~3.5 months for India (15OCT22 → 01FEB23). China did not advance past 01JUL23, and the ROW, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
- EB-2 filing dates retrogressed from current to 15MAR26 for ROW, Mexico, and the Philippines. China advanced a full year (01JAN22 → 01JAN23), while India remains at 15JAN15.
- EB-2 final action dates retrogressed from current to 01JAN25 for ROW, Mexico, and the Philippines. India reopened from Unavailable to 01NOV13, while China moved forward by a month (01SEP21 → 01OCT21).
- EB-5 filing dates moved forward 4 years for China (01MAR17 → 01MAR21). India remains at 01MAY24, while the ROW, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
- EB-5 final action dates reopened for India from Unavailable to 01DEC23. China remains at 01DEC16, while the ROW, Mexico, and the Philippines remain current.
Why did the State Department retrogress EB-2 in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin?
In the latest Visa Bulletin, the State Department said that its calculations showed that certain employment-based visa categories for “Rest of World” countries retrogressed in Fiscal Year 2027. The previous fiscal year saw this category remain current since the March 2026 Visa Bulletin.
To stay within the quarterly and annual limits of this new fiscal year, the State Department pushed back some filing and final action dates for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. However, the agency also said that it will continue to monitor demand “and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.”
How did family-based categories move?
Mexico and the Philippines saw the largest family-based gains:
- F1 filing dates did not move for any country.
- F1 final action dates moved forward 8 months for Mexico (01JAN08 → 08SEP08) and 6 months for the Philippines (01MAY13 → 01NOV13). ROW, China, and India remain on 22JAN20.
- F2A filing dates remain current for all countries.
- F2A final action dates moved forward 1 month for ROW, China, India, and the Philippines (22AUG26 → 22SEP26), and 7 months for Mexico (22AUG25 → 22MAR26).
- F4 filing dates moved forward ~7 weeks for India (15DEC06 → 01FEB07) and a full year for the Philippines (22MAR08 → 22MAR09). ROW, China, and Mexico remain the same.
- F4 final action dates moved forward ~6 weeks for India (01NOV06 → 15DEC06), 9 months for the Philippines (22AUG07 → 15MAY08), and 2 weeks for Mexico (08APR01 → 22APR01). ROW and China remain at 22OCT11.
Our Visa Bulletin guide includes a full comparison of how the dates have changed across all immigrant visa categories.
About the Author
Staff Writer
Caryl Espinoza Jaen is a Nicaraguan-born staff writer for Manifest Law. As a writer, he strives to cover complex topics like immigration policy with clarity, accuracy, and precision.
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Ana Gabriela Urizar is an award-winning immigration attorney licensed in Arizona and New York. With nearly a decade of experience, she advises global corporations on complex U.S. immigration matters. Originally from Guatemala, Ana Gabriela previously spent close to ten years at the world’s largest immigration firm, managing business immigration matters for leading technology, science, and financial companies. She has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2027) and Negocios Now’s Tri-State 40 Under 40.
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