October 2026 Visa Bulletin: Major Shifts for Employment- and Family-Based Green Card Applicants

The U.S. Department of State’s October 2026 Visa Bulletin introduced a mixed set of advances and retrogressions across the green-card categories. The most notable gains affect employment-based applicants from India, while several other categories for most countries moved backward as the State Department aimed to keep visa usage within the fiscal-year limits.

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• EB-2 (India) – The final-action date, which had been unavailable since September, reopened with a cutoff of November 1 2013. Applicants with priority dates earlier than that may again receive approval.

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• EB-1 (India) – Advanced from October 15 2022 to February 1 2023.

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• EB-5 (India, unreserved) – Reopened with a final-action date of December 1 2023.

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• EB-3 (China) – Moved forward from January 8 2022 to April 1 2024.

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• EB-5 (China, unreserved) – Advanced from March 1 2017 to March 1 2021.

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• EB-2 (most countries, Mexico, Philippines) – Shifted from “Current” to a fixed date of January 1 2025, effectively retrogressing the category.

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• EB-3 (most countries, Mexico) – Retrogressed from September 1 2024 to May 15 2024.

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• F2A (most countries) – Advanced from August 22 to September 22 2026.

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• F2A (Mexico) – Moved from August 22 2025 to March 22 2026.

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• F2B (Mexico) – Advanced to May 15 2010.

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• F4 (Philippines) – Advanced to May 15 2008.

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The reopening of EB-2 and EB-5 for India provides a pathway for thousands of Indian professionals and investors whose applications had been stalled for years. Conversely, the retrogression of EB-2 for most countries and the backward shift of EB-3 for many nations may delay approvals for applicants from those regions. Family-based advances, particularly the F2A move, shorten waiting times for spouses and minor children of permanent residents, while the older F2B and F4 gains reflect incremental progress for long-standing backlogs.

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Applicants are advised to verify the specific chart authorized by USCIS before filing, as the Department of State’s published dates serve as the baseline for eligibility.

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