U.S. Visa Bulletin for October 2026

Family dates mostly advance or hold in October. Employment categories move in different directions: India reopens, several China filing dates jump forward, and some worldwide categories retrogress from Current to a cutoff date.

For many applicants, the most useful change is USCIS's chart selection. Both family-sponsored and employment-based adjustment applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart in October (USCIS Visa Bulletin Information). That lets many people file earlier, even when their green card cannot be approved yet.

Check your category, country of chargeability, and priority date against the official charts on this page. If those terms are new, start with the complete Visa Bulletin guide. The September 2026 bulletin lets you compare dates before and after the reset.

What the October 2026 visa bulletin changed

According to the State Department, the new fiscal year's visa numbers allowed filing and final action dates to advance in several categories. Some Rest of World employment categories had to retrogress to keep visa issuances within quarterly and annual limits (official October bulletin).

The changes with the clearest practical effect are:

Use this summary alongside the full chart. Your priority date must be earlier than the listed cutoff; an exact match is not current yet. The Visa Bulletin checker applies that rule for you.

Family-sponsored dates keep moving forward

In the worldwide, China, and India columns, F1, F2B, F3, and F4 Final Action Dates are unchanged from September. F2A moves one month, to September 22, 2026, for every listed country except Mexico. These dates come from the State Department's October chart (official October bulletin).

The larger gains appear in the country-specific columns. Mexico F2B advances 454 days, from February 15, 2009 to May 15, 2010. Philippines F4 advances 267 days, from August 22, 2007 to May 15, 2008. Mexico F1 gains 251 days, and Philippines F1 gains 184 days.

Several family categories have larger advances on the filing chart. Mexico F3 advances 504 days, and Philippines F2B and F4 each gain one year. F2A remains Current for every country on the filing chart. Before comparing dates for an I-130 case, confirm your preference category. The I-130 priority-date guide explains which row applies to your family relationship. For Immiva's preparation process, see the I-130 family petition page.

F2A has a separate allocation detail on the Final Action chart. Numbers exempt from the per-country limit are available to priority dates before March 22, 2026. Numbers subject to the limit cover countries other than Mexico from March 22 through September 22, 2026. Mexico's F2A numbers are exempt from the per-country limit, which is why its cutoff sits at March 22 while the other listed countries reach September 22 (official October bulletin).

Several family filing dates also move without a matching worldwide change. Mexico F2B advances from May 15, 2010 to March 22, 2011. Philippines F2B advances to October 1, 2014. India F4 moves 48 days to February 1, 2007. These changes matter only to applicants in those country and category combinations; a gain in one column does not carry into another.

India reopens while worldwide employment dates pull back

India gets the most visible Final Action relief: EB-2 reopens at November 1, 2013, and EB-5 Unreserved reopens at December 1, 2023. Both were Unavailable in September. India EB-1 also advances 109 days to February 1, 2023 (official October bulletin).

A reopened category can issue visas again for priority dates before the new cutoff, but it is not Current. An India EB-2 priority date in 2014, for example, is still not current on the Final Action chart even though the category is no longer closed.

Worldwide, Mexico, and Philippines EB-2 move from Current to January 1, 2025. Worldwide and Mexico EB-3 move back 109 days to May 15, 2024. Worldwide and Mexico Other Workers move back 90 days to January 1, 2022. The bulletin describes these Rest of World retrogressions as necessary to stay within FY2027 quarterly and annual limits.

China's largest gains are on the filing chart. EB-5 Unreserved moves from March 1, 2017 to March 1, 2021, a four-year jump. China EB-3 advances 814 days to April 1, 2024, and China EB-2 advances one year to January 1, 2023. For how your petition category affects adjustment filing, see the employment-based I-485 guide. The green card backlog guide explains why country and category limits produce different queues.

EB-4's filing cutoff advances two full years for every listed country, from January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2025. China and India EB-1 each gain 213 days on the filing chart, reaching July 1, 2024. China Other Workers gains a year, but the worldwide, Mexico, and Philippines Other Workers filing dates move back 61 days. The reset creates new opportunities and new delays inside the same chart, so checking only the category name is not enough.

The October bulletin also changes the annual reduction applied to the Employment Third Preference Other Workers category under NACARA. For fiscal year 2027, the State Department says the reduction will be limited to approximately 150 numbers. This affects the category's annual supply, but it does not replace the monthly cutoff shown in the chart (official October bulletin).

Why Dates for Filing matters this month

USCIS chooses which State Department chart adjustment applicants may use. For October, USCIS says family-sponsored and employment-based applicants may both use Dates for Filing (USCIS Visa Bulletin Information, last reviewed September 28, 2026).

Dates for Filing controls whether you may submit Form I-485 this month. Approval depends on Final Action Dates: a visa number must be available before USCIS can approve the green card.

The two charts can move in opposite directions. China EB-3's filing cutoff jumps to April 1, 2024, while its Final Action Date advances only seven days to January 8, 2022. Worldwide EB-2 has a March 15, 2026 filing cutoff even though its Final Action Date retrogresses to January 1, 2025. If you are eligible to file, you may be able to start the adjustment process now. Approval still waits for the Final Action Date to pass your priority date.

Consular cases use the filing chart differently. The State Department says applicants with an earlier priority date may assemble and submit documents to the National Visa Center after receiving its instructions. That step does not make a visa number immediately available. The Final Action chart still controls when the government may issue the immigrant visa (official October bulletin).

For adjustment cases, USCIS's monthly chart selection controls whether the filing cutoff is usable. A filing date printed in the State Department bulletin is not enough by itself. October is favorable because USCIS selected Dates for Filing for both groups, but applicants should check the USCIS page again whenever a new month begins.

Filing an I-485 can also let you submit related applications, including employment authorization and advance parole. The I-485 adjustment guide explains the process. For those benefits while your case is pending, see the work permit and advance parole guide.

Religious Workers continues through December 11

H.R. 6500, signed September 2, 2026, extends the Certain Religious Workers category through December 11, 2026. The State Department says it uses the same filing and final action dates as the other EB-4 categories (official October bulletin).

In October, the EB-4 Final Action Date is December 15, 2022 for every listed country, and the Dates for Filing cutoff is January 1, 2025. The extension keeps the category authorized; not every priority date is current.

What to do with the October filing window

Find your priority date on the petition receipt or approval notice, then select the correct preference category and country of chargeability. Check the October filing chart to see whether you may submit now. Use the Final Action chart to check whether approval is possible now.

If the filing chart is open for you, start gathering evidence before the month ends using the I-485 document checklist. Read the concurrent filing guide if you may file a petition and adjustment application together.

If the filing chart has not reached your priority date, use the month to confirm the category and gather records that do not expire quickly. Keep watching both charts because the State Department can advance, hold, or retrogress a cutoff in a later bulletin. A large October jump is a published cutoff for this month, not a promise about November.

For an I-485 already pending, a Final Action Date that moves behind your priority date generally leaves the case pending until a visa number becomes available again. The EAD and advance parole guide explains what happens to those documents.

Immiva uses plain-language eligibility and filing questions to check your answers for issues that need attention. It also builds a personalized document list. If the October chart has opened your filing window, see the I-485 preparation page.

To use a filing opportunity in the October 2026 visa bulletin, check all four details before acting: the chart USCIS selected, your category, your country, and whether your priority date is earlier than the cutoff.