State Department Visa Bulletin: how to read the dates, October 2026 changes, and EB-5 outlook

How to read the Visa Bulletin: charts, priority date, and countries

The Visa Bulletin is published monthly by the U.S. Department of State at travel.state.gov. The number of immigrant visas is limited each year, both overall and per country, so most categories have a backlog. Your place in line is determined by your priority date: for family-sponsored categories, this is usually the date the I-130 petition was filed; for employment-based categories, it's the date the PERM labor certification was filed, or the I-140 petition if no certification is required.

The bulletin contains two charts:

• Final Action Dates — the date by which your priority date must fall for a green card or visa to actually be issued;
• Dates for Filing — the date by which you can submit documents in advance, even before your place in line comes up for issuance.

Chart notations: "C" (current) — no backlog, "U" — numbers unavailable, a specific date — your priority date must be earlier than it.

China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines each have their own column. All other countries, including Ukraine, fall under a shared column known as rest of the world. Applicants are generally charged to their country of birth, not citizenship.

The U.S. fiscal year begins October 1, so the October bulletin opens up new annual quotas.

Which chart to use for filing I-485 in the US

If you're already in the US and filing for adjustment of status (Form I-485), it's not the State Department but USCIS that decides which of the two charts applies. Each month USCIS announces on its website which chart it's using separately for family-sponsored and employment-based categories. If USCIS doesn't say otherwise, the Final Action Dates chart applies.

In November 2026, USCIS is accepting I-485 filings for family-sponsored categories under the Dates for Filing chart. For employment-based categories, check the chart on that same USCIS page before filing. In October 2026, USCIS accepted filings under Dates for Filing for both employment-based and family-sponsored categories.

Filing under Dates for Filing means you can submit your package if your priority date is earlier than the date in that chart, even if it hasn't yet reached the Final Action Date. For example, for F2B rest of the world in November 2026, that's September 1, 2020.

Three things worth keeping in mind:

• filing under Dates for Filing doesn't mean approval: the green card will only be issued once your priority date becomes earlier than the Final Action Date in your category;
• while I-485 is pending, you can apply for a work permit (I-765) and advance parole (I-131);
• USCIS's decision applies to only one month: next month USCIS could switch to Final Action Dates, closing the filing window.

For consular processing abroad, visa issuance is tied to the Final Action Date, but as of late September 2026, immigrant visa interviews are suspended (more on this in the section on rules currently affecting filing).

For a detailed breakdown of how USCIS applies the charts, see our coverage of the October EB and F category changes and of the November bulletin dates.

What changed in the October 2026 bulletin by category

The October 2026 bulletin was published later than usual — later than in 2020, when the October issue came out on September 24. The main change was EB2 and EB3 retrogression for rest of the world: both categories lost current status. The state of individual categories as of October 2026:

The base employment-based immigrant visa limit for fiscal year 2027 is 140,000. In fiscal year 2026, unused numbers were added to the cap, bringing it to 186,317. As of late September 2026, roughly 270,000 adjustment of status applications were pending. In October, the State Department warned of possible further retrogression, but in the November bulletin EB2 rest of the world actually advanced instead (see the next section).

For details, see our coverage of the EB2/EB3 rest-of-the-world retrogression and of EB2 India's return.

What changed in the November 2026 bulletin

In the November 2026 bulletin, the main news for Ukrainian applicants is that EB2 rest of the world advanced: the Final Action Date is now April 1, 2025. Mexico and the Philippines share the same date.

Employment-based EB1 and EB2 categories in November 2026:

Check the official bulletin chart for EB3, EB4, and EB5 dates.

Family-sponsored categories for rest of the world under the Dates for Filing chart, which USCIS is using in November for I-485 filings:

Check travel.state.gov for Final Action Dates in family-sponsored categories.

For more detail, see our breakdown of the November bulletin dates.

When might the EB-5 reserved categories close?

The current EB-5 program has been in effect since March 2022. Part of its visa numbers are reserved for investments in rural areas and high unemployment areas. As long as demand doesn't exceed the reserved quota, these categories remain current with no backlog.

There is no official forecast from the State Department or USCIS on when the reserved categories will close. Expert estimates as of late September 2026:

• no cutoff dates appeared in the reserved categories during fiscal year 2026;
• for rural, a cutoff date could appear in fiscal year 2027 (October 2026–September 2027), no earlier than April 2027, and most likely in summer;
• high unemployment area will likely remain current through the end of fiscal year 2027: petitions in this category are processed more slowly, and there aren't yet enough approved applicants to exhaust the quota.

These estimates are based on the volume of already approved petitions and processing speed. A cutoff date could be introduced suddenly, without warning — as happened with China under the original EB-5 program back in 2015.

Another date that matters for investors: the grandfathering protection for current terms expired on September 30, 2026. As of September 2026, fees and the minimum investment amount increase after that date. Check the exact new amounts on the USCIS website before filing.

For more on the forecast and the 2015 precedent, see the material on EB-5 reserved categories.

Which USCIS and State Department rules currently affect filing

The date in the bulletin is only one of the conditions. As of late September 2026, several other factors affect filing.

Consular interviews for immigrant visas have been suspended worldwide since August 25, 2026, with no resumption date announced. For those processing through a consulate, this means that even a current priority date doesn't guarantee an interview appointment right now. The pause may also be affecting the dates themselves: the State Department links possible retrogression in the coming months partly to the interview pauses.

Age-out deadlines. As of late September 2026, it was reported that starting October 23, such deadlines would no longer be pushed to Monday if the last day falls on a weekend. This mainly concerns children who are about to turn 21 and could lose the ability to be processed together with their parents. If a child's birthday is close to the filing date, plan to file with a buffer of several business days.

Delays in publishing the bulletin. The September 2026 bulletin came out on August 24, the October one even later, and the State Department hasn't explained why. As a result, there may be less time than usual to prepare a filing package before the first of the month.

For how these factors connect, see the material on the October bulletin's delay.

How to check the bulletin every month and what to do if your category retrogresses

Checking the bulletin each month takes only a few minutes if you know your details:

1. Find your priority date on the USCIS receipt or approval notice (Form I-797).
2. Identify your category (EB1–EB5 or F1–F4) and country column: China, India, Mexico, the Philippines, or rest of the world.
3. Open the bulletin for the relevant month on travel.state.gov and compare your date against both charts.
4. Check the USCIS website to see which chart it accepts that month for I-485 filings in your category group.
5. If your date is earlier than the relevant chart's date, prepare your package right away: the category could retrogress the following month.

If retrogression happens after you've filed I-485, it isn't by itself grounds for denial. The application remains pending until the Final Action Date reaches your priority date again; any work authorization tied to the pending application can be renewed.

If you didn't manage to file in time, your priority date is preserved, and you can file once the backlog reaches it again. No one can say exactly when: dates can both advance and retrogress, and in October 2026 the State Department explicitly warned of possible further retrogression.