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US Visa Bulletin updates: final action and filing dates for EB and F categories, retrogression by country, EB-5 set-aside forecasts and publication delays.
13 articles tagged Visa Bulletin
Travel without advance parole, a title change without Supplement J, a lapsed EAD, or a missed AR-11 can each quietly end a green card case in the queue.
Family categories F1-F4 advanced almost a year in November 2026. EB-2/EB-3 for India and China stay frozen. Plus H-1B deference repeal starting Nov 13.
EB-2 rest of the world moves forward 3 months, family categories jump nearly a year. Full November 2026 Visa Bulletin filing and final action dates.
EB-2 and EB-3 retrogressed, PERM approvals got faster, and as of October 23 USCIS changes how filing deadlines are calculated. Full October 2026 breakdown.
EB-2 India reopened at November 1, 2013. EB-3 and EB-2 worldwide retrogressed. What it means for I-140 downgrades, adjustment of status, and Form I-9 on H-1B.
Yes, partly: an appeals court paused the $100,000 H-1B fee and USCIS isn't collecting it now, though it says it may resume. Plus EB-5 fee hikes and the October 2026 visa bulletin.
The Visa Bulletin is published monthly by the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs and shows which green card applicants in the preference categories can move forward. It covers the family-sponsored categories F1 through F4 and the employment-based categories EB-1 through EB-5. Separate columns are listed for China, India, Mexico, the Philippines and all other countries, and applicants are charged by country of birth, not citizenship.
An applicant's place in line is the priority date, usually the date the I-130 or I-140 petition or the PERM labor certification was filed. Chart A lists final action dates, when a green card can actually be approved, while Chart B lists dates for filing, when an I-485 or immigrant visa application may be submitted, and USCIS announces each month which chart it accepts for adjustment of status. A "C" means a category is current with no backlog, and a cutoff date that moves backward is called retrogression.
Because the federal fiscal year starts on October 1, when annual limits under the Immigration and Nationality Act reset, the October bulletin often brings the sharpest movements in either direction.