The October 2026 Visa Bulletin — the first bulletin of the new fiscal year 2027 — brought EB2 India back to life while forcing applicants everywhere to use dates of filing across both employment-based and family-sponsored categories, even as EB1 and EB3 dates for the “rest of the world” and Mexico retrogressed sharply.
In short
- For October 2026, I-485 filings run on dates of filing, not final action dates — for both employment-based and family-sponsored categories.
- EB1 rest of the world and Mexico retrogressed by nearly 1 year 9 months: the category had been current, and now requires a priority date no later than January 1, 2025.
- EB2 India reopened for the first time after being unavailable: final action is November 1, 2013; filing date is May 15.
- The FY2027 employment-based visa limit is the base 140,000, without the roughly 46,300 September boost that had pushed the FY2026 limit to 186,317.
- The State Department warns of possible retrogression in the coming months due to interview pauses and limits calculated without spillover.
What changed in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin
The October bulletin is the first one of fiscal year 2027, which means the annual reset of immigrant visa quotas just happened. That’s exactly why the October issue is watched more closely than any other: a new fiscal year opens a fresh pool of visa numbers.
At the same time, the chart data itself is calculated as of September 4 — the Department didn’t wait until the end of the month. The bulletin was published in late September. As a result, later events from that month never made it into the October numbers: category dates moved strictly based on demand as of September 4, with nothing that happened afterward factored in.
The headline change this month is the return of the EB2 category for India, which had previously been unavailable. Most other categories for the rest of the world moved the opposite way — dates retrogressed compared to the previous bulletin. For October filings, the U.S. continues to rely on dates of filing — for both employment-based and family-sponsored categories alike.
The October bulletin opens a new fiscal year and new quotas, but its charts are calculated based on demand as of September 4 — events from later in the month aren’t reflected in the numbers.
Which dates apply for October filings: final action vs. filing date
The Visa Bulletin publishes two charts, and confusing them is a real risk. Final action dates determine whether an applicant actually gets a green card number issued — this chart makes the final call. The filing chart is the second table; it shows the dates that allow filing paperwork without waiting for an actual green card number to become available.
For October 2026, USCIS directed applicants to use the dates of filing chart specifically — and for both category groups at once: employment-based and family-sponsored. This is the key instruction of the month: relying on final action dates instead makes it easy to misjudge your actual chances of filing.
relying on final action dates instead makes it easy to misjudge your actual chances of filing
The practical takeaway: Form I-485 applications in October are accepted based on the filing chart dates. For example, EB1 China’s filing date jumped forward by roughly 7 months compared to September. If an applicant’s priority date falls within a newly opened window, filing without delay is worth doing — the bulletin’s own commentary directly urges applicants to move quickly while a category is open, since retrogression is possible in coming months and the window could close again.
October I-485 filings rely on filing dates, not final action dates — for both category groups. Picking the wrong chart means misjudging your actual chances of filing.
EB1–EB5 categories in October 2026: how dates moved by country
Final action dates: who actually gets a green card number in October
| Category / Country | October 2026 | Change vs. September |
|---|---|---|
| EB1 India | advanced | roughly 3.5 months |
| EB2 India | November 1, 2013 | previously unavailable; advanced roughly 2 months |
| EB1 Rest of World | retrogressed to January 1, 2025 | roughly a 1 year 9 month setback |
| EB1 Mexico | retrogressed to January 1, 2025 | roughly a 1 year 9 month setback (category had been current) |
| EB3 Rest of World | retrogressed | roughly 3.5 months |
| EB3 Other Workers Rest of World | retrogressed | roughly 3 months |
| EB3 India | January 1, 2014 | unchanged |
| EB3 Other Workers India | January 1, 2014 | unchanged |
| EB2 India (final action) | advanced | 2 months |
| EB1 Philippines | August 15, 2023 | advanced 2 weeks |
| EB3 Other Workers Philippines | advanced | 1 month |
| EB4 (all countries) | unchanged | — |
| EB5 India | advanced | roughly 1 year 7 months (category had been unavailable) |
October’s sharpest setback is EB1 for the rest of the world: it had been current, meaning numbers were issued immediately upon filing, and now getting a green card requires a priority date no later than January 1, 2025. Mexico suffered the same 1 year 9 month setback. For India, the picture is the opposite: EB1 moved forward 3.5 months, and EB5 advanced by nearly a year and a half, since that category had been completely unavailable before.
October’s sharpest setback is EB1 for the rest of the world: it had been current, meaning numbers were issued immediately upon filing, and now getting a green card requires a priority date no later than January 1, 2025
Filing dates: which dates apply for I-485 filings in October
USCIS specified that October filings for Form I-485 must rely on the dates of filing chart rather than final action — and this applies to both employment-based and family-sponsored categories. Under this chart, EB1 China advanced roughly 7 months versus September, and EB1 India also moved 7 months forward, to July 1, 2024.
For China, the movement in this chart was the most dramatic: EB2 advanced by a year, EB3 by 2 years and 2 months, EB3 Other Workers by roughly a year, EB4 by 2 years across all categories, and EB5 by nearly 4 years. For India, the changes were more modest: EB1 moved 7 months, EB4 roughly 2 years. EB2 now starts at May 15, EB3 trails by roughly 2 years 2 months, and EB3 Other Workers by roughly 2 months.
The rest-of-the-world category retrogressed significantly on the filing dates chart; how heavily this will affect the number of green cards flowing from the rest of the world into backlogged countries like India and China this year isn’t known in advance — it depends on how many numbers actually end up unclaimed by the end of the fiscal year. Mexico and Philippines moved on filing dates in a pattern similar to the rest of the world — no notably distinct shift was recorded for either.
EB1 China advanced by nearly 7 months on the filing dates chart. If your priority date falls within a newly opened window, filing I-485 without delay is worth it — retrogression is possible in coming months.
EB1–EB5: final action date movement by country in October 2026
Table scrolls sideways
| Category / Country | India | China | Rest of World | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB1 | advanced ~3.5 mo. | — | retrogressed to 01/01/2025 (setback ~1 yr 9 mo.) | retrogressed to 01/01/2025 (setback ~1 yr 9 mo.) | 08/15/2023, +2 weeks |
| EB2 | 11/01/2013, reopened for the first time; +2 mo. | — | — | — | — |
| EB3 | 01/01/2014, unchanged | — | retrogressed ~3.5 mo. | — | — |
| EB3 Other Workers | 01/01/2014, unchanged | — | retrogressed ~3 mo. | — | +1 month |
| EB4 | unchanged | unchanged | unchanged | unchanged | unchanged |
| EB5 | +~1 yr 7 mo. (had been unavailable) | — | — | — | — |
A dash means the source didn’t give a separate figure for that country/category.
Year-over-year comparison: how EB categories moved over 12 months
Comparing not September to October, but October 2026 to October 2025, the picture of category movement looks different — more pronounced in some places, barely noticeable in others. On final action dates, over the year EB1 India advanced roughly 11.5 months — from February 15, 2022. For China, the same EB1 category moved 6.5 months — from December 2022 to July 1, 2023. For the rest of the world, EB1 advanced the most noticeably of all — by 13 months.
EB2 India moved just 7 months over the year — from April 1 to November 1, 2013. EB3 rest of the world advanced roughly 13.5 months. The biggest annual jumps belong to the categories with the largest backlogs to begin with: EB5 India (unreserved) advanced roughly 34 months, and EB4 for all countries advanced 29.5 months.
India’s filing dates specifically
On the filing dates chart, year-over-year movement looks more modest. EB1 India advanced 7 months, EB2 only 2 months, and EB3 and EB4 stayed unchanged. EB5 filing dates moved roughly 2 years. Meanwhile, EB3 currently sits 2 months ahead of EB2 — the ranking of categories by date periodically swaps places.
What moved between September and October
Among filing dates, the biggest progress went to: EB3 China — about 2.5 months, EB4 for all countries — about 2 years, EB1 India and China — about 7 months, and the unreserved category — about 4 years. Losses over the same period hit EB2 rest of the world and Philippines — a 1 year 9 month setback, EB3 final action for rest of the world and Mexico — a 3.5 month setback, and EB3 filing dates for the same group — a 2 year 2 month setback.
Family-sponsored categories F1–F4 in October 2026
Family-sponsored categories are split by degree of relationship to a U.S. citizen or green card holder. F1 covers unmarried children of U.S. citizens; F2A covers spouses and children of green card holders; F2B covers unmarried adult children of green card holders; F3 covers married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; F4 covers siblings of adult U.S. citizens.
Final action dates: who gets a green card in October
| Category / Country | Change vs. September |
|---|---|
| F1, worldwide (except Mexico and Philippines) | unchanged, date remains in 2020 |
| F1 Mexico | advanced 8 months |
| F1 Philippines | advanced 6 months |
| F2A, worldwide / China / India | advanced 1 month |
| F2A Mexico | advanced 7 months |
| F2A Philippines | advanced 1 month |
| F2B, worldwide | virtually unchanged |
| F2B Mexico | advanced 1 year 3 months |
| F2B Philippines | advanced 4 months |
| F3, worldwide | unchanged, date remains in 2014 |
| F3 Mexico | unchanged, date remains at July 1, 2001 |
| F3 Philippines | advanced 5 months |
| F4, worldwide / China | unchanged, date remains in 2011 |
| F4 India | advanced 1.5 months |
| F4 Mexico | advanced 2 weeks |
Mexico and Philippines are moving more noticeably than other countries in nearly every family category, but they’re also the ones carrying the largest backlog: the F3 date for Mexico remains stuck at July 2001, while F3 and F4 for the rest of the world are stuck in 2014 and 2011 respectively.
Filing dates: which dates allow filing paperwork in October
On the filing dates chart, movement is almost nonexistent. F1 hasn’t changed for any country: February 1, 2020 for the rest of the world, China, and India; December 1, 2008 for Mexico; and April 22, 2015 for Philippines. Noticeable movement shows up in only three places: F2B for Mexico advanced 10 months, F2B for Philippines advanced 1 year, and F4 for India advanced 1.5 months. F3 also shifted for Mexico and Philippines, but the source doesn’t give specific figures. The difference between final action and filing dates for family categories works the same way described above: the filing date determines when paperwork can be submitted, while final action determines when a green card is actually issued.
Family categories year over year: where the biggest movement happened
Comparing October 2026 to October 2025, family-sponsored categories showed the most noticeable shift in the entire bulletin. For the rest of the world, F1 advanced 3 years 2.5 months, F2A advanced 2 years 7.5 months, and F2B and F3 each advanced roughly 3 years. Across all these categories, the smallest annual shift was 2 years 7.5 months, and the largest was 3 years 9.5 months.
For China, F1 advanced roughly 3 years over the year — movement of the same magnitude as the rest of the world. Mexico’s family categories advanced 2 years 9.5 months. Against this backdrop, India stands out: only its F4 category moved over the year, and by just a month and a half — every other India family category stayed unchanged for the entire year.
This gap comes down to a simple fact: for countries where the queue is measured in years, even a three-year jump barely registers for an applicant — the date is still far away either way. But where the queue was already shorter, a month-and-a-half advance is felt directly by the applicant.
Why categories retrogressed, and the visa limits for fiscal year 2027
The October bulletin operates off a base limit of 140,000 visas for employment-based categories in fiscal year 2027 — and that’s just the basic statutory minimum, with no additional numbers added on top. A year ago, the picture was different: for fiscal year 2026, the employment-based limit was 140,000 and the family-sponsored limit was 226,000, and in September roughly 46,300 additional visas were added to the employment-based pool, pushing the limit up to 186,317. October doesn’t carry that boost — the numbers start at the typical base level, which is exactly why date movement across many categories came out more modest than one might have expected. The per-country limit for FY2026 was 28,862 visas; spillover numbers for FY2027 haven’t been factored in yet and will show up in later calculations as data comes in.
The retrogression affecting the rest of the world and several other countries isn’t just about the new limit — it’s also tied to what happened in the preceding months. The State Department’s Section C commentary in the September bulletin spells it out directly: fewer visas were issued because of the pause affecting 75 countries and the worldwide suspension of interviews that took effect on August 25. The pause for those 75 countries was later lifted, but the visa issuance and interview stoppage itself already showed up in the statistics — consulates simply didn’t have time to close out the necessary number of cases. To keep FY2026’s unused visas from going to waste, the government pushed dates forward — which explains the sharp jumps for Mexico and the Philippines visible in the year-over-year comparison.
The State Department explicitly warns that retrogression is possible for a number of categories in the coming months — meaning dates could move backward after October’s advance. The reason is the same one: the interview pauses and the 75-country suspension kept consulates from using up their allotted quotas, and the new FY2027 limits are currently calculated without accounting for spillover. The practical conclusion here is straightforward — don’t delay filing once a date is open: an applicant who gets in line now has better odds than one who waits for a more convenient moment and risks getting caught by a date rolling back.
an applicant who gets in line now has better odds than one who waits for a more convenient moment and risks getting caught by a date rolling back
Employment-based visa limits: FY2026 vs. FY2027
In FY2026, the base limit was boosted by nearly 46,300 additional visas; FY2027 started without that boost.
- Employment-based category limit
The State Department explicitly warns of retrogression risk in the coming months: interview pauses and FY2027 limits calculated without spillover could send dates backward.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do if my priority date doesn’t fall within the October filing chart window?
You can’t file Form I-485 until your priority date is earlier than the date listed in the filing chart for your category and country. You’ll need to wait for the next bulletin releases and track whether the date moves further — and the State Department has already warned that retrogression is possible for a number of categories, not just further advancement.
What happens to my green card if my category retrogresses after I’ve already filed I-485?
Retrogression affects the issuance of a green card number (final action), not an application already filed under a filing date — a submitted application continues to be processed. But if your priority date falls outside the new final action date, you won’t get the actual number and green card until the next advance.
Can I file paperwork for a relative if my category isn’t open yet on the filing chart?
No: I-485 can only be filed once the applicant’s priority date is earlier than the date listed in the current filing dates chart for their category and country. Filing before the date opens is premature.
Why did EB2 India jump forward sharply while other categories retrogressed?
EB2 India had been completely unavailable before, so its reopening in October looks like an advance even though it’s really the first appearance of an available date. Other categories retrogressed because of the fiscal year switch: the FY2027 limit starts at the base figure of 140,000 visas, without the additional numbers that had temporarily boosted the quota in September 2026.
What does such a sharp year-over-year date jump mean for an applicant from Mexico or the Philippines?
The sharp year-over-year advance for Mexico and the Philippines is tied to interview pauses and the 75-country suspension, which kept consulates from using up their allotted quotas in fiscal year 2026. To avoid letting unused numbers go to waste, the dates were pushed forward more aggressively than for other countries.
What if the source doesn’t give a specific figure for how far my category moved?
In those cases, only the direction of the change is known — for example, that F3 for Mexico and the Philippines moved on the filing dates chart, but the exact size of the shift isn’t published in the bulletin. It’s best to check the current bulletin for the relevant month, which will list the actual date rather than just the trend.
Could dates roll backward again in the coming months?
Yes, the State Department explicitly warns of that possibility: the interview pauses and the 75-country suspension kept consulates from using up their allotted quotas, and the new FY2027 limits are currently calculated without accounting for spillover numbers. So October’s advance doesn’t guarantee the date will hold at the same level in November.
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