Visa Bulletin 2026: Every Bulletin, Changes and Retrogressions

The Visa Bulletin in 2026 covered two fiscal years: the January to September 2026 bulletins closed fiscal year 2026, and the October 2026 bulletin opened fiscal year 2027. Over FY 2026 most family categories moved forward by years, F2A came close to current, and EB-2 for most countries became current in April 2026 and stayed current through September, before EB-2 and EB-3 retrogressed in October 2026.

This page is the year in one place: every 2026 bulletin with its release date and key cutoffs, how each category moved from October 2025 to September 2026, every retrogression and every month a category became Unavailable. All dates are Final Action dates taken from the bulletins; the same series, month by month, are in our Visa Bulletin tracker.

Every 2026 Visa Bulletin at a glance

Final Action cutoffs (month/day/year). C means current, U unavailable.

Bulletin	Released	EB-1 India	EB-2 all other	EB-2 India	EB-2 China	EB-3 all other	EB-3 India	F2A all other	F4 all other
Jan 2026	Dec 2, 2025	02/01/23	04/01/24	07/15/13	09/01/21	04/22/23	11/15/13	02/01/24	01/08/08
Feb 2026	Jan 5, 2026	02/01/23	04/01/24	07/15/13	09/01/21	06/01/23	11/15/13	02/01/24	01/08/08
Mar 2026	Feb 4, 2026	03/01/23	10/15/24	09/15/13	09/01/21	10/01/23	11/15/13	02/01/24	01/08/08
Apr 2026	Mar 4, 2026	04/01/23	C	07/15/14	09/01/21	06/01/24	11/15/13	02/01/24	06/08/08
May 2026	Apr 2, 2026	04/01/23	C	07/15/14	09/01/21	06/01/24	11/15/13	08/01/24	09/15/08
Jun 2026	May 4, 2026	12/15/22	C	09/01/13	09/01/21	06/01/24	12/15/13	01/01/25	11/08/08
Jul 2026	Jun 2, 2026	10/15/22	C	U	09/01/21	08/01/24	01/01/14	01/01/25	01/01/09
Aug 2026	Jul 15, 2026	10/15/22	C	U	09/01/21	09/01/24	01/01/14	07/22/26	09/01/09
Sep 2026	Aug 10, 2026	10/15/22	C	U	09/01/21	09/01/24	01/01/14	08/22/26	10/22/11
Oct 2026	Sep 4, 2026	02/01/23	01/01/25	11/01/13	10/01/21	05/15/24	01/01/14	09/22/26	10/22/11

The November 2026 bulletin had not been published as of October 14, 2026. The latest month is explained in Visa Bulletin October 2026.

How fiscal year 2026 moved: October 2025 to September 2026

The fiscal year runs from October to September, and each year's visa numbers are counted by fiscal year, so the cleanest comparison is the first bulletin of FY 2026 (October 2025) with the last one (September 2026). The biggest forward moves in priority dates:

Category	Country	October 2025	September 2026	Moved
F4	All other countries	Jan 8, 2008	Oct 22, 2011	+45 months
F4	China	Jan 8, 2008	Oct 22, 2011	+45 months
F1	All other countries	Nov 8, 2016	Jan 22, 2020	+38 months
F1	China	Nov 8, 2016	Jan 22, 2020	+38 months
F1	India	Nov 8, 2016	Jan 22, 2020	+38 months
F3	All other countries	Sep 8, 2011	Oct 22, 2014	+37 months
F3	China	Sep 8, 2011	Oct 22, 2014	+37 months
F3	India	Sep 8, 2011	Oct 22, 2014	+37 months
F2B	All other countries	Nov 22, 2016	Aug 22, 2019	+33 months
F2B	China	Nov 22, 2016	Aug 22, 2019	+33 months
F2B	India	Nov 22, 2016	Aug 22, 2019	+33 months
F2A	All other countries	Feb 1, 2024	Aug 22, 2026	+31 months

Every category, start and end of FY 2026

Category	Country	October 2025	September 2026	Moved
EB-1	China	Dec 22, 2022	Jul 1, 2023	+6 months
EB-1	India	Feb 15, 2022	Oct 15, 2022	+8 months
EB-2	All other countries	Dec 1, 2023	Current	see note
EB-2	China	Apr 1, 2021	Sep 1, 2021	+5 months
EB-2	India	Apr 1, 2013	Unavailable	see note
EB-2	Mexico	Dec 1, 2023	Current	see note
EB-2	Philippines	Dec 1, 2023	Current	see note
EB-3	All other countries	Apr 1, 2023	Sep 1, 2024	+17 months
EB-3	China	Mar 1, 2021	Jan 1, 2022	+10 months
EB-3	India	Aug 22, 2013	Jan 1, 2014	+4 months
EB-3	Mexico	Apr 1, 2023	Sep 1, 2024	+17 months
EB-3	Philippines	Apr 1, 2023	Aug 1, 2023	+4 months
EB-3 Other Workers	All other countries	Jul 15, 2021	Apr 1, 2022	+9 months
EB-3 Other Workers	China	Dec 1, 2017	May 1, 2019	+17 months
EB-3 Other Workers	India	Aug 22, 2013	Jan 1, 2014	+4 months
EB-3 Other Workers	Mexico	Jul 15, 2021	Apr 1, 2022	+9 months
EB-3 Other Workers	Philippines	Jul 15, 2021	Dec 1, 2021	+5 months
EB-4	All other countries	Jul 1, 2020	Dec 15, 2022	+29 months
EB-4	China	Jul 1, 2020	Dec 15, 2022	+29 months
EB-4	India	Jul 1, 2020	Dec 15, 2022	+29 months
EB-4	Mexico	Jul 1, 2020	Dec 15, 2022	+29 months
EB-4	Philippines	Jul 1, 2020	Dec 15, 2022	+29 months
EB-5 Unreserved	China	Dec 8, 2015	Dec 1, 2016	+12 months
EB-5 Unreserved	India	Feb 1, 2021	Unavailable	see note
F1	All other countries	Nov 8, 2016	Jan 22, 2020	+38 months
F1	China	Nov 8, 2016	Jan 22, 2020	+38 months
F1	India	Nov 8, 2016	Jan 22, 2020	+38 months
F1	Mexico	Nov 22, 2005	Jan 1, 2008	+25 months
F1	Philippines	Jan 22, 2013	May 1, 2013	+3 months
F2A	All other countries	Feb 1, 2024	Aug 22, 2026	+31 months
F2A	China	Feb 1, 2024	Aug 22, 2026	+31 months
F2A	India	Feb 1, 2024	Aug 22, 2026	+31 months
F2A	Mexico	Feb 1, 2023	Aug 22, 2025	+31 months
F2A	Philippines	Feb 1, 2024	Aug 22, 2026	+31 months
F2B	All other countries	Nov 22, 2016	Aug 22, 2019	+33 months
F2B	China	Nov 22, 2016	Aug 22, 2019	+33 months
F2B	India	Nov 22, 2016	Aug 22, 2019	+33 months
F2B	Mexico	Dec 15, 2007	Feb 15, 2009	+14 months
F2B	Philippines	Oct 1, 2012	Jun 1, 2013	+8 months
F3	All other countries	Sep 8, 2011	Oct 22, 2014	+37 months
F3	China	Sep 8, 2011	Oct 22, 2014	+37 months
F3	India	Sep 8, 2011	Oct 22, 2014	+37 months
F3	Mexico	Apr 15, 2001	Jul 1, 2001	+3 months
F3	Philippines	Sep 22, 2004	Feb 22, 2006	+17 months
F4	All other countries	Jan 8, 2008	Oct 22, 2011	+45 months
F4	China	Jan 8, 2008	Oct 22, 2011	+45 months
F4	India	Nov 1, 2006	Nov 1, 2006	no change
F4	Mexico	Apr 8, 2001	Apr 8, 2001	no change
F4	Philippines	Mar 22, 2006	Aug 22, 2007	+17 months

"See note" marks rows that started or ended the year as Current or Unavailable, where a number of months cannot be calculated.

EB-2 for most countries: from 2024 dates to current and back

The clearest story of the year is EB-2 for applicants born outside China and India. The January 2026 bulletin put its Final Action date at Apr 1, 2024. It moved to Oct 15, 2024 in March and became Current in April 2026, so any EB-2 applicant from those countries with an approved I-140 could be approved from April to September. In October 2026, with the new fiscal year, it retrogressed to Jan 1, 2025.

EB-3 for the same countries followed a similar path without becoming current: Apr 22, 2023 in January, Jun 1, 2024 in April, Sep 1, 2024 in September and back to May 15, 2024 in October. Applicants who filed Form I-485 during the current months but were not approved by September now wait until their priority date is earlier than the new cutoff.

EB-1 and EB-2 India: a mid-year setback

India's rows show the opposite pattern. EB-1 India advanced from Feb 1, 2023 in January to Apr 1, 2023 in May, then retrogressed in June and July to Oct 15, 2022, and recovered to Feb 1, 2023 in October. EB-2 India reached Jul 15, 2014 in April and May, fell back to Sep 1, 2013 in June and was Unavailable from July to September, before reopening at Nov 1, 2013.

Retrogressions in fiscal year 2026

A retrogression is a month in which a cutoff moves backward, or goes from Current to a date. Counting the Final Action rows above, the bulletins from October 2025 to September 2026 had 3:

Bulletin	Category and country	Previous month	This month
June 2026	EB-1, India	Apr 1, 2023	Dec 15, 2022
July 2026	EB-1, India	Dec 15, 2022	Oct 15, 2022
June 2026	EB-2, India	Jul 15, 2014	Sep 1, 2013

FY 2027 started with more: in October 2026 EB-2 for all other countries went from Current to Jan 1, 2025 and EB-3 from Sep 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024, which the State Department said was needed "to keep visa issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits."

Categories that became Unavailable

"Unavailable" means the annual numbers for that category and country are used up and no visas can be issued until the next fiscal year or until numbers return. In FY 2026:

Bulletin	Category and country
July 2026	EB-2, India
July 2026	EB-5 Unreserved, India

Both reopened with the October 2026 bulletin, when FY 2027 numbers became available: EB-2 India at Nov 1, 2013 and EB-5 Unreserved India at Dec 1, 2023.

Family-sponsored categories in 2026

• F2A (spouses and children of green card holders) went from Feb 1, 2024 in October 2025 to Aug 22, 2026 in September 2026 and Sep 22, 2026 in October 2026, almost current. Mexico F2A reached Mar 22, 2026.
• F1 for most countries moved from Nov 8, 2016 to Jan 22, 2020.
• F2B moved from Nov 22, 2016 to Aug 22, 2019.
• F3 moved from Sep 8, 2011 to Oct 22, 2014 and F4 from Jan 8, 2008 to Oct 22, 2011, both large moves for categories that usually advance slowly.
• Mexico and the Philippines remain the longest family lines; see green card backlog for each row.

Employment-based categories in 2026

• EB-1: current for most countries all year. India moved from Feb 15, 2022 to Oct 15, 2022 and then to Feb 1, 2023 in October 2026; China from Dec 22, 2022 to Jul 1, 2023.
• EB-2: for most countries it went from Dec 1, 2023 to Current, then retrogressed to Jan 1, 2025 in October 2026. India ended FY 2026 as Unavailable and reopened at Nov 1, 2013; China moved from Apr 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2021.
• EB-3: for most countries from Apr 1, 2023 to Sep 1, 2024, then May 15, 2024 in October 2026. India from Aug 22, 2013 to Jan 1, 2014.
• EB-4: from Jul 1, 2020 to Dec 15, 2022 for every country.
• EB-5: set-aside categories current throughout; Unreserved China from Dec 8, 2015 to Dec 1, 2016.

India-specific rows are collected in green card priority date India.

When the 2026 bulletins came out

The State Department does not publish a release calendar. The bulletins dated 2026 appeared between the 2nd and the 15th of the month before they took effect (see the release column in the first table). A bulletin's dates apply from the first to the last day of its month.

USCIS separately announces each month whether applicants in the United States may use the Dates for Filing chart or only the Final Action chart to file Form I-485. For October 2026 it accepts Dates for Filing for both family and employment categories.

What 2026 means for applicants

• Family applicants saw F1, F2B, F3 and F4 move roughly three to four years of priority dates in FY 2026; anyone with a priority date close to the cutoff should have documents ready, because dates can pause.
• Employment applicants from most countries went from near-current to a retrogression in October 2026. If your priority date is after the new Final Action date, a pending I-485 waits; if you have not filed, the Dates for Filing chart may still let you file.
• Indian and Chinese applicants moved months, not years, in EB-2 and EB-3. Strategies such as EB-1, porting an earlier priority date or an EB-3 downgrade are covered in what a priority date is and EB-1 requirements.
• Everyone should check the bulletin monthly; our Visa Bulletin predictions show where each row may go based on its history.