The October 2026 Visa Bulletin, Fully Decoded: Every Category, Every Country, Verified Against the Official Text
The State Department published the October 2026 Visa Bulletin on October 1, opening fiscal year 2027. We pulled the numbers below directly from the official bulletin text on travel.state.gov, Volume XI, Number 19, cross-checked against USCIS’s own filing-chart determination, not from a summary of a summary. Where other coverage of this bulletin disagrees on a date, and some does, it is almost always because one source is quoting the Final Action Dates chart and another is quoting the Dates for Filing chart. Both charts matter. They answer different questions. This article gives you both, correctly labeled, for every category.
The one instruction that matters most this month
There are two charts in every Visa Bulletin: Final Action Dates, which control when a visa can actually be issued or a green card finally approved, and Dates for Filing, which control only when you are allowed to submit your paperwork. Each month, USCIS separately decides which chart adjustment-of-status applicants inside the US may use to file Form I-485. Consular applicants abroad do not get this choice; they are always governed by the Final Action Dates chart for actual visa issuance.
For October 2026, USCIS has confirmed on its own Visa Bulletin page that all family-sponsored and all employment-based adjustment applicants may file using the Dates for Filing chart. This is the first month since April 2026 that USCIS has permitted the more generous chart for employment-based cases, after requiring the stricter Final Action Dates chart every month from May through September. Filing under Dates for Filing gets your case into the system and can unlock an Employment Authorization Document and travel permission while you wait, but it does not mean your green card will be approved in October. Approval still waits for your priority date to become current on the Final Action Dates chart.
Family-sponsored categories: Dates for Filing (the chart that governs October filing)
Category | All Other Countries | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
F1 — Unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens | 1-Feb-20 | 1-Feb-20 | 1-Feb-20 | 1-Dec-08 | 22-Apr-15 |
F2A — Spouses & minor children of green card holders | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
F2B — Unmarried adult children of green card holders | 1-Sep-19 | 1-Sep-19 | 1-Sep-19 | 22-Mar-11 | 1-Oct-14 |
F3 — Married children of U.S. citizens | 1-Nov-14 | 1-Nov-14 | 1-Nov-14 | 1-Dec-02 | 22-Oct-06 |
F4 — Siblings of U.S. citizens | 1-Nov-11 | 1-Nov-11 | 1-Feb-07 | 30-Apr-01 | 22-Mar-09 |
Movement worth flagging: Mexico advanced 10 months in F2B and jumped 16.5 months in F3. The Philippines advanced a full 12 months in both F2B and F4. India saw a smaller but real 1.5-month gain in F4. F1 and F2A are unchanged everywhere.
Employment-based categories: Dates for Filing (the chart USCIS authorized for October)
Category | All Other Countries | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
EB-1 — Priority workers | Current | 1-Jul-24 | 1-Jul-24 | Current | Current |
EB-2 — Advanced degrees / exceptional ability | 15-Mar-26 | 1-Jan-23 | 15-Jan-15 | 15-Mar-26 | 15-Mar-26 |
EB-3 — Skilled workers / professionals | 1-Aug-24 | 1-Apr-24 | 15-Jan-15 | 1-Aug-24 | 1-Jan-24 |
EB-3 — Other workers | 1-Jun-22 | 1-Oct-20 | 15-Jan-15 | 1-Jun-22 | 1-Jun-22 |
EB-4 — Special immigrants, incl. religious workers (SR) | 1-Jan-25 | 1-Jan-25 | 1-Jan-25 | 1-Jan-25 | 1-Jan-25 |
EB-5 — Unreserved | Current | 1-Mar-21 | 1-May-24 | Current | Current |
EB-5 — Rural / high-unemployment / infrastructure set-asides | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
Employment-based categories: Final Action Dates (the chart that governs actual approval and consular visa issuance)
Category | All Other Countries | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
EB-1 | Current | 1-Jul-23 | 1-Feb-23 | Current | Current |
EB-2 | 1-Jan-25 | 1-Oct-21 | 1-Nov-13 | 1-Jan-25 | 1-Jan-25 |
EB-3 | 15-May-24 | 8-Jan-22 | 1-Jan-14 | 15-May-24 | 15-Aug-23 |
EB-3 — Other workers | 1-Jan-22 | 1-Oct-19 | 1-Jan-14 | 1-Jan-22 | 1-Jan-22 |
EB-4, incl. SR | 15-Dec-22 | 15-Dec-22 | 15-Dec-22 | 15-Dec-22 | 15-Dec-22 |
EB-5 — Unreserved | Current | 1-Dec-16 | 1-Dec-23 | Current | Current |
This is exactly where secondary coverage of this bulletin has diverged: EB-2 India’s Final Action Date is November 1, 2013, while its Dates for Filing date is January 15, 2015. Both are correct. They are different charts answering different questions. If you are filing I-485 in October, the January 2015 Dates for Filing cutoff is what lets you submit. If you are waiting for final approval or a consular visa, November 2013 is what you are actually waiting on.
The headline developments
India EB-2 is available again. It had shown "Unavailable" since May 2026 after that year’s allocation ran out. October reopens it with real cutoff dates on both charts.
India EB-5 Unreserved reopened too, for the same reason: FY2026’s allocation had been exhausted.
China advanced substantially across the board: EB-1 moved a full year on the Dates for Filing chart, EB-2 by 16 months, and EB-3 by more than two years (27 months).
EB-2 and EB-3 "Rest of World" retrogressed, moving from Current to fixed cutoff dates for the first time in months. In practice this is a smaller deal than it sounds: a March 2026 cutoff still clears the overwhelming majority of people whose employer-sponsored green card process has already reached the I-140 stage, since those cases typically have priority dates well before this year.
EB-4 advanced 24.5 months across every country on the Dates for Filing chart, among the largest single-month moves in the bulletin.
The Certain Religious Workers (SR) category was extended through December 11, 2026, under H.R. 6500, signed into law on September 2, 2026. Without that extension, the category would have lapsed entirely at the end of FY2026.
If you are a consular applicant abroad, read this part carefully
USCIS’s Dates for Filing authorization only applies to people adjusting status inside the United States. If your case is processing through a US embassy or consulate, both charts apply to you the same way every month, and the Dates for Filing chart has always controlled when the National Visa Center can accept your documents, regardless of what USCIS decides for domestic filers. The practical difference this month: your actual visa interview and issuance still depend on the Final Action Dates chart above, not the more generous Dates for Filing numbers.
What to actually do with this information
Your priority date is earlier than your category’s Dates for Filing cutoff. You can likely file Form I-485 now if you are inside the US and otherwise eligible. Filing unlocks work and travel authorization while your final action date catches up.
You are EB-2 or EB-5 India and have been stuck on "Unavailable." Check your priority date against the new cutoffs above immediately. This reopening may be temporary if demand is heavy.
You are EB-2 or EB-3 and not from China, India, Mexico, or the Philippines. The retrogression to a fixed date is unlikely to affect you unless your priority date is unusually recent.
You are processing through a consulate abroad. Use the Final Action Dates table, not the Dates for Filing table, to judge your actual timeline to a visa.
Everyone filing based on this bulletin. Confirm the current chart designation on USCIS’s own page before submitting anything, since the authorized chart can change again next month.
Coming soon on immigrants.live
We are building a free Visa Bulletin checker for this site: enter your category and country and see your current Final Action and Dates for Filing status at a glance, pulled automatically from the State Department’s official release each month, no waiting on a blog post to summarize it for you. We will announce it here as soon as it is live.
Frequently asked questions
Which chart should I actually use to file my green card application?
For October 2026, USCIS has authorized the Dates for Filing chart for both family-sponsored and employment-based adjustment of status applicants. Confirm this hasn’t changed on USCIS’s Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page before filing.
Why do different websites show different dates for the same category?
Almost always because one site is citing the Final Action Dates chart and another the Dates for Filing chart. They are both real, official numbers that answer different questions, not a mistake by either source.
Is EB-2 India really open again?
Yes. It was marked "Unavailable" after FY2026’s allocation was exhausted in May 2026. October’s new fiscal year allocation reopened it with real cutoff dates on both charts.
Does the EB-2 and EB-3 retrogression for other countries mean fewer green cards will be approved?
Not necessarily. It mainly affects new filings with very recent priority dates. Most pending cases already have priority dates earlier than the new cutoffs and are unaffected.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice. Chart designations can change monthly; confirm your specific situation against the official bulletin and USCIS’s current filing-chart page, or with a qualified immigration attorney, before filing.
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