After a significant delay, the U.S. State Department has released its October 2026 Visa Bulletin, which determines when applicants for permanent residence (a “green card”) may file or obtain approval of their green card applications. The Visa Bulletin covers both family-sponsored and employment-based categories; this alert explains the Employment-Based (EB) categories and what their movement means for applicants.

U.S. law limits the number of green cards available each year in each category, such as EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3, with additional limits based on country of birth. When more people qualify than there are green cards available, applicants wait in line, and their place in line is set by their priority date, which is generally the date their employer filed a labor certification or immigrant petition on their behalf.

Each month, the Visa Bulletin lists a cut-off date for each category and country, and a person’s priority date is “Current” when it is earlier than the cut-off date for their category and country. When the Visa Bulletin lists “C” instead of a date, that category is Current for that country, regardless of priority date.

The Visa Bulletin includes two charts: a Dates for Filing chart and a Final Action Dates chart. How each chart applies depends on how the applicant will obtain permanent residence.

Applicants who will obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, known as consular processing, follow both charts in the same way every month. The Dates for Filing chart indicates when the National Visa Center may receive their immigrant visa application documents, and the Final Action Dates chart indicates when their immigrant visa may be issued.

For applicants who will obtain a green card from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) through Adjustment of Status (AOS), the chart that governs filing can change from month to month. Each month, USCIS decides whether AOS applicants may file using the Dates for Filing chart or must instead use the Final Action Dates chart. Either way, USCIS may approve an AOS application only when the applicant’s priority date is Current under the Final Action Dates chart.

For October 2026, USCIS will follow the Dates for Filing chart for EB cases. As explained below, this means some applicants may file this month even though their cases cannot yet be approved.

Although October marks the first month of the U.S. government’s 2027 fiscal year (FY 2027), when a new allocation of immigrant visa numbers becomes available, the October 2026 Visa Bulletin reflects both forward movement and retrogression (a cut-off date moving backward, so that fewer applicants qualify). India EB-2 returns from Unavailable status, and several China and India categories advance. However, the State Department has retrogressed several EB categories for the Rest of the World (all countries other than China, India, Mexico and the Philippines), which had been Current or close to Current at the end of FY 2026.

Dates for Filing

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing chart reflects significant forward movement for China and India in several categories, alongside retrogression for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, as compared with the September 2026 Visa Bulletin.

• EB-1 cut-off dates remain Current for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-1 China moves forward from 12/01/2023 to 07/01/2024. EB-1 India also moves forward from 12/01/2023 to 07/01/2024.
• India EB-2 remains at 01/15/2015. India EB-3 also remains at 01/15/2015.
• China EB-2 moves forward from 01/01/2022 to 01/01/2023. China EB-3 moves forward substantially, from 01/08/2022 to 04/01/2024.
• The Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines EB-2 categories retrogress from Current to 03/15/2026.
• The Rest of the World and Mexico EB-3 categories retrogress from Current to 08/01/2024. The Philippines EB-3 category remains at 01/01/2024.

Dates for Filing Chart

Employment-based	All   Chargeability   Areas Except   Those Listed	CHINA-   mainland   born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01JUL24	01JUL24	C	C
2nd	15MAR26	01JAN23	15JAN15	15MAR26	15MAR26
3rd	01AUG24	01APR24	15JAN15	01AUG24	01JAN24

 

Dates are shown in the State Department’s DDMMMYY format (for example, 15MAR26 is March 15, 2026). “C” means Current.

Final Action Dates

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Final Action Dates chart reflects forward movement for India and China in several categories, but retrogression for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines in the EB-2 category and for the Rest of the World and Mexico in the EB-3 category, compared with the September 2026 Visa Bulletin.

• EB-1 cut-off dates remain Current for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-1 China remains at 07/01/2023. EB-1 India moves forward from 10/15/2022 to 02/01/2023.
• India EB-2 returns from Unavailable status with a Final Action date of 11/01/2013. India EB-3 remains at 01/01/2014.
• China EB-2 moves forward from 09/01/2021 to 10/01/2021. China EB-3 moves forward from 01/01/2022 to 01/08/2022.
• The Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines EB-2 categories retrogress from Current to 01/01/2025.
• The Rest of the World and Mexico EB-3 categories retrogress from 09/01/2024 to 05/15/2024. The Philippines EB-3 category moves forward from 08/01/2023 to 08/15/2023.

Final Action Dates Chart

Employment-based	All   Chargeability   Areas Except   Those Listed	CHINA-       mainland   born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01JUL23	01FEB23	C	C
2nd	01JAN25	01OCT21	01NOV13	01JAN25	01JAN25
3rd	15MAY24	08JAN22	01JAN14	15MAY24	15AUG23

 

Dates are shown in the State Department’s DDMMMYY format (for example, 01JAN25 is January 1, 2025). “C” means Current.

Dates for Filing Chart Will Control in October 2026

To be eligible to file an EB AOS application in October, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed in the Dates for Filing chart for his or her preference category and country of chargeability (generally, the country of birth).

Because the Dates for Filing cut-off dates are later than the Final Action cut-off dates, many applicants who may file in October will not be able to have their applications approved until the Final Action dates advance. For example, Rest of the World EB-2 applicants with priority dates before 03/15/2026 may file, while approvals are limited to those with priority dates before 01/01/2025. Similarly, India EB-2 applicants with priority dates before 01/15/2015 may file, while approvals are limited to those with priority dates before 11/01/2013. Applicants in this window should expect their applications to remain pending until their priority dates become Current under the Final Action Dates chart.

USCIS’s switch from the Final Action Dates chart in September to the Dates for Filing chart in October makes it easier for most China and India applicants to file AOS applications, but harder for many Rest of the World, Mexico and Philippines EB-2 applicants. For example, India EB-2 applicants, who could not file at all in September, may now file with priority dates before 01/15/2015, and China EB-3 applicants may file with priority dates before 04/01/2024, compared with 01/01/2022 in September. Rest of the World, Mexico and Philippines EB-2 applicants move in the opposite direction: in September, any applicant could file because the category was Current, but in October only those with priority dates before 03/15/2026 may file. Rest of the World and Mexico EB-3 filing also tightens slightly, from 09/01/2024 to 08/01/2024. Whether October is better or worse than September for filing therefore depends on the applicant’s country and category.

Start of FY 2027 and Rest of the World Retrogression

The State Department explains that the retrogression of certain Rest of the World EB categories is necessary to keep visa issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits, and that the situation will be continually monitored, with adjustments made as necessary. Retrogression does not affect AOS applications that have already been filed; those applications remain pending and may be approved once the applicant’s priority date is Current under the Final Action Dates chart.

India EB-2 No Longer Unavailable

India EB-2, which was Unavailable (“U”) at the end of FY 2026, again has a Final Action date in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, meaning that Indian applicants in this category may once again have their applications approved if their priority dates are Current. India EB-2 returns with a Final Action date of 11/01/2013, which is ahead of the June 2026 Final Action date of 09/01/2013, the last date announced before the category became Unavailable.

T&S Takeaway

As noted above, October is the first month in the State Department’s fiscal year; traditionally, significant immigrant visa numbers become newly available at this time and corresponding forward movement in cut-off dates occurs.  This is also the first month in several months that USCIS has chosen to follow the Dates for Filing chart for EB cases. USCIS imposed the Final Action Dates chart in each month from May through September 2026.

As in October 2025, USCIS’s switch to the Dates for Filing chart reflects the new fiscal year’s supply of visa numbers and the resulting forward movement, which will allow many intending immigrants, particularly China and India nationals, to file AOS applications in October 2026.

The Rest of the World retrogression appears to reflect the State Department recalibrating cut-off dates for the new fiscal year. In the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, the State Department explained that immigrant visa issuance rates had decreased during FY 2026 and that it had advanced cut-off dates in recent months so that available FY 2026 numbers would be used. With the new fiscal year’s limits now in place, Rest of the World EB-2 and EB-3 applicants should note that these categories are no longer Current.

All eligible applicants are encouraged to file their AOS applications as soon as possible. USCIS may revert to the Final Action Dates chart in future months, and further retrogression may occur as FY 2027 demand materializes.

Employees should confirm their category and priority date with their employer or attorney to understand how the October 2026 Visa Bulletin affects them.

The attorneys of Tafapolsky & Smith LLP will monitor and analyze all developments affecting immigrant visa availability, including all statements made by State Department officers in the relevant Visa Bulletin and will provide immediate updates on any significant developments.