The State Department's October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, moves employment-based green card dates in two directions at once. EB-2 for Rest of World, Mexico and the Philippines is no longer current: its final action date is now January 1, 2025. EB-3 for Rest of World and Mexico moves back about three and a half months. EB-2 India, unavailable in September, reopens with a final action date of November 1, 2013, and EB-1 India advances about three and a half months.
The bulletin explains the reversal in one sentence: "some employment-based visa categories for 'Rest of World' countries have retrogressed, and these retrogressions are necessary to keep visa issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits."
Key Points
- What: The October 2026 Visa Bulletin sets green card cutoff dates for October 1 to 31, 2026.
- Biggest change: EB-2 Rest of World goes from current to a January 1, 2025 final action date (March 15, 2026 on the dates for filing chart).
- Also backward: EB-3 Rest of World and Mexico final action dates retrogress from September 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024. EB-3 Rest of World dates for filing go from current to August 1, 2024.
- Forward: EB-2 India reopens at November 1, 2013. EB-1 India final action advances from October 15, 2022 to February 1, 2023.
- Filing chart: USCIS is accepting employment-based I-485s in October under the Dates for Filing chart, so EB-2 Rest of World applicants can file with priority dates before March 15, 2026.
Employment-Based Final Action Dates: What Moved
A priority date earlier than the date listed is eligible for a final decision. "C" means current.
Rest of World (all countries not listed separately)
- EB-1: current (unchanged)
- EB-2: 01JAN25, down from current
- EB-3: 15MAY24, down from 01SEP24
- Other Workers: 01JAN22, down from 01APR22
- EB-4: 15DEC22 (unchanged)
- EB-5 unreserved and set-asides: current (unchanged)
India
- EB-1: 01FEB23, up from 15OCT22
- EB-2: 01NOV13, up from unavailable
- EB-3 and Other Workers: 01JAN14 (unchanged)
- EB-5 unreserved: 01DEC23, up from unavailable
China (mainland-born)
- EB-1: 01JUL23 (unchanged)
- EB-2: 01OCT21, up from 01SEP21
- EB-3: 08JAN22, up from 01JAN22
- Other Workers: 01OCT19, up from 01MAY19
- EB-5 unreserved: 01DEC16 (unchanged)
Mexico and the Philippines
- EB-2: 01JAN25 for both, down from current
- EB-3: 15MAY24 for Mexico (down from 01SEP24); 15AUG23 for the Philippines (up from 01AUG23)
Dates for Filing: What Moved
These dates only matter in a month when USCIS says the dates for filing chart can be used for adjustment of status.
- EB-2 Rest of World, Mexico, Philippines: 15MAR26, down from current
- EB-3 Rest of World and Mexico: 01AUG24, down from current
- EB-1 India and China: 01JUL24, up from 01DEC23
- EB-2 China: 01JAN23, up from 01JAN22
- EB-3 China: 01APR24, up from 08JAN22
- EB-2 and EB-3 India: 15JAN15 (unchanged)
- EB-4, all countries: 01JAN25, up from 01JAN23
What This Means and Why It Matters
If you are EB-2 or EB-3 from a Rest of World country and your I-485 is already pending, the application stays pending, but USCIS cannot approve it in October unless your priority date is earlier than the new final action date. An EB-2 applicant with a priority date in, say, mid-2025 was approvable in September and is not in October. Retrogression does not cancel a filed application; it delays the decision until your date is current again.
If you have an approved I-140 and have not filed an I-485, USCIS is using the dates for filing chart in October, so EB-2 Rest of World needs a priority date before March 15, 2026 to file. Approval still needs a date before January 1, 2025.
If you are EB-2 India, the category is available again after being unavailable in September, with a final action date of November 1, 2013. The dates for filing chart did not move and stays at January 15, 2015.
If you are consular processing, the National Visa Center schedules interviews using final action dates, so the retrogression applies to you directly.
Which Chart USCIS Uses in October
USCIS has designated the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment of status in October 2026, a change from September, when it required the final action chart. That means the filing dates above, not the final action dates, decide who can submit an I-485 this month. Our explainer lists the cutoffs by category.
What You Should Do
- Find your preference category and country of chargeability in the October 2026 bulletin and compare the date to your priority date on your I-140 approval notice.
- For an I-485 filed in October, use the dates for filing chart, which USCIS designated for employment-based cases this month.
- If you are EB-2 or EB-3 Rest of World and your priority date is before the filing cutoff, talk to your employer's immigration attorney about filing this month.
- If your I-485 is pending and no longer current, keep your nonimmigrant status and any EAD or advance parole renewals on schedule.