The Visa Bulletin: how to read it, plus November 2026 dates

What the Visa Bulletin is and who needs it

The Visa Bulletin is a monthly notice from the U.S. Department of State that shows which green card applicants in the family and employment preference categories have reached the front of the line. Congress caps the number of these green cards each fiscal year, and no single country can use more than a set share of them. When demand exceeds supply, applicants wait in a queue ordered by their priority date.

You generally need the bulletin if you are waiting on a family preference petition (F1 to F4), an employment-based petition (EB-1 to EB-5), or certain special immigrant categories. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, such as spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of adult citizens, are not subject to these annual caps, so the bulletin does not limit them. See family green cards and employment green cards for how the categories are defined.

Key terms in plain language

Priority date

Your place in line. For most employer-sponsored cases it is the date the Department of Labor received the PERM application; for self-petitions (EB-1A, EB-2 NIW) and cases without PERM it is the date USCIS received the I-140. For family cases it is the date USCIS received the I-130. It appears on your receipt or approval notice.

Chargeability

The country your green card number counts against. It is usually your country of birth, not citizenship. In some situations a person can be charged to a spouse's or parent's country, which is worth asking an attorney about.

Cutoff date

The date printed in a cell of the chart. If your priority date is earlier than that date, your category is "current" for you that month.

C (Current)

No backlog that month: anyone with an approved or pending qualifying petition may proceed, regardless of priority date.

U (Unavailable)

No numbers can be used in that category that month, no matter how early the priority date.

Retrogression

When a cutoff date moves backward because demand outran the numbers available. Someone who was current can become not current.

Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing: what is the difference?

Each bulletin contains two charts for each type of case.

• Final Action Dates (Chart A) show when a green card can actually be approved or an immigrant visa issued. Your priority date must be before this date for USCIS or a consulate to finish your case.
• Dates for Filing (Chart B) are generally later dates that show who may submit paperwork early. For people abroad, the National Visa Center uses this chart to invite applicants to send documents. For people in the U.S., it may let you file Form I-485 before a visa is ready to be approved, which can bring an early work permit and travel document.

How to read the Visa Bulletin, step by step

November 2026 employment-based Final Action Dates

The November 2026 bulletin was released on October 22, 2026, and governs November 1 to 30, 2026. Dates are written exactly as the State Department prints them (day, month, two-digit year). Figures are as of October 2026.

October 2026 employment-based Final Action Dates (for comparison)

Month-over-month, the main changes were: EB-1 China advanced one month; EB-2 for All Chargeability, Mexico and the Philippines advanced three months to 01APR25; EB-3 for All Chargeability and Mexico advanced one month, with smaller advances for China and India; and EB-3 Other Workers advanced five months for All Chargeability and Mexico. EB-4 and EB-5 did not move.

November 2026 employment-based Dates for Filing

Most employment Dates for Filing were unchanged from October 2026. The exception was EB-3 Other Workers for All Chargeability and Mexico, which moved from 01JUN22 to 01JUL22.

The October 2026 Rest of World retrogression

October is the first month of the federal fiscal year, and the October 2026 bulletin (the first for fiscal year 2027) set new cutoff dates for applicants from most countries. According to the published October and September 2026 charts:

• EB-2, All Chargeability, Mexico and the Philippines: Final Action went from Current in September 2026 to 01JAN25 in October 2026. Dates for Filing went from Current to 15MAR26.
• EB-3, All Chargeability and Mexico: Final Action moved backward from 01SEP24 to 15MAY24. Dates for Filing went from Current to 01AUG24.

In practical terms, many EB-2 and EB-3 applicants born outside China and India who could file or be approved in September 2026 found that they no longer could in October. Pending I-485 applications generally stay pending, but USCIS cannot approve them until the Final Action Date again passes the applicant's priority date. The November 2026 bulletin recovered part of that ground for EB-2 and EB-3.

November 2026 family-sponsored Final Action Dates

For comparison, the October 2026 family Final Action Dates were:

In November 2026, F1, F2B, F3 and F4 each moved forward about one year for All Chargeability (and for China and India in F1 to F3, and China in F4). F2A moved one month for every column. Mexico F1 and F3 advanced two weeks. Apart from F2A, Philippines family dates did not change, and neither did India F4.

November 2026 family-sponsored Dates for Filing

Note on EB-4 non-minister religious workers

The "Certain Religious Workers" line covers non-minister religious workers, a program that Congress must periodically reauthorize. As of October 2026, it runs through December 11, 2026, under H.R. 6500, a short-term funding law signed on September 2, 2026, according to the October 2026 Visa Bulletin. If it lapses, that line may become unavailable even if a date is shown. Ministers are covered by a permanent provision and are not affected.

Why do Visa Bulletin dates move forward or backward?

The State Department sets cutoff dates by comparing demand (documentarily qualified applicants abroad plus pending USCIS cases) with the numbers left for the year. Dates tend to advance early in the fiscal year and may stall or retrogress late in the year if demand is high. Unused family numbers from one year can raise the employment limit for the next. The bulletin sometimes includes notes predicting movement, but these are estimates, not promises. For a running history, see our Visa Bulletin tracker.

Common mistakes

• Using country of citizenship instead of country of birth for chargeability.
• Reading the Dates for Filing chart as an approval date. Only the Final Action Date allows approval.
• Assuming the chart USCIS uses this month will be the same next month.
• Filing an I-485 without the required initial evidence. Since August 2026, USCIS policy allows officers to deny incomplete filings without first sending a request for evidence.
• Letting an immigrant visa case go quiet. The National Visa Center may treat an unresponsive case as abandoned after a long period.

What to ask an attorney

• What is my exact category and priority date, and can I keep (port) it if I change jobs or file a new petition?
• Can I use cross-chargeability through my spouse or a parent?
• Should I adjust status in the U.S. or process through a consulate? See adjustment vs. consular processing.
• If my category retrogresses after I file, how do I protect work authorization and travel?
• Does my child risk aging out, and does the Child Status Protection Act help?

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