October 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2/EB-3 Retrogress, India EB-2 Returns, USCIS Uses Dates for Filing

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, pushed worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 Final Action Dates backward while bringing India EB-2 and India EB-5 back from “unavailable.” The bigger practical news is that USCIS is accepting the Dates for Filing chart for both family and employment adjustment of status this month, which lets many people file an I-485 even when final approval is still years away.

Key points

• USCIS uses Dates for Filing in October 2026 for family and employment cases, after requiring Final Action Dates for employment cases from May to September.
• EB-2 rest of world Final Action retrogressed about 21 months to January 1, 2025.
• EB-3 rest of world Final Action moved back to May 15, 2024.
• India EB-2 returns at November 1, 2013; India EB-5 unreserved returns at December 1, 2023.
• China advanced in EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 Dates for Filing; EB-5 set-asides stay current for everyone.

The tables below come from law-firm transcriptions that agree with each other (Fragomen and others). Our server could not load the official bulletin directly, so confirm your row there before filing. New to the bulletin? Start with how to read the Visa Bulletin.

Which chart USCIS accepts

The USCIS filing charts page states that for October 2026, applicants “must use the Dates for Filing chart.” This applies to both family-sponsored and employment-based categories. Consular applicants follow National Visa Center instructions.

Employment-based Final Action Dates (October 2026)

Category	All other countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	Current	01JUL23	01FEB23	Current	Current
EB-2	01JAN25	01OCT21	01NOV13	01JAN25	01JAN25
EB-3	15MAY24	08JAN22	01JAN14	15MAY24	15AUG23
EB-3 Other Workers	01JAN22	01OCT19	01JAN14	01JAN22	01JAN22
EB-4	15DEC22	15DEC22	15DEC22	15DEC22	15DEC22
EB-5 Unreserved	Current	01DEC16	01DEC23	Current	Current
EB-5 Set-asides (rural, high unemployment, infrastructure)	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current

Employment-based Dates for Filing (October 2026)

Category	All other countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	Current	01JUL24	01JUL24	Current	Current
EB-2	15MAR26	01JAN23	15JAN15	15MAR26	15MAR26
EB-3	01AUG24	01APR24	15JAN15	01AUG24	01JAN24
EB-3 Other Workers	01JUN22	01OCT20	15JAN15	01JUN22	01JUN22
EB-4	01JAN25	01JAN25	01JAN25	01JAN25	01JAN25
EB-5 Unreserved	Current	01MAR21	01MAY24	Current	Current
EB-5 Set-asides	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current

What changed in employment categories

Worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 retrogress

• EB-2 rest of world: Final Action moved back about one year and nine months to January 1, 2025. Dates for Filing moved back about six and a half months to March 15, 2026.
• EB-3 rest of world: Final Action moved back about three and a half months to May 15, 2024. Dates for Filing moved back about two years and two months to August 1, 2024.
• EB-3 Other Workers rest of world: Final Action moved from April 1, 2022 to January 1, 2022.

Per Fragomen’s analysis, the retrogressions are meant to keep visa use within the fiscal year’s quarterly and annual limits. Because USCIS is honoring Dates for Filing, many rest-of-world EB-2 applicants with 2025 priority dates can still file I-485s this month even though approval is on hold.

India

• EB-1: Final Action advanced to February 1, 2023; Dates for Filing to July 1, 2024.
• EB-2: Final Action is available again at November 1, 2013 (it was unavailable in September). Dates for Filing stays at January 15, 2015.
• EB-3: unchanged at January 1, 2014 (Final Action) and January 15, 2015 (Filing).
• EB-5 unreserved: Final Action is available again at December 1, 2023.

China

• EB-1: Dates for Filing jumped seven months to July 1, 2024.
• EB-2: Dates for Filing advanced a year to January 1, 2023; Final Action moved a month to October 1, 2021.
• EB-3: Dates for Filing advanced about 27 months to April 1, 2024.
• EB-5 unreserved: Dates for Filing advanced four years to March 1, 2021.

Family-based dates (October 2026)

Since USCIS requires the Dates for Filing chart for family cases this month, here is that chart:

Category	All other countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
F1	01FEB20	01FEB20	01FEB20	01DEC08	22APR15
F2A	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
F2B	01SEP19	01SEP19	01SEP19	22MAR11	01OCT14
F3	01NOV14	01NOV14	01NOV14	01DEC02	22OCT06
F4	01NOV11	01NOV11	01FEB07	30APR01	22MAR09

Notable Final Action movements in family categories:

Category	September 2026	October 2026
F2A (most countries)	22AUG26	22SEP26
F2A Mexico	22AUG25	22MAR26
F1 Mexico	01JAN08	08SEP08
F2B Mexico	15FEB09	15MAY10
F1 Philippines	01MAY13	01NOV13
F2B Philippines	01JUN13	01OCT13
F3 Philippines	22FEB06	22JUL06
F4 India	01NOV06	15DEC06
F4 Philippines	22AUG07	15MAY08

Reports indicate other family Final Action Dates for most countries, China and India were unchanged from September; check the official bulletin for those rows. For sponsoring relatives, see our guide to sponsoring parents, siblings and adult children.

What this means for you

• Rest-of-world EB-2 with a 2025 priority date: you can likely file an I-485 in October (if your date is before March 15, 2026), but approval waits until the Final Action Date passes your date.
• India EB-2 with a priority date before November 1, 2013: your pending I-485 can be approved again.
• Already filed and retrogressed: your case stays pending; renew work permits on time, since the 540-day automatic extension ended for renewals filed on or after October 30, 2025.
• EB-5 investors: set-aside categories remain current worldwide. See our EB-5 investor visa guide.

The State Department and USCIS can change charts mid-year. Check the November 2026 bulletin and the USCIS chart page when they publish.

What to do next

1. Find your row in the official October 2026 bulletin and confirm your priority date is earlier than the cutoff.
2. If you are newly eligible to file under Dates for Filing, gather your I-485 package now; the window can close in a later month.
3. Talk to your employer’s immigration counsel about timing, especially if you are near the H-1B six-year limit.
4. Track future bulletins on our US hub and updates page.