Update, September 29: The State Department has since published the October 2026 Visa BulletinA monthly State Department publication showing which family and employment visa categories currently have visas available.See it in the glossary. See what changed in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin. The reporting below reflects the situation as of September 28.
The State Department has not posted the October 2026 Visa Bulletin as of September 28, and it has not said why, even though recent October editions were public by mid-September.
The Visa Bulletin page still lists the September 2026 bulletin as current and shows the next edition as “Coming Soon,” with no date and no explanation. Fiscal year 2027 begins October 1.
Current status: No October 2026 cutoff dates have been published. Any figure circulating for October is a forecast, not an official date.
How the October 2026 Visa Bulletin timing compares
The State Department does not publish a posting time for each bulletin, so the timing has to be pieced together from dated outside records. Those records point the same way:
- A law firm post about the October 2024 bulletin carries a September 13, 2024 date in its web address.
- A firm alert on the October 2025 bulletin is dated September 16, 2025.
- One public tracker logs the last 12 bulletins as posted between the 12th and 22nd of the month before they take effect. It lists the September 2026 bulletin at August 22.
September 28 is six days past the latest day in that tracker’s log and three days before October 1. Law firm alerts can trail the actual posting by days, and trackers can differ from each other, so these dates are approximate. The pattern is still consistent: the October bulletin usually appears well before the month it governs.
Why the printed date does not settle it
Each bulletin carries a “CA/VO” date at the bottom, and it is easy to mistake that for the release date. It is not a posting date. The January 2026 bulletin is marked December 2, 2025, while firm alerts on it appeared in mid to late December.
What the State Department has and has not said
The department has not announced a release date or given a reason for the delay. Nothing on its bulletin page addresses it.
Some related facts are public, but none has been tied to the bulletin by the State Department:
- Its July 2026 bulletin said the EB-2 India date was likely to advance in October, depending on demand and the fiscal year 2027 annual limit on employment-based visas.
- Immigrant visaA visa issued at a consulate to a person intending to live permanently in the United States. On admission the holder becomes a permanent resident.See it in the glossary interviews were paused worldwide in late August for consular training.
Whether either affects the timing of the bulletin is not something the department has said, so this article does not draw that link.
What applies while the bulletin is missing
The September 2026 bulletin remains the current edition on the State Department’s page. Which dates apply on and after October 1 depends on what the department publishes.
Adjustment of statusThe process of applying for a green card from within the United States, rather than through a consulate abroad. Filed on Form I-485.See it in the glossary filers face a second unknown. Under the bulletin’s own instructions, applicants use the Final Action DatesThe Visa Bulletin chart showing the priority dates for which a visa number can actually be issued or a green card approved in that month.See it in the glossary chart unless USCIS says the Dates for FilingThe Visa Bulletin chart showing the earliest priority dates for which applicants may submit documents, or in some months file for adjustment of status, ahead of a visa number being available.See it in the glossary chart may be used instead. That is a separate USCIS decision, made once the bulletin is out.
When the bulletin appears, the Visa Bulletin Tracker will carry the new dates. For how the September edition moved, see The September 2026 visa bulletin: employment dates hold still, family lines jump years.
Anyone with a case tied to a Priority dateThe date a petition was filed, or a labor certification was submitted, used to determine an applicant's place in line for a visa category with limited annual numbers.See it in the glossary should confirm timing with a licensed immigration attorney.