The State Department published the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, Number 17 of Volume XI, covering the second to last month of fiscal year 2026. Almost all of the movement landed on the family-sponsored chart. The employment-based chart barely shifted.
F2A moved further than any category has in years
The F2A 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, covering spouses and minor children of permanent residents, advanced roughly 567 days. That is about eighteen months and three weeks, to 22 July 2026 for All Other Areas, China and India. Mexico advanced 568 days, to 22 July 2025.
For All Other Areas, China and India, the 22 July 2026 Final Action Date places earlier 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 within the chart’s cutoff, subject to other approval requirements. Mexico has its separately listed cutoff. On 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, F2A is Current for every ChargeabilityThe country an applicant's visa number is counted against for per-country limits, normally the country of birth rather than citizenship or residence.See it in the glossary area. Chart availability does not itself establish eligibility to file or receive approval.
The rest of the family chart
- F1 advanced about ten months to 15 December 2018 for All Other Areas, China and India.
- F2B advanced 40 days to 1 January 2018. The Philippines advanced 17 days to 1 June 2013.
- F3 did not move, holding at 15 May 2012.
- F4 advanced about eight months to 1 September 2009 for All Other Areas and China.
On the Dates for Filing chart, F2B advanced roughly seven months and F1 roughly five months for All Other Areas, China and India.
Employment-based inched
EB-1 remained current for every chargeability area except China and India. China advanced one month to 1 July 2023. India held at 15 October 2022.
EB-2 was unchanged from July across the board. EB-2 India remained unavailable, because the available visa numbers for fiscal year 2026 had already been allocated. That designation dated from July, and it meant USCIS would not process India EB-2 adjustment applications until the new fiscal year opened in October.
EB-3 advanced 31 days in every chargeability area, reaching 1 September 2024 for All Other Areas and Mexico, 1 January 2022 for China, 1 January 2014 for India and 1 August 2023 for the Philippines. EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers advanced to 15 October 2022. EB-5 showed no movement at all, and EB-5 Unreserved for India remained unavailable.
Which chart applied
USCIS directed employment-based adjustment applicants to the Final Action Dates chart for August, and family-sponsored applicants to the Dates for Filing chart. That split has held steady through the closing months of the fiscal year.
The warning, and what happened next
The bulletin repeated the explanation that has run through recent months. 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 issuance for nationals of certain countries decreased in light of administration actions, including Presidential proclamationA formal statement from the President addressed to the public. In immigration, proclamations are often issued under INA 212(f), which lets the President suspend or restrict the entry of noncitizens when the President finds their entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The Supreme Court read that authority broadly in Trump v. Hawaii (2018), though courts have said it cannot override other parts of the INA.See it in the glossary 10949 and 10998, so the Department advanced dates in several categories to use the visa numbers available in fiscal year 2026. It cautioned that RetrogressionWhen a Visa Bulletin cutoff date moves backward, usually because demand exceeded the numbers available for that category.See it in the glossary or additional unavailable designations might become necessary as demand developed, and that any category could become unavailable before 30 September if an annual, category or Per-country limitThe cap, set at 7 percent of the combined family and employment totals, on how many preference visas may go to natives of any single country in a fiscal year.See it in the glossary were reached.
August singled out EB-1 India, noting that high demand and number use might require making the category unavailable in the coming weeks. A month later that warning widened. The September bulletin extended it to EB-2 across all countries and to EB-5 Unreserved, and the employment chart stopped moving almost entirely. We covered that in our September bulletin analysis.