New York · est. 2013Sunday, September 6, 2026
Inside Immigration

Plain-language guides to US immigration, asylum and USCIS procedure.

Green card queue

Visa Bulletin, September 2026

The Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin every month. It carries two charts. Final Action Dates say whose green card can actually be approved this month: a case qualifies if its priority date falls before the date shown for its category and country. Dates for Filing run ahead of that and say who may send in the adjustment application or consular paperwork and wait in the queue, but only in months when USCIS elects to use that chart. A cell reading Current means no queue at all; Unavailable means no visas that month.

Where does my case stand

The priority date is on the I-797 receipt or approval notice for the I-130 or I-140 (for PERM cases, the date the labour certification was filed). Usually the country of birth, not citizenship.

Enter a priority date to see where the case stands in the September 2026 bulletin.

What this month's bulletin flags

  • Visa Availability in the Employment-based First Preference (EB-1) Final Action Date for India
  • Visa Availability in the Employment-based Second Preference (EB-2) Category
  • Visa Availability in the Employment-based Fifth Preference Unreserved (EB-5) Category

Each is a heading from the bulletin's own notes; read the full text at travel.state.gov.

Final Action Dates

movement against August 2026

Family-sponsored

Final Action Dates, family-sponsored categories, September 2026
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland-born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
F122 Jan 2020advanced 403 days22 Jan 2020advanced 403 days22 Jan 2020advanced 403 days1 Jan 2008advanced 31 days1 May 2013no change
F2A22 Aug 2026advanced 31 days22 Aug 2026advanced 31 days22 Aug 2026advanced 31 days22 Aug 2025advanced 31 days22 Aug 2026advanced 31 days
F2B22 Aug 2019advanced 598 days22 Aug 2019advanced 598 days22 Aug 2019advanced 598 days15 Feb 2009no change1 Jun 2013no change
F322 Oct 2014advanced 890 days22 Oct 2014advanced 890 days22 Oct 2014advanced 890 days1 Jul 2001no change22 Feb 2006no change
F422 Oct 2011advanced 781 days22 Oct 2011advanced 781 days1 Nov 2006no change8 Apr 2001no change22 Aug 2007advanced 21 days

Employment-based

Final Action Dates, employment-based categories, September 2026
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland-born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
EB-1Current1 Jul 2023no change15 Oct 2022no changeCurrentCurrent
EB-2Current1 Sep 2021no changeUnavailableCurrentCurrent
EB-31 Sep 2024no change1 Jan 2022no change1 Jan 2014no change1 Sep 2024no change1 Aug 2023no change
EB-3 other workers1 Apr 2022no change1 May 2019no change1 Jan 2014no change1 Apr 2022no change1 Dec 2021no change
EB-415 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days
EB-4 religious workers15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days15 Dec 2022advanced 61 days
EB-5 unreservedCurrent1 Dec 2016no changeUnavailableCurrentCurrent
EB-5 ruralCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent
EB-5 high unemploymentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent
EB-5 infrastructureCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent

Dates for Filing

movement against August 2026

Family-sponsored

Dates for Filing, family-sponsored categories, September 2026
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland-born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
F11 Feb 2020advanced 231 days1 Feb 2020advanced 231 days1 Feb 2020advanced 231 days1 Dec 2008no change22 Apr 2015no change
F2ACurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent
F2B1 Sep 2019advanced 243 days1 Sep 2019advanced 243 days1 Sep 2019advanced 243 days15 May 2010no change1 Oct 2013no change
F31 Nov 2014advanced 610 days1 Nov 2014advanced 610 days1 Nov 2014advanced 610 days15 Jul 2001no change8 Aug 2006no change
F41 Nov 2011advanced 497 days1 Nov 2011advanced 497 days15 Dec 2006no change30 Apr 2001no change22 Mar 2008no change

Employment-based

Dates for Filing, employment-based categories, September 2026
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland-born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
EB-1Current1 Dec 2023no change1 Dec 2023no changeCurrentCurrent
EB-2Current1 Jan 2022no change15 Jan 2015no changeCurrentCurrent
EB-3Current8 Jan 2022no change15 Jan 2015no changeCurrent1 Jan 2024no change
EB-3 other workers1 Aug 2022no change1 Oct 2019no change15 Jan 2015no change1 Aug 2022no change1 Aug 2022no change
EB-41 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change
EB-4 religious workers1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change1 Jan 2023no change
EB-5 unreservedCurrent1 Mar 2017no change1 May 2024no changeCurrentCurrent
EB-5 ruralCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent
EB-5 high unemploymentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent
EB-5 infrastructureCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent

Twelve months of Final Action Dates

October 2025 to September 2026

F2A, All other countries

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Nov 2023Nov 2024Nov 2025Nov 2026
Final Action Dates cutoff for F2A, All other countries: 1 Feb 2024 in Oct 2025, 22 Aug 2026 in Sep 2026. Advanced 933 days, about 85 days a month on average.

F1, Mexico

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Sep 2005Jul 2006May 2007Mar 2008
Final Action Dates cutoff for F1, Mexico: 22 Nov 2005 in Oct 2025, 1 Jan 2008 in Sep 2026. Advanced 770 days, about 70 days a month on average.

F4, Philippines

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Feb 2006Aug 2006Mar 2007Oct 2007
Final Action Dates cutoff for F4, Philippines: 22 Mar 2006 in Oct 2025, 22 Aug 2007 in Sep 2026. Advanced 518 days, about 47 days a month on average.

EB-2, India

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Feb 2013Aug 2013Feb 2014Aug 2014UUU
Final Action Dates cutoff for EB-2, India: 1 Apr 2013 in Oct 2025, 1 Sep 2013 in Jun 2026. Advanced 153 days, about 19 days a month on average. 3 months were unavailable and sit outside the line.

EB-3, India

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Aug 2013Oct 2013Nov 2013Jan 2014
Final Action Dates cutoff for EB-3, India: 22 Aug 2013 in Oct 2025, 1 Jan 2014 in Sep 2026. Advanced 132 days, about 12 days a month on average.

EB-2, China (mainland-born)

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Mar 2021May 2021Jul 2021Sep 2021
Final Action Dates cutoff for EB-2, China (mainland-born): 1 Apr 2021 in Oct 2025, 1 Sep 2021 in Sep 2026. Advanced 153 days, about 14 days a month on average.

EB-3, All other countries

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Feb 2023Sep 2023Mar 2024Oct 2024
Final Action Dates cutoff for EB-3, All other countries: 1 Apr 2023 in Oct 2025, 1 Sep 2024 in Sep 2026. Advanced 519 days, about 47 days a month on average.

EB-5 unreserved, All other countries

Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Current every month
No dated cutoff in the last 12 months: the category was current throughout.

Sources and limits

Read 2026-09-06 from the Department of State Visa Bulletin, 12 monthly issues, October 2025 to September 2026. The tables are copied cell for cell; the movement tags and averages are our arithmetic. Country columns are the ones the bulletin prints; a country not listed falls under "All other countries". Whether a given month's adjustment applicants may use Dates for Filing is USCIS's call, published on its filing charts page shortly after each bulletin. Once a case is current, the wait for a decision is a separate matter: see USCIS processing times.