How to Read the Visa Bulletin in 2026: Priority Dates, Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Explained
You filed an I-130 for a family member, or your employer filed an I-140 for you, and now you hold a receipt notice and one question: when is it actually our turn? The answer lives in a monthly chart published by the U.S. Department of State called the Visa Bulletin.
As of October 2026, the newest bulletin is the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, and every figure below comes from it unless we say otherwise. One threshold point: the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a U.S. citizen, and the parents of a citizen who is at least 21, are immediate relatives, and INA 201(b)(2)(A)(i) places them outside the annual numerical limits, so the bulletin does not govern their cases. Everyone in a family preference or employment category waits in a line, and the bulletin is how that line moves.
What a Priority Date Is and Where to Find Yours
Your priority date is your place in line. Under INA 203(e)(1), preference visas "shall be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each such immigrant is filed." The earlier your date, the sooner you reach the front of your own category and country.
Family petitions. For an I-130, 8 CFR 204.1(b) says the filing date "is the date it is properly filed and received by USCIS," and "That date will constitute the priority date." Look at your Form I-797 receipt or approval notice. If a priority date printed there does not match the date USCIS received the petition, have an attorney review it before you rely on it.
Employment petitions with a labor certification. For most EB-2 and EB-3 cases, the employer first files a PERM labor certification. Under 8 CFR 204.5(d), the priority date is "the date the labor certification application was accepted for processing" by the Department of Labor, not the later date the I-140 reached USCIS.
Employment petitions without a labor certification. For categories that need none, such as a national interest waiver, 8 CFR 204.5(d) uses the date the complete, signed petition with initial evidence and the correct fee is properly filed with USCIS.
Your Category and Your Chargeability Country
Two things decide which line you stand in: your preference category and your country of chargeability.
The category. Family rows are F1 (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens), F2A (spouses and children of permanent residents), F2B (unmarried sons and daughters 21 or older of permanent residents), F3 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) and F4 (brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens). Employment rows run from 1st through 5th preference. Under INA 201(c)(1)(B)(ii), the family preference total can never fall below 226,000 a year. We explain who fits each family category in our guides to petitioning for a child and petitioning for a brother or sister.
The country. Chargeability is not citizenship. Under INA 202(b), your chargeability "shall be determined by birth within such foreign state," with limited exceptions. A person born in Mexico who later became a citizen of Spain is still charged to Mexico. This matters because INA 202(a)(2) caps any single country at 7 percent of the family and employment preference visas each year, which the November 2026 bulletin calculates as 25,620. High-demand countries get their own column: in November 2026, mainland China, India, Mexico and the Philippines. Everyone else uses the "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed" column, which we call the worldwide column.
Cross-chargeability. INA 202(b) lets some people use another country's line. Under 202(b)(2), a spouse may be charged to the country of the spouse he or she is accompanying or following to join, if that spouse has received or would qualify for an immigrant visa, if necessary to prevent separation, and if that country still has numbers. Under 202(b)(1), a child accompanying or following to join a parent may, on similar conditions, be charged to either parent's country. Under 202(b)(4), a person born in a country where neither parent was born or resided at the time may be charged to either parent's country. If you were born in Mexico or the Philippines and your spouse was not, ask whether cross-chargeability could move you to a faster column. The conditions have to fit.
Two Charts: Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing
Since October 2015, as the USCIS Policy Manual notes, every preference category has carried two charts. They answer different questions.
Final Action Dates (Chart A) tell you when a visa can actually be issued. The November 2026 bulletin says numbers "are authorized for issuance only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the final action date listed." This chart controls when a consulate can issue your immigrant visa and when USCIS can approve your green card.
Dates for Filing (Chart B) come earlier. The bulletin describes them as dates "within a timeframe justifying immediate action in the application process." Consular applicants with a priority date earlier than this date may submit documents to the National Visa Center once NVC sends instructions. For people inside the United States, USCIS sometimes allows adjustment filings from this chart, the subject of the next section.
Notice the word "earlier." If the chart says 22OCT12 and your priority date is October 22, 2012, you are not yet reached. The bulletin writes dates as day, three-letter month, two-digit year: 22OCT12 is October 22, 2012, and 15MAY10 is May 15, 2010.
Which Chart USCIS Is Using for November 2026
The bulletin's introduction says that unless USCIS indicates otherwise on its website, adjustment applicants "must use the 'Final Action Dates' charts." When USCIS decides there are more visas available for the fiscal year than known applicants, its "Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin" page says applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart instead. USCIS says it anticipates designating one chart each month.
For November 2026, USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for both family-sponsored and employment-based filings. We read this on the USCIS filing charts page on October 25, 2026: for all family-sponsored and all employment-based preference categories, "you must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for November 2026." USCIS gave the same instruction for October 2026. The page adds that if your category is current on the Final Action chart, or its Final Action date is later than the Dates for Filing date, you may file from the Final Action chart that month.
Three cautions. First, the designation can change every month, so check it for the month you file. Second, filing from the Dates for Filing chart gets your application in the door, along with the ability to request a work permit while it is pending (8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9)), but USCIS cannot approve it until your priority date is earlier than the Final Action date. Third, an early place in line is not eligibility to adjust. INA 245(a) generally requires inspection and admission or parole and a visa that is "immediately available" when you file, and 8 CFR 245.1(g)(1) ties availability to the current bulletin. Many preference applicants must process through a consulate instead. Our post on concurrent filing of the I-130 and I-485 explains when filing together works.
If you have a child near 21, the chart matters even more. Under current USCIS policy, the child's age under the Child Status Protection Act is calculated from the Final Action Dates chart even when the adjustment was filed from the Dates for Filing chart. Our companion post on CSPA and aging out walks through that formula.
Not sure where your priority date stands in the Visa Bulletin?
We read your receipt notice against the current bulletin and the USCIS chart for the month, then tell you whether this is your month to file and what to prepare while you wait.
Talk to a Green Card AttorneyOr call (484) 763-4984
Reading Your Line: Worked Examples From the November 2026 Bulletin
Four steps. Find your category row. Find your chargeability column. Compare your priority date to the Final Action date to see whether a visa can issue this month. Then compare it to the Dates for Filing date to see whether you can take the earlier step, and, if you are in the United States, check which chart USCIS designated.
Example one: an F2B applicant born in Mexico. Rosa was born in Puebla. Her mother, a permanent resident in Allentown, filed an I-130 for her when Rosa was 24 and unmarried. Her priority date is January 10, 2011. The Mexico column of the November 2026 Visa Bulletin shows:
- F2B Final Action Date, Mexico, November 2026: 15MAY10 (May 15, 2010)
- F2B Dates for Filing, Mexico, November 2026: 22MAR11 (March 22, 2011)
January 10, 2011 is earlier than March 22, 2011, so Rosa is within the Dates for Filing chart for November 2026. It is not earlier than May 15, 2010, so she has not reached the Final Action date. If Rosa is abroad, NVC can begin collecting her documents, but no visa can issue in November 2026. If she is in the United States and eligible to adjust, she could file an I-485 in November 2026 under the USCIS designation, but approval waits until the Mexico F2B Final Action date passes her priority date. For comparison, the worldwide F2B Final Action date for November 2026 is 22AUG20, more than ten years later than Mexico's. That gap is the per-country limit at work.
Example two: an F4 sibling in the worldwide column. Daniel was born in Colombia, which has no separate column. His sister, a U.S. citizen in Bethlehem, filed for him:
- F4 Final Action Date, worldwide, November 2026: 22OCT12 (October 22, 2012)
- F4 Dates for Filing, worldwide, November 2026: 01NOV12 (November 1, 2012)
If Daniel's priority date is June 3, 2012, it is earlier than both. A visa number can issue to him in November 2026, and his case can move to an interview once NVC has his completed file and the consulate schedules him. If his date is October 25, 2012, he sits in the narrow gap: earlier than November 1, 2012 but not earlier than October 22, 2012. He can submit documents and wait. The same F4 row reads very differently elsewhere in November 2026: India 15DEC06, Mexico 22APR01, the Philippines 15MAY08.
A note on F2A. In November 2026, F2A is current ("C") on the Dates for Filing chart in every column, and the Final Action date is 22OCT26 worldwide and 22APR26 for Mexico. Figures from earlier 2026 bulletins are now out of date for F2A, so use the November 2026 figures.
"Current," "Unavailable" and Retrogression
"C" means current. In the bulletin's words, numbers are "authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants." On a Dates for Filing chart, "C" means applications may be filed regardless of priority date. In November 2026, for example, EB-1 is current on the Final Action chart in the worldwide, Mexico and Philippines columns.
"U" means unauthorized: numbers "are not authorized for issuance." The November 2026 bulletin explains that if an annual limit were reached, the category would immediately be made "unavailable."
Retrogression. Dates can move backward when demand outruns supply. Someone current last month can be behind the line this month through no fault of their own. The October 2026 bulletin, for example, reported that some employment categories in the worldwide column had retrogressed to keep issuances within fiscal year 2027 limits. If your date retrogresses while an I-485 is pending, USCIS cannot approve it until a visa is available again. The USCIS Policy Manual offers this perspective: "Usually, but not always, the new supply returns the cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression." Keep your address current and answer every notice while you wait.
October to November 2026. Comparing the two bulletins, the worldwide Final Action dates for F1, F2B, F3 and F4 each moved forward exactly one year (F4 from 22OCT11 in October 2026 to 22OCT12 in November 2026; F2B from 22AUG19 to 22AUG20). The Mexico F2B Final Action date did not move (15MAY10 in both months). The November 2026 bulletin does not explain the movement or forecast later months, and we do not either.
Tracking it yourself. The State Department usually posts each bulletin during the month before it takes effect, and USCIS then posts its chart designation. The November 2026 bulletin, for example, was posted in October 2026. Each month, check the State Department's Visa Bulletin and the USCIS charts page, and log your row and column.
Consular Processing: When the National Visa Center Takes Over
If your relative lives abroad, or you cannot adjust in the United States, the case goes through the National Visa Center and then a U.S. embassy or consulate. The Dates for Filing chart signals the document stage: NVC can invite you to pay fees, complete the online DS-260, and upload civil documents and the affidavit of support.
The Final Action chart controls the interview. Consulates report applicants who are "documentarily qualified," which 9 FAM 504.3 defines as having returned the Notification of Applicant Readiness indicating all required documents are obtained, with the post's clearance procedures complete. Numbers are allocated in priority date order, so finishing paperwork early does not jump you ahead, but finishing late can leave you unscheduled after your date is current. Complete NVC's requirements while you wait.
A current date does not guarantee an interview date. Embassy capacity, security checks, and nationality-based travel restrictions, which changed several times in 2025 and 2026, can slow a case after a number is available. Our consular processing team tracks those issues by post.
Employment Categories in Brief
The employment chart reads the same way. In the November 2026 Visa Bulletin:
- Final Action, worldwide: EB-1 current; EB-2 01APR25; EB-3 15JUN24; Other Workers 01JUN22; EB-4 15DEC22
- Final Action, India: EB-2 01NOV13 and EB-3 22JAN14; mainland China: EB-2 01OCT21 and EB-3 22JAN22
- Dates for Filing, worldwide: EB-2 15MAR26 and EB-3 01AUG24
Because USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for employment filings in November 2026, a worldwide EB-3 worker whose PERM was accepted before August 1, 2024 can file an I-485 this month if otherwise eligible, though approval waits for the Final Action date. EB-5 has its own unreserved row plus set-aside rows for rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure investments; in November 2026 the set-aside rows are current in every column, and the unreserved row is current except for mainland China and India; see our post on moving from E-2 to a green card through EB-5.
What This Means in the Lehigh Valley
Families in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Reading are well represented in the slowest columns. Many of our clients were born in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia or Ecuador, and their siblings and adult children often wait in the F3, F4 and Mexico F2B lines. Knowing whether you are in the worldwide or Mexico column, and whether cross-chargeability could change that, is the first thing we check.
For people in Pennsylvania who are eligible to adjust, a month when USCIS designates the Dates for Filing chart is an opening: file the I-485, request a work permit, and be in line for an interview at the USCIS Philadelphia Field Office once the Final Action date arrives. For those who cannot adjust, the right move is usually a complete NVC file so the consulate can schedule quickly. If a relative is in removal proceedings before the Philadelphia Immigration Court, a priority date that becomes current can matter to that case, and timing should be planned with counsel.
The most common mistake we see is acting on the wrong chart: filing too early and paying fees for years of waiting, or waiting too long and missing a deadline tied to visa availability, such as a child's one-year window under the Child Status Protection Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find my priority date?
For a family I-130, it is the date USCIS properly received the petition, shown on your Form I-797 notice (8 CFR 204.1(b)). For an employment case with a PERM labor certification, it is the date the Department of Labor accepted the PERM application, not the I-140 filing date (8 CFR 204.5(d)).
My date is earlier than the Dates for Filing date but not the Final Action date. Can I get my green card now?
Not yet. You may be able to file or submit documents, and for November 2026 USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for adjustment filings, but a visa can issue, or a green card be approved, only once your priority date is earlier than the Final Action date for your category and country.
I was born in Mexico but my wife was born in Colombia. Which column do I use?
Normally the Mexico column, because chargeability follows country of birth. Under INA 202(b)(2), you may be charged to your spouse's country if you are accompanying or following to join her, she has received or would qualify for an immigrant visa herself, it is necessary to prevent separation, and that country still has numbers. Have an attorney confirm it fits.
Does my priority date change if my category changes?
Often it does not. In the automatic conversions listed in 8 CFR 204.2(i), such as an F2B petition converting to F1 when the permanent resident parent naturalizes, the original priority date carries over. A new petition by a different petitioner generally gets its own new priority date.
Why did my category jump a full year between October and November 2026?
The worldwide Final Action dates for F1, F2B, F3 and F4 each advanced exactly one year from the October 2026 bulletin to the November 2026 bulletin. The November 2026 bulletin does not explain the movement or project future months, and dates can retrogress, so treat each month on its own.
Get Help With Your Priority Date and the Visa Bulletin
If you are not sure which line you are in, which chart applies, or whether this is your month to file, we can read your notice and the current bulletin with you and tell you the next step. Lehigh Valley Immigration Law offers a free bilingual consultation in English and Spanish. Call us at (484) 763-4984 or contact us online. Every case is different, and no attorney can guarantee a particular result.