Most US Employment-Based Visa Filing Dates Advance for October 2026

The U.S. Department of State has released the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fiscal Year 2027. It advances dates across the majority of employment-based immigrant visa categories, although some worldwide categories have moved backwards.

For October, USCIS will accept employment-based Adjustment of Status applications under the Dates for Filing chart. Applicants whose priority date falls before the published cut-off date for their category may file.

Key facts

• USCIS accepts employment-based Adjustment of Status filings under the Dates for Filing chart for October
• Most employment-based categories advance; some worldwide categories retrogress
• The "Worldwide" grouping includes Mexico and the Philippines
• EB-4 has a filing cut-off of January 1, 2025 for all countries
• China and India have their own cut-off dates in most categories

Which filing dates apply to my category?

Under the Dates for Filing chart, the following cut-offs apply:

EB-1, First Preference

• Worldwide, including Mexico and the Philippines: remains current
• China: advances to July 1, 2024
• India: advances to July 1, 2024

EB-2, Second Preference

• Worldwide, including Mexico and the Philippines: retrogresses from current to a filing cut-off of March 15, 2026
• China: advances to January 1, 2023
• India: becomes available again, with a filing cut-off of January 15, 2015

EB-3, Professional and Skilled Workers

• Worldwide, including Mexico: retrogresses to August 1, 2024
• China: advances to April 1, 2024
• India: advances to January 15, 2015
• Philippines: advances to January 1, 2024

Other Workers

• Worldwide, including Mexico and the Philippines: advances to June 1, 2022
• China: advances to October 1, 2020
• India: advances to January 15, 2015

EB-4, Certain Special Immigrants and Certain Religious Workers: filing cut-off of January 1, 2025 across all countries.

EB-5, Immigrant Investors: in the Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5 and R5), China has a filing cut-off of March 1, 2021 and India of May 1, 2024. All other countries remain current, and the Set-Aside categories — Rural, High Unemployment and Infrastructure — remain current.

Why have some dates moved backwards?

The Department of State says some employment-based categories for "Rest of World" countries have necessarily retrogressed to keep visa issuances within the FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits. It adds that immigrant visa availability is being continually monitored and that any necessary adjustments will be made.

What should applicants and employers do?

Anyone with a priority date before the published cut-off for their category and country may file an Adjustment of Status application based on the October dates. Employers are advised to work with immigration counsel to identify employees who may now have become eligible to file.

The Department of State says it will keep watching visa availability and adjust the dates as needed.