The US Department of State announced the October 2026 immigrant visa bulletin on Tuesday, September 29, just as the 2027 fiscal year is about to begin. The release of the bulletin was delayed by approximately one week compared to previous years.
In comparison to the September visa bulletin, for family-sponsored green cards, the final action dates for the F2A category have advanced by one month, with additional slots available for processing, while all other final action dates and filing dates have remained the same.
Regarding employment-based green cards, the most significant advancement in final action dates is for third preference “other” (non-technical) workers, which progressed by 5 months from the previous dates. Additionally, there have been improvements in filing dates across various employment-based green card categories, with the fifth preference (non-reserved category) advancing by 4 years, marking the largest jump.
The immigrant visa categories are divided into family-sponsored and employment-based categories. Each category provides Application Final Action Dates (FAD) for final green card approval and Dates for Filing Applications (DFA) for when applications can be submitted.
The FAD offers a reference date for when the immigration agency can approve green cards. Applicants who submitted petitions such as I-140/I-130/I-526 before the published date may have a chance for approval in that month.
On the other hand, the DFA represents the priority date when the immigration agency can accept green card applications. This date is usually indicated on the receipt notice post submitting the petition (Notice of Action), labor certification approval, or I-140 receipt, and it always precedes the FAD. Applicants with a priority date earlier than the published date in the DFA table can submit the I-485 application in that month.
The family-sponsored green card categories include:
– F1: Unmarried adult children of US citizens, with an annual quota of 23,400.
– F2A, F2B: Spouses and unmarried minor children of US permanent residents, as well as unmarried adult children of US permanent residents, with an annual quota of 114,200.
– F3: Married children of US citizens, with an annual quota of 23,400.
– F4: Siblings of US citizens, with an annual quota of 65,000.
Annually, the US Congress issues approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas across five priority areas:
– EB-1: Individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors or researchers, multinational executives or managers.
– EB-2: Professionals with advanced degrees, individuals with exceptional ability in arts, science, or business fields.
– EB-3: Skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers without advanced degrees.
– EB-4: Some special immigrants, including religious workers.
– EB-5: Investors, with unreserved categories such as direct investment, regional center projects, and set-aside categories for rural areas, high unemployment zones, and government infrastructure projects.
In terms of US immigration policy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau are considered separate from mainland China, and their visa quotas are not included in the “China” category. However, due to the “one country, two systems” policy imposed by the Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kong is now included in the same EB-5 visa bulletin system as mainland China.