The US Department of State announced on Friday, October 23, 2026, the visa bulletin for November 2026, which includes immigrant visas (green card visas). A comparison with the October visa bulletin reveals significant changes for green card applicants from mainland China, with stark differences for family-based and employment-based categories.
In terms of family-based green cards, the F2A category saw a forward movement of 1 month, while other categories advanced by a whole year. On the other hand, for employment-based green cards, apart from a 14-day forward movement in the final action date for the third preference category, the rest either remained stagnant or continued to do so.
The breakdown of immigrant visas consists of family-sponsored and employment-based categories. Each category has an A Table: Application Final Action Dates (FAD) which indicates when green cards can be approved, and a B Table: Dates for Filing Applications (DFA) which signifies the earliest date to submit applications.
The A Table provides reference dates for when the immigration agency can approve green cards, and those who submit their petitions (e.g., I-140/I-130/I-526) before the published date are likely to be approved in that month. The B Table indicates priority dates that the immigration agency can accept green card applications, typically found in the Receipt Notice issued after submitting a petition, labor certification approval, or I-140 receipt, which are all earlier than the A Table dates. Individuals whose priority date precedes the one published in the B Table can file their I-485 applications that month.
The categories for family-sponsored green cards include:
– First Preference (F1): Unmarried children of US citizens, with an annual cap of 23,400.
– Second Preference (F2-A, F2-B): Spouses, minor unmarried children, and adult unmarried children of US permanent residents, with an annual cap of 114,200.
– Third Preference (F3): Married children of US citizens, with an annual cap of 23,400.
– Fourth Preference (F4): Siblings of US citizens, with an annual cap of 65,000.
The US Congress issues approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas annually, covering five priority areas:
– First Preference (EB-1): Outstanding individuals, researchers, multinational executives.
– Second Preference (EB-2): Professionals with advanced degrees, individuals with exceptional abilities in arts, sciences, or business.
– Third Preference (EB-3): Skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers.
– Fourth Preference (EB-4): Certain special immigrants, including religious workers.
– Fifth Preference (EB-5): Investors, with unreserved and set-aside categories such as direct investment, regional center projects, rural areas, high unemployment areas, and government infrastructure projects.
Regarding US immigration policy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau are considered separate from mainland China in terms of visa quotas. However, due to China’s “one country, two systems” policy, Hong Kong is now included in the same EB-5 visa bulletin system as mainland China.