The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for October 2026. Until October 1, the September 2026 Visa Bulletin remains in effect.  

The Visa Bulletin contains the DOS’s Final Action Dates chart, which lists the priority dates that are current in each respective category, the categories that are current during the applicable month (i.e., categories that do not have any backlogs), and the categories that are unavailable. The Visa Bulletin also contains the DOS’s Dates for Filing chart, which usually progresses ahead of the Final Action Dates chart, and which U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) sometimes uses to determine the date that Adjustment of Status filings are permitted in each category.  

For October 2026, USCIS has confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Dates for Filing chart to determine eligibility for file Adjustment of Status applications.  

Key Takeaways 

• The EB-1 category advanced modestly for India, moving to February 1, 2023, while China remains at July 1, 2023. The category remains current for all other countries.  
• The most significant movement in October is the reopening of EB-2 India. Following the category’s unavailability in September, the Final Action Date is now November 1, 2013. China advances to October 1, 2021. For all other countries, EB-2 retrogressed from current to January 1, 2025.  
• In the EB-3 category, China advanced to October 1, 2019, and the Philippines to January 1, 2022. India remains unchanged at January 1, 2014. All other countries retrogressed to January 1, 2022.  
• The EB-4 category remains unchanged at December 15, 2022, for all countries.  
• The unreserved EB-5 category for India became available again with a Final Action Date of December 1, 2023, after being unavailable in September. China remains at December 1, 2016, while all other countries remain current.  

Employers and foreign nationals pursuing permanent residence should carefully review both the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing charts and consult with immigration counsel regarding eligibility to file Adjustment of Status applications in October.  

Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates ©, articles, and blogs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com