November 2026 Visa Bulletin: Family Dates Jump 12 Months

Index

• Which Filing Chart Applies in November 2026
• Key Changes in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin
• Table A: Family-Based Final Action Dates
• Table B: Family-Based Dates for Filing
• Table A: Employment-Based Final Action Dates
• Table B: Employment-Based Dates for Filing
• Sources

The U.S. Department of State has released the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, and this month the story is on the family side. For applicants chargeable to All Chargeability Areas, China, and India, F1, F2B, and F3 advance a full 12 months, and F4 does the same for All Chargeability Areas and China, on both the Final Action and Dates for Filing charts. F2A gains one month in every country column, Mexico included. On the employment side, EB-2 moves forward three months to April 1, 2025 for All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines, EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers recover part of October’s retrogression, and the Employment-Based Dates for Filing chart barely moves. No category retrogresses this month. What November means for you depends on your preference category, country of chargeability, and priority date, and on which chart USCIS designates for adjustment filings.

The November 2026 Visa Bulletin is the second bulletin of fiscal year 2027 and sets the cutoffs that apply to immigrant visa issuance and adjustment of status decisions during November.

Which Filing Chart Applies in November 2026

Every bulletin contains two charts, and they answer different questions. Final Action Dates show when a visa number can be issued or an adjustment application approved; Dates for Filing show when an applicant may begin the paperwork. For a Form I-485 filed inside the United States, the November bulletin restates the default rule: use the Final Action Dates unless USCIS announces on its website that the Dates for Filing chart may be used instead (see the USCIS Policy Manual filing instructions).

In October, USCIS allowed both family-sponsored and employment-based applicants to file under the Dates for Filing chart. That designation covered October only and does not carry into November automatically, so confirm the November selection on the USCIS filing-charts page before you file. The choice affects the two groups in different ways this month:

• Family-sponsored applicants: if USCIS keeps the Dates for Filing chart, worldwide F1, F2B, F3, and F4 applicants gain a full year of new filing eligibility. Because both family charts moved together, the filing cutoffs in those columns stay only about 10 days ahead of the approval cutoffs.
• Employment-based applicants: the Dates for Filing chart is nearly identical to October’s, so if USCIS keeps it, the filing window stays where it was, with one extra month for EB-3 Other Workers in All Chargeability Areas and Mexico. If USCIS returns to Final Action Dates, the window narrows sharply; the EB-2 cutoff for All Chargeability Areas, for example, would fall from March 15, 2026 to April 1, 2025.

USCIS also permits use of the Final Action Dates chart in any month where a category is Current on that chart or its final action cutoff is later than the filing cutoff. Under either chart, your priority date must be earlier than the listed date, and you must otherwise qualify to adjust status. Applicants processing abroad follow a separate track: the National Visa Center relies on the Dates for Filing chart to invite document submission, while visa issuance still waits for the Final Action Date. Our comparison of adjustment of status and consular processing explains how the two paths differ.

Filing mechanics changed as well. On October 7, 2026, USCIS changed the filing location for Form I-485, and it will accept forms sent to a prior location only if they are postmarked on or before November 9, 2026. USCIS has also published a revised edition of the form dated 09/18/26. Check the USCIS Form I-485 page for the current address and edition before mailing a November filing.

Key Changes in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin

The comparisons below measure November against October and keep approval cutoffs separate from filing cutoffs. For last month’s figures and the opening moves of FY 2027, see our October 2026 Visa Bulletin analysis. If you are new to these charts, our guide on how to read the Visa Bulletin walks through priority dates and chargeability step by step.

Family-Sponsored, Table A (Final Action Dates)

• F1 (All Areas, China, India): January 22, 2021 (advanced 12 months); Mexico: September 22, 2008 (advanced 2 weeks); Philippines remains at November 1, 2013
• F2A (All Areas, China, India, Philippines): October 22, 2026 (advanced 1 month); Mexico: April 22, 2026 (advanced 1 month)
• F2B (All Areas, China, India): August 22, 2020 (advanced 12 months); Mexico remains at May 15, 2010; Philippines remains at October 1, 2013
• F3 (All Areas, China, India): October 22, 2015 (advanced 12 months); Mexico: July 15, 2001 (advanced 2 weeks); Philippines remains at July 22, 2006
• F4 (All Areas, China): October 22, 2012 (advanced 12 months); India remains at December 15, 2006, Mexico at April 22, 2001, and the Philippines at May 15, 2008

F2A keeps its split allocation. Numbers exempt from the per-country limit go to applicants from every country with priority dates earlier than April 22, 2026, one month later than October’s exempt cutoff. Numbers subject to the per-country limit go to applicants chargeable to any country except Mexico with priority dates beginning April 22, 2026 and earlier than October 22, 2026. Mexico’s F2A column draws only on exempt numbers, so its Final Action Date moves in step with the exempt cutoff.

Family-Sponsored, Table B (Dates for Filing)

• F1 (All Areas, China, India): February 1, 2021 (advanced 12 months); Mexico remains at December 1, 2008 and the Philippines at April 22, 2015
• F2A remains Current in every country column
• F2B (All Areas, China, India): September 1, 2020 (advanced 12 months); Mexico remains at March 22, 2011 and the Philippines at October 1, 2014
• F3 (All Areas, China, India): November 1, 2015 (advanced 12 months); Mexico remains at December 1, 2002 and the Philippines at October 22, 2006
• F4 (All Areas, China): November 1, 2012 (advanced 12 months); India remains at February 1, 2007, Mexico at April 30, 2001, and the Philippines at March 22, 2009

The Philippines columns do not move on either family chart this month, and Mexico gains ground only in F2A and in the F1 and F3 Final Action Dates. Families weighing their sponsorship options can review our family-based green card services, and spouses and children of permanent residents will find category-specific steps in our F2A visa guide.

Employment-Based, Table A (Final Action Dates)

• EB-1 remains Current except for China, which advances 1 month to August 1, 2023, and India, which holds at February 1, 2023.
• EB-2 advances 3 months to April 1, 2025 for All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines; China holds at October 1, 2021 and India at November 1, 2013.
• EB-3 advances 1 month to June 15, 2024 for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico; China advances 2 weeks to January 22, 2022, India advances 3 weeks to January 22, 2014, and the Philippines holds at August 15, 2023.
• EB-3 Other Workers advances 5 months to June 1, 2022 for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico; India advances 3 weeks to January 22, 2014, while China (October 1, 2019) and the Philippines (January 1, 2022) hold.
• EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers show no movement and remain at December 15, 2022 for every listed country.
• EB-5 Unreserved remains Current except for China (December 1, 2016) and India (December 1, 2023); all three set-aside categories remain Current.

These moves undo part of October’s retrogression for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico. EB-3 now sits two and a half months short of the September 1, 2024 cutoff it held before October, while EB-3 Other Workers has moved past its September position of April 1, 2022. EB-2, which was Current in September, still trails its filing cutoff by nearly a year. Applicants choosing between categories can compare EB-2 and EB-3 green card timelines, and our employment-based green card page outlines petition and filing strategy.

Employment-Based, Table B (Dates for Filing)

• EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 show no movement in any country column; EB-2 stays at March 15, 2026 for All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines, and EB-3 stays at August 1, 2024 for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico.
• EB-3 Other Workers advances 1 month to July 1, 2022 for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico; China (October 1, 2020), India (January 15, 2015), and the Philippines (June 1, 2022) hold.
• EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers hold at January 1, 2025 for every listed country.
• EB-5 Unreserved holds at March 1, 2021 for China and May 1, 2024 for India; every other EB-5 column remains Current.

Bulletin Notes & December Outlook

The November bulletin is shorter than October’s and drops two of its notes. The points that still matter for planning:

• Demand cut-off: the November allocations reflect documentarily qualified demand reported by October 5, 2026.
• Certain Religious Workers (SR): November does not repeat October’s extension notice. According to the October 2026 bulletin, H.R. 6500 extended the SR category through December 11, 2026, and SR cases follow the same cutoffs as the other EB-4 categories. Unless Congress acts again, that end date falls in the middle of the December bulletin period.
• EB-3 Other Workers: the NACARA-related reduction to the annual Other Workers limit remains limited to approximately 150 numbers in FY 2027.
• Annual limits: the bulletin again cites the statutory baseline of 226,000 family-sponsored and at least 140,000 employment-based numbers, with a per-country limit of 25,620 and a dependent-area limit of 7,320.
• U.S. Government employee SIVs: the bulletin repeats that the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act may affect certain current and former U.S. Government employees abroad; affected applicants should contact the consular section where they filed Form DS-1884.

October’s bulletin explained that Rest of World employment dates were set to keep issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits, and November offers no new projection. Two months of forward movement do not establish a trend. If your priority date sits just inside a November cutoff, treat the opportunity as time-sensitive, because future bulletins can hold dates in place or move them backward.

Table A: Family-Based Final Action Dates

F1

F2A

F2B

F3

F4

Table B: Family-Based Dates for Filing

F1

F2A

F2B

F3

F4

Table A: Employment-Based Final Action Dates

EB-1

EB-2

EB-3

EB-3 Other Workers

EB-4

EB-4 Certain Religious Workers

EB-5 Unreserved

EB-5 Set Aside Rural

EB-5 Set Aside High Unemployment

EB-5 Set Aside Infrastructure

Table B: Employment-Based Dates for Filing

EB-1

EB-2

EB-3

EB-3 Other Workers

EB-4

EB-4 Certain Religious Workers

EB-5 Unreserved

EB-5 Set Aside Rural

EB-5 Set Aside High Unemployment

EB-5 Set Aside Infrastructure

The November 2026 Visa Bulletin is a family-side month. F1, F2B, F3, and F4 advance a full year for most countries on both charts, and F2A moves forward one month everywhere. On the employment side, approval dates for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico recover part of October’s losses, EB-2 reaches April 1, 2025, and the filing chart stays almost frozen, while the Philippines family columns do not move at all. Before submitting Form I-485, confirm USCIS’s November chart selection and the current filing address, then compare your exact priority date with the correct category and country column.

Sources

1. Visa Bulletin for November 2026, U.S. Department of State, October 5, 2026.
2. Visa Bulletin for October 2026, U.S. Department of State, September 4, 2026.
3. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
4. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
5. Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 3: Filing Instructions, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
6. The Visa Bulletin, U.S. Department of State.