Visa Bulletin 2026: EB-1 and EB-2 dates, what Current means

What the Visa Bulletin is, in plain words

Why the line exists

The law caps green cards: at least 140,000 a year for all employment-based categories (EB-1 through EB-5), plus whatever family numbers went unused the year before. There is a country cap too. No single country of birth can take more than 7% of all family and employment numbers combined. When more people qualify than there are numbers, a line forms.

Who it affects

• EB-1A / EB-1B: usually no line (Current) for most countries
• EB-2 (including NIW): there may be a line, depending on your country of birth
• O-1: not affected at all, because it is a nonimmigrant work visa, not a green card

Where to check

Two ways to the green card after I-140 approval

Once your I-140 is approved and your date in the bulletin is Current, there are two paths to the green card:

How to read the bulletin, step by step

Two charts: Dates for Filing vs. Final Action Dates

Every bulletin has two charts, and this is where many people get confused:

What Current (C) and U mean in the Visa Bulletin

A cell holds either a date or one of two letters. The State Department defines them in every issue: "C" means current, i.e., numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants; and "U" means unauthorized, i.e., numbers are not authorized for issuance.

• C (Current) - visa numbers are open to every qualified applicant, whatever the priority date. No line: if you are in the U.S., you can file the I-485 right away, even in the same package as the I-140 (concurrent filing).
• A date (for example 01JAN25) - more people want numbers in this category than there are numbers. Only people with a priority date earlier than that date can get one.
• U (Unauthorized) - nobody can get a number in this category this month, no matter the priority date. This happens, for example, when the annual limit has run out.

Sources: the October 2026 Visa Bulletin and the USCIS page on concurrent filing.

October 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-1 and EB-2 dates

Here are the dates from the October 2026 bulletin. October opens the U.S. government's 2027 fiscal year. The bulletin changes every month, so check the newest issue before you file.

In October 2026, USCIS takes employment-based I-485 filings under the Dates for Filing chart (the USCIS page with this month's charts).

What the bulletin says about the coming months

The State Department does not publish forecasts of future dates in the Visa Bulletin. The October 2026 issue has one forward-looking note, in its section B:

"...some employment-based visa categories for 'Rest of World' countries have retrogressed, and these retrogressions are necessary to keep visa issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits. This situation is being continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly."

In plain words: the State Department moved these dates back on purpose, so that visa issuance stays within the FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits. Compared with September 2026, the Rest of World Final Action Date for EB-2 went from Current to January 1, 2025, and for EB-3 from September 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024. The State Department reviews these dates every month, and they can move either way. It gives no date for when EB-2 might be Current again, so any forecast you read elsewhere is a guess.

Section A of the same bulletin repeats a standing rule: if a Final Action Date has to move back during the month, requests for visa numbers are honored only for priority dates inside the new date. The next bulletin usually comes out in the middle of the month before it applies.

Source: Visa Bulletin for October 2026, sections A and B.

How to find your priority date and compare it with the bulletin

Where to find your priority date.
Look at the Form I-797 notice you got after filing the I-140. Next to the receipt number it shows your priority date. That date is your place in line.

The priority date on your Form I-797

Compare the dates.
Put your priority date next to the Final Action Date in the bulletin to see how close you are.

What the result means.
If your priority date is earlier than the date in the chart that applies to you, a visa number is available and you can file. That does not mean you get the visa or green card at once, because the case still has to be decided. If your priority date is later, wait for the bulletin to reach it.

"All Chargeability Areas": what it means

Only four high-demand countries get their own column in the bulletin: China, India, Mexico and the Philippines. Every other country in the world falls under "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed", often shortened to "Rest of World" or ROW.

That includes Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, all of Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, all of Africa and the rest.

Cross-chargeability: an option for people born in India or China

If your spouse was born in a country with better dates, you can be charged to your spouse's country of birth instead. This is called cross-chargeability.

Visa retrogression

What it is.
Retrogression means a cutoff date in the bulletin moves back instead of forward. It happens when a category or a country runs short of numbers, or when demand from some countries jumps.

Retrogression can be temporary. Dates can move forward again in later bulletins once more numbers open up or demand falls. Until then, people from the affected countries or categories wait longer.
USCIS explains retrogression here.

What happens to a filed case when dates retrogress, and what should you do?

USCIS does not finish a case while the applicant's priority date is no longer current. The application is put on hold until a number is available again.

While it waits, the file stays with USCIS. Where exactly depends on the case, but usually:

• If no interview is needed, the application stays at the USCIS office where it was filed.
• Employment-based cases that already had their interview are held at the National Benefits Center (NBC).

When your date comes back, USCIS may ask you for updated documents. That is why USCIS asks applicants to keep their address current and to report any change of address.

History: how the EB-2 line appeared and where it stands now

The EB-2 dates jump around so much for a reason, and the history explains it.

Why is there a line at all?

Picture a movie theater with 140,000 seats, the minimum yearly number of employment-based green cards, plus unused family numbers. The seats are split between screening rooms: EB-1 (first preference), EB-2 (second), EB-3 (third) and so on. On top of that, no single country of birth can take more than 7% of the seats.

When fewer people want seats than there are seats, everyone walks in (Current). When more people want them, a line forms and you wait for your priority date. For India and China the room is always overbooked because so many people apply from there. For most other countries the room stayed half empty for years, but since late 2022 they have had lines too.

How it used to be: no line for years

Until late 2022, EB-2 for Rest of World was almost always Current. Once your I-140 was approved, you could file for the green card right away. There was no wait, and that was the norm for many years.

2022-2025: the first real line

In December 2022 something unexpected happened: for the first time in years, ROW got an EB-2 cutoff date. In practice it meant this. Before, you got the I-140 approved and filed the I-485 right away. Now you were told: "Your date is January 2023, but we are only serving November 2022. Wait."

A lot of people who were used to an instant process were caught off guard.

Timeline

October 2026: with the start of fiscal year 2027, EB-2 dates for All Chargeability Areas went back again: Final Action Date January 1, 2025, Dates for Filing March 15, 2026. The State Department says it pulled back some employment-based dates for "Rest of World" to keep visa issuance within the quarterly and annual limits.

How EB-2 moved month by month in FY2026

How EB-2 reached Current in 7 months (All Chargeability Areas, which covers most countries):

Final Action Dates (Table A):

EB-1 stayed Current for all 7 months of FY2026. EB-2 went from a December 2023 cutoff to Current in 7 months, a jump of more than two years. The biggest step came between March and April: from October 15, 2024 straight to Current.

Why the dates moved so fast in 2026

The April 2026 bulletin warned:

"...as additional immigrant visa demand materializes, or administration actions are amended, retrogression may be necessary later in the fiscal year to keep issuances within annual limits."

What this means for you: a fast run toward Current is not a promise. If you were waiting for EB-2 to open, a Current month is the time to file, because the next fiscal year can bring the cutoff back. That is exactly what happened in October 2026.

From January 21 to August 21, 2026, the State Department stopped issuing immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan among them. Interviews went ahead, but visas were not issued. A federal court set the pause aside on August 21, 2026 (CLINIC v. Rubio). Check the State Department's current notices before you plan travel. The official notice: immigrant visa pause for 75 countries (U.S. Department of State).

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