Visa Bulletin
October 2026 Visa Bulletin: Filing Dates Leap Forward for China-Born Applicants
The bottom line for employers: the Department of State's October 2026 Visa Bulletin — the first bulletin of fiscal year 2027 — moves the Dates for Filing chart substantially forward for applicants born in mainland China, while the Final Action Dates that govern actual green card approval move only modestly or not at all.1 For China-born EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and EB-5 applicants, the practical question this month is generally not whether a green card can be approved now, but whether an employee may file Form I-485 now. That depends on which chart USCIS designates for employment-based adjustment of status in October — a decision USCIS publishes separately from the bulletin.2
What Moved for China-Born Applicants, September to October
- EB-1: final action date unchanged at July 1, 2023; filing date advances seven months, from December 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024.
- EB-2: final action date advances one month to October 1, 2021; filing date advances one year, from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023.
- EB-3: final action date advances one week to January 8, 2022; filing date advances more than two years, from January 8, 2022 to April 1, 2024.
- EB-5 Unreserved: final action date unchanged at December 1, 2016; filing date advances four years, from March 1, 2017 to March 1, 2021.
- EB-5 set-aside categories (rural, high unemployment, infrastructure) remain Current on both charts.
| CATEGORY | ALL AREAS | CHINA (MAINLAND-BORN) | INDIA |
| EB-1 | Current — | 2023-07-01 — 0 | 2023-02-01 ▲ +109d |
| EB-2 | 2025-01-01 ▼ retrogressed | 2021-10-01 ▲ +30d | 2013-11-01 ▲ reopened |
| EB-3 | 2024-05-15 ▼ -109d | 2022-01-08 ▲ +7d | 2014-01-01 — 0 |
| Other Workers | 2022-01-01 ▼ -90d | 2019-10-01 ▲ +153d | 2014-01-01 — 0 |
| EB-4 | 2022-12-15 — 0 | 2022-12-15 — 0 | 2022-12-15 — 0 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 2022-12-15 — 0 | 2022-12-15 — 0 | 2022-12-15 — 0 |
| EB-5 Unreserved | Current — | 2016-12-01 — 0 | 2023-12-01 ▲ reopened |
| EB-5 Set Aside: Rural | Current — | Current — | Current — |
| EB-5 Set Aside: High Unemployment | Current — | Current — | Current — |
| EB-5 Set Aside: Infrastructure | Current — | Current — | Current — |
| CATEGORY | ALL AREAS | CHINA (MAINLAND-BORN) | INDIA |
| EB-1 | Current — | 2024-07-01 ▲ +213d | 2024-07-01 ▲ +213d |
| EB-2 | 2026-03-15 ▼ retrogressed | 2023-01-01 ▲ +365d | 2015-01-15 — 0 |
| EB-3 | 2024-08-01 ▼ retrogressed | 2024-04-01 ▲ +814d | 2015-01-15 — 0 |
| Other Workers | 2022-06-01 ▼ -61d | 2020-10-01 ▲ +366d | 2015-01-15 — 0 |
| EB-4 | 2025-01-01 ▲ +731d | 2025-01-01 ▲ +731d | 2025-01-01 ▲ +731d |
| Certain Religious Workers | 2025-01-01 ▲ +731d | 2025-01-01 ▲ +731d | 2025-01-01 ▲ +731d |
| EB-5 Unreserved | Current — | 2021-03-01 ▲ +1461d | 2024-05-01 — 0 |
| EB-5 Set Aside: Rural | Current — | Current — | Current — |
| EB-5 Set Aside: High Unemployment | Current — | Current — | Current — |
| EB-5 Set Aside: Infrastructure | Current — | Current — | Current — |
A "Current" designation describes visa availability for that month only and is not a guarantee — a category listed as Current may retrogress in a later bulletin.3 The China column applies to applicants born in mainland China: chargeability generally follows country of birth, not citizenship or residence, so an employee who holds another country's passport but was born in mainland China is ordinarily charged to China.
Rest of World and India: Retrogression Alongside Reopening
For applicants charged to All Chargeability Areas, October is a step backward on the final action chart: EB-2 retrogresses from Current to January 1, 2025, EB-3 from September 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024, and Other Workers from April 1, 2022 to January 1, 2022.1 For India, EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved return from "Unavailable" to cutoff dates of November 1, 2013 and December 1, 2023 respectively, and EB-1 advances to February 1, 2023. Employers with multinational workforces should not assume that good news for one country of birth applies to another.
Filing Now Depends on the Chart USCIS Designates
Each month USCIS states whether employment-based adjustment applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart or must use the Final Action Dates chart; the designation can differ between family-based and employment-based categories and can change from month to month.2 The two outcomes are materially different this month:
- If USCIS designates the Dates for Filing chart: China-born employees whose priority dates are earlier than the Chart B dates above may generally file Form I-485 in October, even though approval must still wait until their final action date becomes current. A pending I-485 ordinarily allows the applicant to request employment authorization and advance parole while the case waits.
- If USCIS designates the Final Action Dates chart: only applicants whose priority dates are earlier than the Chart A dates may file, and for China-born applicants those dates barely moved.
The Dates for Filing chart indicates when applicants may begin preparing and submitting their cases; it is not a prediction that final action dates will reach those points during the year, and final action dates can remain flat or retrogress.3 Employers should confirm the USCIS designation before calendaring any filing.
What Employers Should Do Now
- Compare the priority date of every China-born sponsored employee with an approved or pending I-140 against the October Chart B dates, and flag those newly inside the filing window.
- Check the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page for October before filing, and re-check each month.
- For employees who may qualify, begin assembling I-485 packages now — medical examination, civil documents and employment verification letters — so a filing can be made promptly if USCIS honors the filing chart; filing windows can narrow in later bulletins.
- For China-born EB-5 investors in the unreserved category with priority dates before March 1, 2021, evaluate adjustment or consular readiness; set-aside categories remain Current.
- For rest-of-world EB-2 and EB-3 employees whose dates are no longer current, a properly filed and pending I-485 generally remains pending; employees who have not yet filed will ordinarily need to wait for their date to become current again.
- Identify employees who may benefit from cross-chargeability through a spouse born in a country with a more favorable cutoff date.
1 Visa Bulletin for October 2026 — U.S. Department of State (official)
2 Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin — USCIS
This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Attorney advertising. © The Peng Law Group.