Every month, the U.S. Department of State publishes a Visa Bulletin that tells prospective immigrants two things: whether a visa number is actually available to them right now, and if not, roughly how much longer they can expect to wait. Because family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visas are numerically capped by law, and because far more people apply each year than the law allows to immigrate, the government has to ration available numbers by priority date — essentially, a place in line based on when a petition was originally filed. This article walks through what September’s bulletin says, how the numbers behind it are calculated, and which categories are worth watching closely for the rest of the fiscal year.
How the Government Decides Who Can Move Forward
Two different government agencies feed into this process. Consular officers overseas report which applicants abroad are fully documented and ready for a visa interview, while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports applicants inside the United States who are seeking to adjust their status. Each month, the State Department tries to allocate available numbers in order of priority date, based on demand reported through the 10th of the prior month.
When demand in a category exceeds the numbers available, that category is described as “oversubscribed,” and a cutoff date is set — the priority date of the first applicant who could not be accommodated. Only applicants with an earlier priority date can move forward. If it turns out numbers need to be pulled back during the year, a category’s cutoff date can move backward (called “retrogression”), and if an annual cap is hit entirely, a category can be marked “unavailable” for the rest of the year, meaning no further numbers are issued until the next fiscal year begins.
Two charts are published for both family-sponsored and employment-based categories:
- Final Action Dates — the date that actually controls when a visa can be issued or an adjustment of status approved.
- Dates for Filing — an earlier, more generous date that tells applicants when they can submit paperwork and documentation to begin final processing, even though final approval will still wait on the Final Action Date.
USCIS decides each month whether adjustment-of-status applicants in the U.S. may use the more generous Filing Dates chart or must use the stricter Final Action Dates chart; that determination is posted separately on the USCIS website.
The Numbers Behind FY 2026
By law, Congress sets an annual worldwide ceiling for each visa category. For fiscal year 2026, the family-sponsored preference limit is 226,000 and the employment-based preference limit is 186,317. No single country can receive more than 7% of the combined total in a given year — a per-country cap of 28,862 — while dependent territories are capped at 2%, or 8,247. Because of statutory carryover provisions, the effective per-country and dependent-area limits used in practice are slightly higher: 29,136 and 8,325, respectively.
Visas within each preference category are issued strictly in the order petitions were filed, and spouses and children accompanying or following a principal applicant receive the same priority date and category as that principal. Because a handful of countries — China (mainland-born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines — generate so much demand that they would otherwise exceed their 7% share, those four countries currently have their own, separate cutoff dates in most categories.
Family-Sponsored Preference Categories
Family-sponsored immigrant visas are divided into four preference levels, each with its own annual allocation:
- First Preference (F1) — unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: 23,400 visas, plus any unused fourth-preference numbers.
- Second Preference (F2) — spouses, children, and unmarried adult sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents: 114,200 visas (plus any shortfall from the worldwide 226,000 total and any unused first-preference numbers), split into F2A (spouses and minor children, 77% of the F2 total, three-quarters of which is exempt from the per-country cap) and F2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters, 23% of the F2 total).
- Third Preference (F3) — married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: 23,400 visas, plus unused numbers from the first two preferences.
- Fourth Preference (F4) — siblings of adult U.S. citizens: 65,000 visas, plus unused numbers from the first three preferences.
Final Action Dates — September
A listed date means the category is oversubscribed; “C” means current (all qualified applicants may receive a number); “U” means unauthorized (no numbers available). Only applicants with a priority date earlier than the listed date qualify.
| Category | All Other Areas | China (mainland) | India | Mexico | Philippines |
| F1 | 22 Jan 2020 | 22 Jan 2020 | 22 Jan 2020 | 01 Jan 2008 | 01 May 2013 |
| F2A | 22 Aug 2026 | 22 Aug 2026 | 22 Aug 2026 | 22 Aug 2025 | 22 Aug 2026 |
| F2B | 22 Aug 2019 | 22 Aug 2019 | 22 Aug 2019 | 15 Feb 2009 | 01 Jun 2013 |
| F3 | 22 Oct 2014 | 22 Oct 2014 | 22 Oct 2014 | 01 Jul 2001 | 22 Feb 2006 |
| F4 | 22 Oct 2011 | 22 Oct 2011 | 01 Nov 2006 | 08 Apr 2001 | 22 Aug 2007 |
For September, F2A numbers exempt from the per-country limit are available to applicants worldwide with priority dates earlier than 22 Aug 2025. F2A numbers subject to the per-country limit are available to all countries except Mexico with priority dates from 22 Aug 2025 up to (but not including) 22 Aug 2026. All F2A numbers allocated to Mexico are treated as exempt from the per-country limit.
Dates for Filing — September
“C” means applications may be filed regardless of priority date. Whether this chart may be used for USCIS adjustment-of-status filings (instead of the Final Action Dates chart above) is announced separately at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.
| Category | All Other Areas | China (mainland) | India | Mexico | Philippines |
| F1 | 01 Feb 2020 | 01 Feb 2020 | 01 Feb 2020 | 01 Dec 2008 | 22 Apr 2015 |
| F2A | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
| F2B | 01 Sep 2019 | 01 Sep 2019 | 01 Sep 2019 | 15 May 2010 | 01 Oct 2013 |
| F3 | 01 Nov 2014 | 01 Nov 2014 | 01 Nov 2014 | 15 Jul 2001 | 08 Aug 2006 |
| F4 | 01 Nov 2011 | 01 Nov 2011 | 15 Dec 2006 | 30 Apr 2001 | 22 Mar 2008 |
Employment-Based Preference Categories
Employment-based immigrant visas are similarly divided among five preferences:
- EB-1, Priority Workers — 28.6% of the worldwide employment total, plus unused fourth- and fifth-preference numbers.
- EB-2, Advanced-Degree Professionals and Persons of Exceptional Ability — 28.6%, plus unused EB-1 numbers.
- EB-3, Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers — 28.6%, plus unused EB-1 and EB-2 numbers, with no more than 10,000 going to the “Other Workers” sub-category.
- EB-4, Certain Special Immigrants — 7.1%.
- EB-5, Employment Creation (investors) — 7.1%, of which 32% is reserved: 20% for rural-area investment, 10% for high-unemployment areas, and 2% for infrastructure projects; the remaining 68% is unreserved.
Final Action Dates — September
| Category | All Other Areas | China (mainland) | India | Mexico | Philippines |
| 1st (EB-1) | Current | 01 Jul 2023 | 15 Oct 2022 | Current | Current |
| 2nd (EB-2) | Current | 01 Sep 2021 | Unavailable | Current | Current |
| 3rd (EB-3) | 01 Sep 2024 | 01 Jan 2022 | 01 Jan 2014 | 01 Sep 2024 | 01 Aug 2023 |
| Other Workers | 01 Apr 2022 | 01 May 2019 | 01 Jan 2014 | 01 Apr 2022 | 01 Dec 2021 |
| 4th (EB-4) | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 |
| Religious Workers | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 |
| 5th Unreserved | Current | 01 Dec 2016 | Unavailable | Current | Current |
| 5th Rural (20%) | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
| 5th High-Unemp. (10%) | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
| 5th Infrastructure (2%) | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
Under NACARA, once the EB-3 “Other Workers” final action date reaches the priority date of the last such petition approved before November 19, 1997, up to 5,000 of the category’s 10,000 annual numbers are diverted to offset NACARA adjustments. That reduction, ongoing since FY 2002, will be capped at 116 numbers for FY 2026.
Dates for Filing — September
| Category | All Other Areas | China (mainland) | India | Mexico | Philippines |
| 1st (EB-1) | Current | 01 Dec 2023 | 01 Dec 2023 | Current | Current |
| 2nd (EB-2) | Current | 01 Jan 2022 | 15 Jan 2015 | Current | Current |
| 3rd (EB-3) | Current | 08 Jan 2022 | 15 Jan 2015 | Current | 01 Jan 2024 |
| Other Workers | 01 Aug 2022 | 01 Oct 2019 | 15 Jan 2015 | 01 Aug 2022 | 01 Aug 2022 |
| 4th (EB-4) | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 |
| Religious Workers | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 |
| 5th Unreserved | Current | 01 Mar 2017 | 01 May 2024 | Current | Current |
| 5th Rural (20%) | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
| 5th High-Unemp. (10%) | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
| 5th Infrastructure (2%) | Current | Current | Current | Current | Current |
The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery for September
Separately from the family and employment systems, the law sets aside up to 55,000 diversity visas each year for people from countries that have historically sent fewer immigrants to the United States. That total is reduced for two reasons this year: up to 5,000 numbers are diverted under the NACARA program, and additional numbers are deducted under the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Combined, these reductions bring the effective FY 2026 diversity visa limit down to 52,101. No single country may receive more than 7% of the diversity visas issued in a given year.
For September, numbers remain available to qualified DV-2026 selectees across all six world regions, subject to the following rank-number cutoffs (applicants with a lottery rank number below the listed cutoff may still receive a number):
| Region | Cutoff |
| Africa | 101,250 |
| – except Algeria | 85,000 |
| – except Egypt | 50,000 |
| Asia | 40,000 |
| – except Nepal | 13,500 |
| Europe | 47,500 |
| North America (Bahamas) | Current |
| Oceania | 3,000 |
| South America & Caribbean | 4,750 |
This entitlement is strictly time-limited: DV-2026 selectees, and any accompanying spouses or children, can only be issued visas through September 30, 2026, the final day of the fiscal year. There is no guarantee that numbers will remain available through that date — they could run out earlier.
Why Numbers Are Moving Faster This Year
Visa issuance rates have slowed in FY 2026, driven partly by immigration-security policies the administration has implemented since January 2025 and partly by reduced or suspended visa operations at some posts abroad in response to world events. To make sure the full annual allotment of numbers is still used despite that slower pace, the State Department has been advancing both the Filing Dates and Final Action Dates more aggressively across several categories in recent months. That advancement is not guaranteed to hold: if demand increases or government policy changes, some categories could retrogress — or even become temporarily unavailable — before the fiscal year ends. The Visa Office says it is monitoring the situation and will adjust as needed.
How the Annual Caps Are Actually Calculated
Each year, the State Department is legally required to calculate the worldwide numerical limits under Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Part of that calculation depends on USCIS data — specifically, how many immediate relatives of U.S. citizens adjusted status in the prior year, and how many people were paroled into the country two years earlier. Until that data arrives, the Visa Office relies on reasonable estimates to keep allocating numbers without delay. USCIS delivered this year’s data on July 24, allowing the Department to finalize the FY 2026 limits described earlier in this article: 226,000 for family-sponsored preferences and 186,317 for employment-based preferences, with per-country and dependent-area limits of 28,862 (or 29,136 with carryover) and 8,247 (or 8,325 with carryover), respectively.
Categories to Watch Through the Rest of FY 2026
EB-1, India
Demand from India-chargeable applicants in the EB-1 category has been high enough that the category could be forced to become unavailable before the fiscal year ends, if India’s share of the annual limit is exhausted early. The State Department says it will continue to monitor this closely.
EB-2, Worldwide
Similarly, strong demand in the EB-2 category overall could require either a retrogression of the final action date or a temporary unavailability determination later in the year, in order to keep total issuances within the FY 2026 ceiling.
EB-5, Unreserved
The unreserved portion of the EB-5 investor category faces the same risk: if demand and usage continue at current levels, the final action date could retrogress, or the category could become unavailable, before September 30.
Special Immigrant Visas for U.S. Government Employees Abroad
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, enacted December 22, 2023, changed certain rules affecting current and former U.S. government employees stationed abroad — and their surviving spouses and children — who apply for special immigrant status under INA section 101(a)(27)(D). These changes do not apply to Afghan or Iraqi nationals applying under the separate SI/SQ special immigrant visa programs for wartime allies. Anyone affected should contact the consular section where they filed Form DS-1884 for guidance on how the law applies to their case.
The Bottom Line
The Visa Bulletin is, at its core, a rationing mechanism: a fixed number of green cards each year, allocated in the order petitions were filed, with built-in limits to prevent any single country from crowding out the rest of the world. September’s numbers reflect an unusually active year of adjustments — dates have moved forward faster than usual to keep pace with slower visa issuance — but several categories, especially EB-1 India, EB-2, and EB-5 Unreserved, remain at real risk of pulling back before the fiscal year closes on September 30. Applicants with cases in those categories should watch the monthly bulletin closely and be prepared for the possibility of retrogression.
Immigration Fleet Law Firm