September 2026 Visa Bulletin: Sweeping Family-Based Advances; EB-2 and EB-5 India Unavailable
The fiscal year closes with family-based cutoffs jumping by up to 890 days for most countries, while EB-2 and EB-5 for India are listed as Unavailable and most other employment categories hold still.
The State Department's September 2026 Visa Bulletin delivers some of the largest family-based movements of the year, with Final Action Dates for applicants from most countries advancing by hundreds of days across every preference category.
Family-based: multi-year jumps for most countries
For all chargeability areas except Mexico and the Philippines, F3 (married children of U.S. citizens) advanced roughly 890 days to October 22, 2014, and F4 (siblings of U.S. citizens) moved about 781 days to October 22, 2011 — China matching those dates, while India's F4 held at November 1, 2006. F2B advanced about 598 days to August 22, 2019, and F1 about 403 days to January 22, 2020. F2A advanced one month across the board, reaching August 22, 2026 for most countries and August 22, 2025 for Mexico. Mexico's F1 edged forward about 31 days to January 1, 2008, and the Philippines' F4 gained about 21 days to August 22, 2007; most other Mexico and Philippines family dates were unchanged.
The Dates for Filing chart shows the same pattern: F3 up about 610 days to November 1, 2014, F4 up about 497 days to November 1, 2011, F2B at September 1, 2019, F1 at February 1, 2020, and F2A still Current.
Employment-based: EB-4 advances, India hits Unavailable
On the employment side, EB-4 (special immigrants, including religious workers) advanced about 61 days to December 15, 2022 for all countries. Everything else held: EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 remain Current for most countries, China's employment dates were unchanged, and the EB-3 cutoffs did not move.
The standout is India: EB-2 and EB-5 (Unreserved) for India are listed as Unavailable on the Final Action chart, meaning no visa numbers in those categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. India's Dates for Filing remain posted — EB-2 at January 15, 2015 and EB-5 at May 1, 2024 — so affected applicants should watch how USCIS handles filings.
What it means
September is the last month of the federal fiscal year, and these cutoffs reset with the October bulletin. For adjustment-of-status applicants, remember that USCIS decides each month whether I-485 filings use the Final Action Dates or the Dates for Filing chart — check the USCIS visa bulletin page rather than relying on the bulletin alone.
Final Action Dateseptiembre de 2026 vs agosto de 2026
Basado en familia All other China India Mexico Philippines F1 22 ene 2020 22 ene 2020 22 ene 2020 1 ene 2008 1 may 2013 F2A 22 ago 2026 22 ago 2026 22 ago 2026 22 ago 2025 22 ago 2026 F2B 22 ago 2019 22 ago 2019 22 ago 2019 15 feb 2009 1 jun 2013 F3 22 oct 2014 22 oct 2014 22 oct 2014 1 jul 2001 22 feb 2006 F4 22 oct 2011 22 oct 2011 1 nov 2006 8 abr 2001 22 ago 2007
Basado en empleo All other China India Mexico Philippines EB-1 Vigente 1 jul 2023 15 oct 2022 Vigente Vigente EB-2 Vigente 1 sept 2021 No disponible Vigente Vigente EB-3 Skilled 1 sept 2024 1 ene 2022 1 ene 2014 1 sept 2024 1 ago 2023 EB-3 Other Workers 1 abr 2022 1 may 2019 1 ene 2014 1 abr 2022 1 dic 2021 EB-4 15 dic 2022 15 dic 2022 15 dic 2022 15 dic 2022 15 dic 2022 EB-5 Vigente 1 dic 2016 No disponible Vigente Vigente Dates for Filingseptiembre de 2026 vs agosto de 2026
Basado en familia All other China India Mexico Philippines F1 1 feb 2020 1 feb 2020 1 feb 2020 1 dic 2008 22 abr 2015 F2A Vigente Vigente Vigente Vigente Vigente F2B 1 sept 2019 1 sept 2019 1 sept 2019 15 may 2010 1 oct 2013 F3 1 nov 2014 1 nov 2014 1 nov 2014 15 jul 2001 8 ago 2006 F4 1 nov 2011 1 nov 2011 15 dic 2006 30 abr 2001 22 mar 2008
Basado en empleo All other China India Mexico Philippines EB-1 Vigente 1 dic 2023 1 dic 2023 Vigente Vigente EB-2 Vigente 1 ene 2022 15 ene 2015 Vigente Vigente EB-3 Skilled Vigente 8 ene 2022 15 ene 2015 Vigente 1 ene 2024 EB-3 Other Workers 1 ago 2022 1 oct 2019 15 ene 2015 1 ago 2022 1 ago 2022 EB-4 1 ene 2023 1 ene 2023 1 ene 2023 1 ene 2023 1 ene 2023 EB-5 Vigente 1 mar 2017 1 may 2024 Vigente Vigente Final Action Date — mes a messeptiembre de 2026 vs agosto de 2026
F3 · All other▲ +30 mesesF3 · China▲ +30 mesesF3 · India▲ +30 mesesF4 · All other▲ +26 mesesF4 · China▲ +26 mesesF2B · All other▲ +20 mesesF2B · China▲ +20 mesesF2B · India▲ +20 mesesF1 · All other▲ +13 mesesF1 · China▲ +13 mesesF1 · India▲ +13 mesesEB-4 · All other▲ +2 mesesEB-4 · China▲ +2 mesesEB-4 · India▲ +2 mesesEB-4 · Mexico▲ +2 mesesEB-4 · Philippines▲ +2 mesesF1 · Mexico▲ +1 mesesF2A · All other▲ +1 mesesF2A · China▲ +1 mesesF2A · India▲ +1 mesesF2A · Mexico▲ +1 mesesF2A · Philippines▲ +1 mesesF4 · Philippines▲ +1 mesesF1 · Philippines— sin cambiosF2B · Mexico— sin cambiosF2B · Philippines— sin cambiosF3 · Mexico— sin cambiosF3 · Philippines— sin cambiosF4 · India— sin cambiosF4 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-1 · All other— sin cambiosEB-1 · China— sin cambiosEB-1 · India— sin cambiosEB-1 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-1 · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-2 · All other— sin cambiosEB-2 · China— sin cambiosEB-2 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-2 · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · All other— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · China— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · India— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · All other— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · China— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · India— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-5 · All other— sin cambiosEB-5 · China— sin cambiosEB-5 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-5 · Philippines— sin cambiosΔ desde el boletín anteriorDates for Filing — mes a messeptiembre de 2026 vs agosto de 2026
F3 · All other▲ +20 mesesF3 · China▲ +20 mesesF3 · India▲ +20 mesesF4 · All other▲ +17 mesesF4 · China▲ +17 mesesF2B · All other▲ +8 mesesF2B · China▲ +8 mesesF2B · India▲ +8 mesesF1 · All other▲ +8 mesesF1 · China▲ +8 mesesF1 · India▲ +8 mesesF1 · Mexico— sin cambiosF1 · Philippines— sin cambiosF2A · All other— sin cambiosF2A · China— sin cambiosF2A · India— sin cambiosF2A · Mexico— sin cambiosF2A · Philippines— sin cambiosF2B · Mexico— sin cambiosF2B · Philippines— sin cambiosF3 · Mexico— sin cambiosF3 · Philippines— sin cambiosF4 · India— sin cambiosF4 · Mexico— sin cambiosF4 · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-1 · All other— sin cambiosEB-1 · China— sin cambiosEB-1 · India— sin cambiosEB-1 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-1 · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-2 · All other— sin cambiosEB-2 · China— sin cambiosEB-2 · India— sin cambiosEB-2 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-2 · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · All other— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · China— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · India— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-3 Skilled · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · All other— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · China— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · India— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-3 Other Workers · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-4 · All other— sin cambiosEB-4 · China— sin cambiosEB-4 · India— sin cambiosEB-4 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-4 · Philippines— sin cambiosEB-5 · All other— sin cambiosEB-5 · China— sin cambiosEB-5 · India— sin cambiosEB-5 · Mexico— sin cambiosEB-5 · Philippines— sin cambiosΔ desde el boletín anterior
Source
Department of State — September 2026 Visa Bulletin
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