Employment Based Priority Dates : For October 2026

A.  APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

Employment-
based
All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland
born
INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
1st C 01JUL23 01FEB23 C C
2nd 01JAN25 01OCT21 01NOV13 01JAN25 01JAN25
3rd 15MAY24 08JAN22 01JAN14 15MAY24 15AUG23
Other Workers 01JAN22 01OCT19 01JAN14 01JAN22 01JAN22
4th 15DEC22 15DEC22 15DEC22 15DEC22 15DEC22
Certain Religious Workers 15DEC22 15DEC22 15DEC22 15DEC22 15DEC22
5th Unreserved
(including C5, T5, I5, R5, NU, RU)
C 01DEC16 01DEC23 C C
5th Set Aside:
Rural (20%, including NR, RR)
C C C C C
5th Set Aside:
High Unemployment (10%, including NH, RH)
C C C C C
5th Set Aside:
Infrastructure (2%, including RI)
C C C C C

B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS

Employment-
based
All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland
born
INDIA MEXICO  PHILIPPINES 
1st C 01JUL24 01JUL24 C C
2nd 15MAR26 01JAN23 15JAN15 15MAR26 15MAR26
3rd 01AUG24 01APR24 15JAN15 01AUG24 01JAN24
Other Workers 01JUN22 01OCT20 15JAN15 01JUN22 01JUN22
4th 01JAN25 01JAN25 01JAN25 01JAN25 01JAN25
Certain Religious Workers 01JAN25 01JAN25 01JAN25 01JAN25 01JAN25
5th Unreserved
(including C5, T5, I5, R5)
C 01MAR21 01MAY24 C C
5th Set Aside:
(Rural: NR, RR – 20%)
C C C C C
5th Set Aside:
(High Unemployment: NH, RH – 10%)
C C C C C
5th Set Aside:
(Infrastructure: RI – 2%)
C C C C C

Family Based Priority Dates : For October 2026

A. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES

Family-
Sponsored 
All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-mainland
born
INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 
F1 22JAN20 22JAN20 22JAN20 08SEP08 01NOV13
F2A 22SEP26 22SEP26 22SEP26 22MAR26 22SEP26
F2B 22AUG19 22AUG19 22AUG19 15MAY10 01OCT13
F3 22OCT14 22OCT14 22OCT14 01JUL01 22JUL06
F4 22OCT11 22OCT11 15DEC06 22APR01 15MAY08

B. DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS

Family-
Sponsored 
All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed
CHINA-
mainland
born
INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 
F1 01FEB20 01FEB20 01FEB20 01DEC08 22APR15
F2A C C C C C
F2B 01SEP19 01SEP19 01SEP19 22MAR11 01OCT14
F3 01NOV14 01NOV14 01NOV14 01DEC02 22OCT06
F4 01NOV11 01NOV11 01FEB07 30APR01 22MAR09

Diversity Visa Priority Dates : October 2026 Update

The U.S. Department of State has not published Diversity Visa regional cutoff numbers in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin. Registration for the DV-2027 program remains delayed, and Diversity Visa processing has been affected by administrative restrictions and ongoing litigation. The program has not been repealed. Further updates will be provided as official information becomes available.

Read how to Understand the U.S. Visa Bulletin — Employment-Based Applications