F4 Philippines: the sibling line that has been catching up
Enter the priority date from the I-130 your U.S. citizen brother or sister filed to check the cutoff and see the tested range for when it may be reached.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error
Likely current
September 2028 – March 2031
Middle estimate May 2029 · 4 years 1 month behind the cutoff
| Final Action Date | May 15, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Date for Filing | March 22, 2009 |
| I-485 this month (USCIS uses Dates for Filing) | Not yet |
| Past error at 48 months behind (our model) | ±11 mo., range held 60 % |
| I-485 family, national average (August 2026) | 12.4 months |
| Government fees (paper filing, with work permit and travel permit) | $3,005 |
How this was calculated
- The October 2026 Final Action Date for F4, Philippines, is May 15, 2008; your priority date is June 15, 2012, 4 years 1 month later.
- For each of the 120 months of the last 10 years, we measured how long this cutoff took to move forward by that same distance. Half the cases took 2 years 7 months; 20% took 1 year 11 months or less; 80% took 4 years 5 months or less.
- Back-test from October 2012 to October 2025: for people 48 months behind, the middle estimate was off by a median of 11 months (a naive “last 12 months” rule: 21), and the range held the real date 60 % of the time. That passes our publication rule.
- Fees: I-130 $675 + I-485 $1,440 + I-765 $260 + I-131 $630 (USCIS Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, and State Department visa fees).
Estimate from public data, not legal advice. Your case may differ (cross-chargeability, CSPA, waivers). For advice, see a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. Not affiliated with USCIS or the Department of State. Method and past error
F4 is the preference for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who are at least 21, and applicants born in the Philippines have their own cutoff because of the 7% per-country cap. In the 2026 bulletins the Philippine Final Action Date is May 15, 2008, against October 22, 2011 for the rest of the world and December 15, 2006 for India. The Dates for Filing chart, accepted by USCIS for family cases this month, is March 22, 2009. The striking fact about this line is speed: since October 2016 the cutoff has advanced about 15 years, while ten years passed on the calendar, so the wait in front of a new petition has been shrinking. Retrogression is rare here, with 2 backward moves since 2001. That steady record makes it one of the family cases where our back-test does best: for people a year behind the cutoff, the median miss was 3.5 months.
Ten years, more than ten years of progress
October 2016 printed April 15, 1993 for Philippine siblings. October 2019 printed July 8, 1998. Today the cutoff is May 15, 2008, about 15.1 years further on, and 2.1 of those years came in the last twelve months alone. The latest bulletin moved it 267 days forward. The gap to the worldwide F4 date, October 22, 2011, is now about 3.4 years. Measured against the bulletin month, the queue is now about 18.4 years long, down from more than twenty in 2016.
Philippines and India on the sibling line
Three countries carry their own F4 date in recent bulletins: Mexico, India and the Philippines. Between the last two, the Philippine date was the further behind for years. It is now ahead, at May 15, 2008 against December 15, 2006 for India, a reversal driven by the Philippine line's pace. Read the F4 India page for the other side.
What the back-test says
Six months behind the cutoff, our forecast missed the real date by a median of 2 months; four years behind, by 11, and the range held the outcome 60 % of the time. Those are among the smallest errors of any family case on this site. Only 2 retrogressions since 2001, the largest about 39 months in December 2010, help explain why.
Where the case ends
A sibling living in the Philippines finishes through the immigrant visa process after the National Visa Center stage, and the cutoff that counts there is the Final Action Date. One already in the United States in a status that allows adjustment can use the filing chart USCIS designates. The consular cost page lists the government fees for the visa route, and the State Department process page explains the steps.
F4 in the October 2026 bulletin
| Country | Final Action | Dates for Filing | Change this month |
|---|---|---|---|
| All other countries | October 22, 2011 | November 1, 2011 | no change |
| China (mainland born) | October 22, 2011 | November 1, 2011 | no change |
| India | December 15, 2006 | February 1, 2007 | ▲ 44 days |
| Mexico | April 22, 2001 | April 30, 2001 | ▲ 14 days |
| Philippines | May 15, 2008 | March 22, 2009 | ▲ 267 days |
Every October since 2002
| Bulletin | Final Action Date | Years behind the bulletin |
|---|---|---|
| October 2002 | October 8, 1981 | 21.0 |
| October 2003 | September 22, 1981 | 22.0 |
| October 2004 | May 22, 1982 | 22.4 |
| October 2005 | May 1, 1983 | 22.4 |
| October 2006 | April 1, 1984 | 22.5 |
| October 2007 | July 8, 1985 | 22.2 |
| October 2008 | March 8, 1986 | 22.6 |
| October 2009 | Unavailable (U) | – |
| October 2010 | April 1, 1991 | 19.5 |
| October 2011 | August 1, 1988 | 23.2 |
| October 2012 | Unavailable (U) | – |
| October 2013 | March 22, 1990 | 23.5 |
| October 2014 | April 8, 1991 | 23.5 |
| October 2015 | May 1, 1992 | 23.4 |
| October 2016 | April 15, 1993 | 23.5 |
| October 2017 | June 1, 1994 | 23.3 |
| October 2018 | June 8, 1995 | 23.3 |
| October 2019 | July 8, 1998 | 21.2 |
| October 2020 | January 1, 2002 | 18.7 |
| October 2021 | August 22, 2002 | 19.1 |
| October 2022 | August 22, 2002 | 20.1 |
| October 2023 | August 22, 2002 | 21.1 |
| October 2024 | February 1, 2004 | 20.7 |
| October 2025 | March 22, 2006 | 19.5 |
| October 2026 | May 15, 2008 | 18.4 |
How our forecast did for this case
| Distance behind the cutoff | Median error, our model | Median error, “last 12 months” rule | Range held the real date | Start months tested | Published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | 2 months | 2 months | 58 % | 156 | Yes |
| 12 months | 4 months | 3 months | 52 % | 156 | Yes |
| 24 months | 8 months | 5 months | 53 % | 156 | Yes |
| 48 months | 11 months | 21 months | 60 % | 156 | Yes |