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September 2026 Visa Bulletin: the fiscal year closes with a family surge

Pick a category and country to see the September 2026 cutoffs on both charts, the change from August, and how far each box traveled over the fiscal year.

Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error

In the September 2026 bulletin

Current

F3: married son or daughter of a U.S. citizen

Final Action DateOctober 22, 2014
Date for FilingNovember 1, 2014 · yours qualified

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

September is the last bulletin of the federal fiscal year, and in 2026 it was the month the worldwide family lines leapt. F3, married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, moved 890 days to October 22, 2014. F4, brothers and sisters, gained 781 days to October 22, 2011. F2B moved 598 days to August 22, 2019, and F1 403 days to January 22, 2020. Over the whole fiscal year, from October 2025, F3 worldwide traveled about 3.1 years of priority dates. The country columns hardly shared in it: F1 and F2A Mexico moved a month each, and F2B, F3 and F4 Mexico stood still. Employment was almost frozen, with EB-2 India still unavailable. The October 2026 bulletin, first of the new year, then left every one of these worldwide family dates exactly where September put them.

The last bulletin of fiscal year 2026

The federal fiscal year ends on September 30. The family system has 226,000 preference numbers for the year (INA section 201), and September is the last chance to use them. This bulletin shows what that looks like in the worldwide column, where 3 of the four older family lines moved further in this one bulletin than in the ten months from October to August combined.

Final Action Dates for the rest of the world.
Worldwide lineAugust 2026September 2026Change (days)October 2025
F1December 15, 2018January 22, 2020403November 8, 2016
F2BJanuary 1, 2018August 22, 2019598November 22, 2016
F3May 15, 2012October 22, 2014890September 8, 2011
F4September 1, 2009October 22, 2011781January 8, 2008

The filing chart moved too, by smaller steps: F3 worldwide by 610 days and F4 by 497, which left Final Action and filing dates only days apart in every worldwide family line.

Mexico and the Philippines barely moved

Each country is held to 7 % of the preference numbers, so a September surge in the worldwide column does not reach the oversubscribed ones. F1 Mexico moved 31 days to January 1, 2008, F2A Mexico 31 days, and F2B, F3, F4 Mexico did not move at all. In the Philippine column, only F4 changed, by 21 days. A family in Monterrey or Manila could watch the worldwide dates race ahead in this bulletin while its own box barely moved.

Employment stood still at the finish

Among employment boxes with a date of their own, only EB-4 moved, by 61 days. EB-2 India remained Unavailable (U) for a third month, EB-1 and EB-2 worldwide stayed Current (C), and EB-3 worldwide held at September 1, 2024.

What September led to

A late surge can be followed by a step back when the new year starts. This time the worldwide family dates held: October left F1, F2B, F3 and F4 exactly where September had put them. The retrogression came on the employment side instead, as the October 2026 page shows. For the long record of each family line, see F3 and F4; previous month, August 2026.

Final Action Dates, September 2026

Family-sponsored: a green card can be approved if the priority date is earlier than the date shown.
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
F1January 22, 2020January 22, 2020January 22, 2020January 1, 2008May 1, 2013
F2AAugust 22, 2026August 22, 2026August 22, 2026August 22, 2025August 22, 2026
F2BAugust 22, 2019August 22, 2019August 22, 2019February 15, 2009June 1, 2013
F3October 22, 2014October 22, 2014October 22, 2014July 1, 2001February 22, 2006
F4October 22, 2011October 22, 2011November 1, 2006April 8, 2001August 22, 2007
Employment-based (EB-5: unreserved numbers).
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
EB-1Current (C)July 1, 2023October 15, 2022Current (C)Current (C)
EB-2Current (C)September 1, 2021Unavailable (U)Current (C)Current (C)
EB-3September 1, 2024January 1, 2022January 1, 2014September 1, 2024August 1, 2023
EB-3 Other WorkersApril 1, 2022May 1, 2019January 1, 2014April 1, 2022December 1, 2021
EB-4December 15, 2022December 15, 2022December 15, 2022December 15, 2022December 15, 2022
EB-5Current (C)December 1, 2016Unavailable (U)Current (C)Current (C)

Dates for Filing, September 2026

Family-sponsored: earliest priority dates allowed to file.
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
F1February 1, 2020February 1, 2020February 1, 2020December 1, 2008April 22, 2015
F2ACurrent (C)Current (C)Current (C)Current (C)Current (C)
F2BSeptember 1, 2019September 1, 2019September 1, 2019May 15, 2010October 1, 2013
F3November 1, 2014November 1, 2014November 1, 2014July 15, 2001August 8, 2006
F4November 1, 2011November 1, 2011December 15, 2006April 30, 2001March 22, 2008
Employment-based.
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
EB-1Current (C)December 1, 2023December 1, 2023Current (C)Current (C)
EB-2Current (C)January 1, 2022January 15, 2015Current (C)Current (C)
EB-3Current (C)January 8, 2022January 15, 2015Current (C)January 1, 2024
EB-3 Other WorkersAugust 1, 2022October 1, 2019January 15, 2015August 1, 2022August 1, 2022
EB-4January 1, 2023January 1, 2023January 1, 2023January 1, 2023January 1, 2023
EB-5Current (C)March 1, 2017May 1, 2024Current (C)Current (C)

Movement since the previous bulletin

Final Action Dates: ▲ forward, ▼ backward (retrogression).
CategoryAll other countriesChina (mainland born)IndiaMexicoPhilippines
F1▲ 403 days▲ 403 days▲ 403 days▲ 31 daysno change
F2A▲ 31 days▲ 31 days▲ 31 days▲ 31 days▲ 31 days
F2B▲ 598 days▲ 598 days▲ 598 daysno changeno change
F3▲ 890 days▲ 890 days▲ 890 daysno changeno change
F4▲ 781 days▲ 781 daysno changeno change▲ 21 days
EB-1▲ 31 daysno changeno change▲ 31 days▲ 31 days
EB-2▲ 31 daysno change–▲ 31 days▲ 31 days
EB-3no changeno changeno changeno changeno change
EB-3 Other Workersno changeno changeno changeno changeno change
EB-4▲ 61 days▲ 61 days▲ 61 days▲ 61 days▲ 61 days
EB-5▲ 31 daysno change–▲ 31 days▲ 31 days

Questions people ask

Why did family dates jump in the September 2026 Visa Bulletin?

September is the final month in which the year’s family numbers can be used, and numbers not used by September 30 cannot be issued under that year’s family limit. Large late-year advances let more applicants qualify before the deadline. The bulletin itself does not explain each move, so this reading comes from the dates and the calendar, not from a published statement.

Did Mexico benefit from the September 2026 Visa Bulletin family jump?

Barely. The jumps were in the worldwide column. F1 Mexico and F2A Mexico moved about a month each, and the Mexican F2B, F3 and F4 dates did not move at all. Mexico is held to its per-country share, so a surge for the rest of the world does not carry over to the Mexican lines.

Were the September 2026 Visa Bulletin advances reversed in October?

No. The October 2026 bulletin, which opened fiscal year 2027, kept the worldwide F1, F2B, F3 and F4 Final Action Dates exactly where September left them. Holding the dates still is different from a retrogression: nobody who became eligible in September lost that status in October.

Keep going

Visa Bulletin

This month’s Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for every category and country, with what moved.

Bulletin history

Every Visa Bulletin since December 2001 on one screen: pick a month, a category and a country.

Predictions

Graded forecast ranges for people a year behind each cutoff, and the boxes where we refuse to guess.

F3 (married son or daughter)

Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, with spouse and children: the cutoff, the 2026 leap and the long Mexico line.

F4 (brother or sister)

Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens: the longest family line, its Mexico, Philippines and India columns.

Official sources and data

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Data for 2026, checked on