Visa Bulletin November 2026: Family Second Preference Goes Current as India EB-2 Remains Locked in 2013
Updated: 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON, October 23, 2026 — The November 2026 Visa Bulletin delivers a rare piece of good news for family-based applicants and a familiar dose of frustration for Indian employment-based petitioners, with the F2A category effectively clearing its backlog while India’s EB-2 line stays frozen more than a decade in the past.
The bulletin, published by the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and dated October 5, 2026, sets Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for November.
The Headline: F2A Is Effectively Current
The most consequential movement is in F2A — spouses and children of lawful permanent residents.
Chart | All Countries Except Mexico | Mexico |
Final Action Date | 22 October 2026 | 22 April 2026 |
Dates for Filing | Current (C) | Current (C) |
A Final Action Date of 22 October 2026 means the category has caught up to the present. Applicants with priority dates earlier than that — which is to say, essentially everyone with an approved petition — can proceed to final adjudication.
The Dates for Filing chart has been extended further: F2A is listed as "C" for all chargeability areas, including Mexico. Applicants can collect and submit their documentation to the National Visa Center regardless of their priority date.
This is a dramatic reversal for a category that spent years with multi-year backlogs. For green card holders with spouses or minor children abroad, the practical effect is that the waiting period has collapsed.
Employment-Based: Two Tiers
The employment-based charts divide into two very different stories.
Where Visas Are Available Immediately
Category | Status |
EB-1 (all except China, India) | Current |
EB-5 Unreserved (all except China, India) | Current |
EB-5 Rural Set-Aside (20%) | Current — all countries |
EB-5 High Unemployment Allocation (10%) | Current — all countries |
EB-5 Infrastructure Set-Aside (2%) | Current — all countries |
The EB-5 set-aside categories being current across every chargeability area — including China and India — is the single most notable feature of the employment charts. Investors using rural, high-unemployment or infrastructure projects face no queue at all.
EB-1 being current for all countries except China and India is also significant, though it reflects the usual pattern rather than a new development.
Where the Backlogs Sit
Category | All Other | China | India |
EB-1 | Current | 01 AUG 2023 | 01 FEB 2023 |
EB-2 | 01 APR 2025 | 01 OCT 2021 | 01 NOV 2013 |
EB-3 | 15 JUN 2024 | 22 JAN 2022 | 22 JAN 2014 |
Other Workers | 01 JUN 2022 | 01 OCT 2019 | 22 JAN 2014 |
EB-4 | 15 DEC 2022 | 15 DEC 2022 | 15 DEC 2022 |
EB-5 Unreserved | Current | 01 DEC 2016 | 01 DEC 2023 |
India’s EB-2 date of 1 November 2013 means applicants are waiting roughly thirteen years from priority date to visa availability. India EB-3 sits at January 2014 — slightly ahead of EB-2, which reflects the well-documented anomaly where the third preference moves faster than the second for Indian nationals.
China’s EB-2 at October 2021 and EB-3 at January 2022 represent backlogs of four to five years.
The Per-Country Ceiling
The bulletin reiterates the legal framework. Family-sponsored preference visas have an annual minimum of 226,000. Employment-based preference visas have a global level of at least 140,000.
The per-country limit is established at 7% of the combined totals — 25,620. The limit for dependent areas is 2%, or 7,320.
Currently, four chargeability areas are oversubscribed and subject to prorating under Section 202(e): China (mainland-born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines.
A Technical Note on Other Workers
The Other Workers category carries a reduced annual ceiling under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act. Because the category’s final action date passed 19 November 1997 during Fiscal Year 2001, the 10,000 annual allocation has been reduced by up to 5,000 each year since.
For FY 2027, the bulletin states the reduction will be limited to approximately 150.
The Practical Step Most Applicants Miss
The bulletin is explicit on a point that trips up filers every month.
It is USCIS, not the State Department, that decides if adjustment-of-status applicants can use the Dates for Filing chart instead of the Final Action Dates chart. USCIS posts that determination at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.
The bulletin explicitly states: “Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, individuals intending to submit applications for adjustment of status with USCIS are required to use the Final Action Dates charts.”
In contrast, consular processing applicants adhere to the National Visa Center’s notification process based on Dates for Filing.
Filing under the incorrect chart leads to rejection — and in a system where a month's delay can result in a year's setback for oversubscribed categories, this is a costly mistake.
What This Means for Employers and Applicants
Family-based applicants should move immediately. F2A being current on both charts is unlikely to persist indefinitely if demand surges. Anyone with a pending petition should ensure documentation is complete and submitted.
Indian EB-2 and EB-3 petitioners face a structural problem no monthly bulletin will solve. With dates in 2013 and 2014, the realistic planning horizon is measured in years. Employers should consider whether EB-1 or EB-5 set-aside routes are viable for key staff, and should not build retention strategies around a green card timeline that may exceed the employee’s patience.
EB-5 investors should note that the set-aside categories remain current. For nationals of China and India, where the unreserved category carries a queue, the set-asides offer a materially faster route.
Everyone should verify the USCIS chart determination before filing.
Quick Reference Summary
Item | Detail |
Bulletin | Number 20, Volume XI — November 2026 |
Data Cut-off | Demand received by 5 October 2026 |
F2A Final Action | 22 October 2026 (all except Mexico: 22 April 2026) |
F2A Dates for Filing | Current — all countries |
EB-1 | Current except China (01 AUG 2023), India (01 FEB 2023) |
EB-2 India | 01 NOV 2013 |
EB-3 India | 22 JAN 2014 |
EB-5 Set-Asides | Current across all chargeability areas |
EB-4 | 15 DEC 2022 — all countries |
Oversubscribed Areas | China, India, Mexico, Philippines |
Per-Country Limit | 25,620 |
USCIS Chart Determination | Must check uscis.gov/visabulletininfo |
Read Also
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