Visa Bulletin, September 2026

What this issue did

The state of this issue

Counted inside this issue alone, before it is compared with anything published before it.

• Final Action Dates: 49 of 75 country columns carry a cut-off, 24 are current and 2 have no numbers at all. The furthest-back cut-off is 08APR01, in F4 for Mexico. The widest gap between two countries inside one category is 159.7 months, in F3: Mexico against All areas, China and India, with 1 country somewhere between the two. Current in every column: EB-5 Rural, EB-5 High Unemployment and EB-5 Infrastructure. Current in 9 country columns of EB-1, EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved, though not in their other columns. Without numbers in 2 country columns of EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved, though not in their other columns.
• Dates for Filing: 44 of 75 country columns carry a cut-off and 31 are current; every column has numbers. The furthest-back cut-off is 30APR01, in F4 for Mexico. The widest gap between two countries inside one category is 159.6 months, in F3: Mexico against All areas, China and India, with 1 country somewhere between the two. Current in every column: EB-5 Rural, EB-5 High Unemployment, EB-5 Infrastructure and F2A. Current in 11 country columns of EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and EB-5 Unreserved, though not in their other columns.

How far the filing chart runs ahead

Of the 42 country columns where both charts carry a date in this issue, Dates for Filing runs ahead of Final Action Dates in 42 of them. The widest lead is 23.7 months, in F1 for Philippines. The middle lead is 17 days and the narrowest 7 days.

Where this issue sits in the archive

This is the newest of the 36 issues published here. The record runs from October 2023 to this month, and there is nothing later to set it against.

Of the 75 country columns on the Final Action Dates chart in this issue, 28 advanced, 0 moved backwards and 47 stood still. On the Dates for Filing chart, 11 advanced and 0 moved backwards.

Everything below is measured against August 2026, the issue immediately before this one.

The fiscal year ends with this issue (FY2026). Across the 3 September issues published here, a country column on the Final Action Dates chart moved 48.7 days forward on average, against 99.4 days forward across the 2 October issues.

The largest advances

• F3 for All areas, China and India advanced 29.2 months, from 15MAY12 to 22OCT14. Over the three issues to September 2026 it advanced 32.2 months, and over the twelve it advanced 38.7 months.
• F4 for All areas and China advanced 25.7 months, from 01SEP09 to 22OCT11. Over the three issues to September 2026 it advanced 35.4 months, and over the twelve it advanced 45.7 months.
• F2B for All areas, China and India advanced 19.6 months, from 01JAN18 to 22AUG19. Over the three issues to September 2026 it advanced 23 months, and over the twelve it advanced 34.2 months.
• F1 for All areas, China and India advanced 13.2 months, from 15DEC18 to 22JAN20. Over the three issues to September 2026 it advanced 28.7 months, and over the twelve it advanced 42.3 months.
• EB-4 for All areas, China, India, Mexico and Philippines advanced 2 months, from 15OCT22 to 15DEC22. Over the three issues to September 2026 it advanced 5 months.
• EB-4 Religious Workers for All areas, China, India, Mexico and Philippines advanced 2 months, from 15OCT22 to 15DEC22. Over the three issues to September 2026 it advanced 5 months.

Where the cut-off fell back

No cut-off on the Final Action Dates chart moved backwards in this issue.

Standing still

A cut-off that has not moved for a year is a fact about this issue too, and it is the one a reader waiting in that queue is looking for.

• F4 for India had not moved for 13 months as of this issue.

By country of chargeability

• All areas: 7 of 15 country columns advanced, median advance 403 days.
• China: 7 of 15 country columns advanced, median advance 403 days.
• India: 6 of 15 country columns advanced, median advance 403 days.
• Mexico: 4 of 15 country columns advanced, median advance 61 days.
• Philippines: 4 of 15 country columns advanced, median advance 61 days.

Which chart applies for filing

Consular cases are approved against Final Action Dates. Which chart USCIS accepted for adjustment of status that month is published separately by USCIS and has not been transcribed here. How USCIS chooses the filing chart.

Every figure in this section is arithmetic on the transcribed tables: differences between two issues, runs of unchanged months, spreads between two countries in the same issue. The bulletin publishes no reasons, and none are supplied here.