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Visa Bulletin Predictions 2026-27

An essential document for Green Card applicants across all preference categories under Employment, Family, and Diversity. It serves as a waiting list tracker, allowing them to understand their application’s position in the Green Card application line. The line exists because the number of applications filed each year is always more than the number USCIS can process due to the unavailability of suitable infrastructure and statutory limits on the number of overall green cards that can be issued each year, and limits on green cards that can be issued to applicants of a particular country.

USCIS publishes the visa bulletin every month between the 10th and the 15th, indicating how one’s application on the waiting list is likely to move in the succeeding month. There are two tables that one needs to track in each month’s visa bulletin- the Dates of Filing table and the Final Action Dates table.

What is a priority date?

Every green card applicant receives a receipt from USCIS when the processing of Form I-130 is complete. The receipt is officially called the Notice of Action or Form I-797C. Every receipt has two crucial pieces of information for any Green card applicant: the first is the tracking number, and the other is called the Priority date.

What is the “Dates of the filing” table, and what does it mean to be current?

The Dates of Filing table lists the Priority dates for each Green Card category. The table guides every Green Card applicant on when to start the follow-up process after USCIS processes the I-130. Applicants in the US should file Form I-485 with the required documents. Applicants outside the US should initiate the consular filing process.

If the visa bulletin’s date of filing table shows a date for a green card category that matches or is earlier than the applicant’s priority date, it is deemed current. That means the applicant should proceed with the following steps.

What is the “Final Action Date” table, and what does it mean to be current?

USCIS doesn’t issue the Green Card immediately to any Green Card applicant, even after filing Form I-485 is complete or after completing the Consular process. USCIS will not issue the green card even after you submit the required documents and attend the interview. The issuance process begins only when your priority date becomes current under the “Final action date” table. The table lists dates corresponding to each green card category in the monthly bulletin.

If a Green Card applicant finds that their priority date matches or is earlier than the date in the “Final action date” table in the Visa Bulletin, it means they must start completing the remaining part of the green card application process so that USCIS can issue the green card, or they need to wait for just the issuance of the card. You can stay up to date with the Visa Bulletin or subscribe to Our Newsletter.

Fiscal Year 2026-2027 & New Green Cards

USCIS doesn’t follow the standard calendar-year nomenclature for immigration-related issues; instead, every U.S. immigration year starts on October 1 and ends on September 30. Under the U.S. fiscal year, the new year will begin on October 1, 2025. We already know how the dates are expected to change in October 2025, based on the latest USCIS visa bulletin.

New Green Card issuance in 2026:

Based on recent yearly issuance patterns and statutory limits, we expect more than a million green cards to be issued in fiscal year 2026. The number can exceed the million mark if there are unused green card numbers from fiscal year 2025.
Note: The number will become clear as USCIS issues a Press release in October 2025.
As per the statutory limit:

• For Family preference categories for existing green card holders, we can expect at least 226,000 new green cards to be issued in fiscal year 2026, from F1 Visa to F4 Visa.
• For Employment preference categories from EB-1 to EB-5, the statutory mandate for issuing new Green cards for the fiscal year 2026 is 140,000.
• For the Diversity Visa, we can expect 52,000 new green card issuances in fiscal year 2026. The number will be reduced from the typical 55,000 due to NACARA provisions and statutory deductions.

Other Green card categories with no statutory limits

• The immediate relative category for U.S. citizens, which includes spouses, parents, and unmarried children under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen, may result in the issuance of between 300,000 and 500,000 new visas.
• In addition to family-based numbers for U.S. citizens, there are other categories, such as refugees and asylees, as well as green card issuance based on humanitarian or national interest grounds; we have yet to determine a specific number. Still, based on previous patterns, we expect 8.5% and 4.6% of the new green cards to be issued to these categories, respectively, in 2026.

Based on current Visa Bulletin trends and FY2026-27 demand dynamics, EB-1 and EB-3 are likely to see modest forward movement over the next 1–3 months. EB-2 looks likely to remain more backlogged or move more slowly — demand for EB-2 (esp. India/China chargeability) and carryover prioritisation mean EB-2 cutoffs will probably advance more slowly or even hold for several months.

Visa Bulletin October 2026 Prediction is divided into the following subtopics:

• Visa Bulletin January Predictions – Family-Based Categories
• Visa Bulletin January Predictions – Employment-Based Categories

Based on the October 2026 movement, November may see modest movement. EB-1 India and China could advance further, while EB-2 and EB-3 India may remain unchanged or see limited movement. China’s EB-2 and EB-3 categories could also advance, while Worldwide employment categories may remain restricted.

** The content above is provided for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. Use of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship. For Legal Advice, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Visa Bulletins for the Fiscal Year 2026-27

October 2026 Visa Bulletin: The U.S. Department of State has released the October 2026 Visa Bulletin. The new fiscal year brings significant movement in several categories, particularly for China and EB-1 India, while some employment-based categories for other countries retrogressed. This month, we will use the Dates for Filing chart. Read the full October Visa Bulletin here.

September 2026 Visa Bulletin: The September 2026 Visa Bulletin, the final bulletin of Fiscal Year 2026, brings important updates across family-sponsored and employment-based categories. Read the full September Visa Bulletin here.

August 2026 Visa Bulletin: The August 2026 Visa Bulletin brings continued progress across several family-sponsored categories while employment-based categories remain constrained by high demand and limited visa availability. Read the full August Visa Bulletin here.

July 2026 Visa Bulletin: The July 2026 Visa Bulletin delivers continued forward movement across several family-sponsored categories while introducing significant restrictions for certain employment-based applicants. Read the full July Visa Bulletin here.

June 2026 Visa Bulletin: The June 2026 Visa Bulletin reflects a more selective and controlled phase of visa allocation following the aggressive forward movement seen over the past several months. Read the full June Visa Bulletin here.

May 2026 Visa Bulletin: The May 2026 Visa Bulletin reflects a shift toward more measured movement following the significant advancements seen in March and April. Read the full May Visa Bulletin here.

April 2026 Visa Bulletin: The April 2026 Visa Bulletin delivers another wave of significant forward movement, building on March momentum and signaling strong visa number allocation across both family-sponsored and employment-based categories. Read the full April Visa Bulletin here.

March 2026 Visa Bulletin: The February 2026 Visa Bulletin continues at a very measured pace. Most family-sponsored cut-off dates remain largely unchanged from January, with only targeted forward movement in Mexico-specific categories. Read the full March Visa Bulletin here.
February 2026 Visa Bulletin: The February 2026 Visa Bulletin continues a very measured pace of movement. Most family-sponsored cut-off dates remain largely unchanged from January, with only targeted forward movement in Mexico-specific categories. Read the full February Visa Bulletin here.

January 2026 Visa Bulletin: The January 2026 Visa Bulletin reflects continued, targeted movement across both Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based categories. Read the full January Visa Bulletin here.
December 2025 Visa Bulletin: The December 2025 Visa Bulletin brings a series of targeted advancements across both Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based categories. Read the full December Visa Bulletin here.

November 2025 Visa Bulletin: The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the November 2025 Visa Bulletin. This month’s bulletin shows primarily stable movement, with a few notable advances in Family-Based categories and no retrogressions across Employment-Based categories. Read the full November Visa Bulletin here..

October 2025 Visa Bulletin: The U.S. Department of State has released the October 2025 Visa Bulletin. Compared with September, most categories show forward movement (advancement) this month — some moves are small (days/weeks), and others are larger (months/years), depending on category and chargeability area. Read the full Visa Bulletin here