Visa bulletin August 2026-Full Updates & September Predictions

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. As the final month of Fiscal Year 2026 approaches, applicants can expect modest movement in select family-based categories, while employment-based categories are likely to see limited advancement as the Department of State manages the remaining annual visa numbers.
For Family-Sponsored Filings:
For all family-sponsored preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for August 2026.
For Employment-Based Preference Filings:
For all employment-based preference categories, you must use the Final Action Dates chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for August 2026.

Family Sponsored Cases (Final Action Dates)

Category All Countries China India Mexico Philippines Movement Notes
F1 01FEB18 → 15DEC18 01FEB18 → 15DEC18 01FEB18 → 15DEC18 08NOV07 → 01DEC07 01MAY13 → 01MAY13 Worldwide/China/India advanced ~10 months; Mexico advanced ~23 days; Philippines unchanged
F2A 01JAN25 → 22JUL26 01JAN25 → 22JUL26 01JAN25 → 22JUL26 01JAN24 → 22JUL25 01JAN25 → 22JUL26 Worldwide/China/India/Philippines advanced ~1 year 6 months 21 days; Mexico advanced ~1 year 6 months 21 days
F2B 22NOV17 → 01JAN18 22NOV17 → 01JAN18 22NOV17 → 01JAN18 15FEB09 → 15FEB09 15MAY13 → 01JUN13 Worldwide/China/India advanced ~1 month 10 days; Mexico unchanged; Philippines advanced ~17 days
F3 15APR12 → 15MAY12 15APR12 → 15MAY12 15APR12 → 15MAY12 01JUN01 → 01JUL01 22FEB06 → 22FEB06 Worldwide/China/India advanced 1 month; Mexico advanced 1 month; Philippines unchanged
F4 01JAN09 → 01SEP09 01JAN09 → 01SEP09 01NOV06 → 01NOV06 08APR01 → 08APR01 01AUG07 → 01AUG07 Worldwide/China advanced 8 months; India, Mexico & Philippines unchanged

Family-Sponsored Cases (Dates For Filing)

Category All Countries China India Mexico Philippines Movement Notes
F1 01JAN19 → 15JUN19 01JAN19 → 15JUN19 01JAN19 → 15JUN19 01OCT08 → 01DEC08 22APR15 → 22APR15 Worldwide/China/India advanced ~5 months 14 days; Mexico advanced 2 months; Philippines unchanged
F2A C → C C → C C → C C → C C → C Remains Current in all regions
F2B 08JUN18 → 01JAN19 08JUN18 → 01JAN19 08JUN18 → 01JAN19 15MAY10 → 15MAY10 01OCT13 → 01OCT13 Worldwide/China/India advanced ~6 months 24 days; Mexico & Philippines unchanged
F3 08DEC12 → 01MAR13 08DEC12 → 01MAR13 08DEC12 → 01MAR13 15JUL01 → 15JUL01 08AUG06 → 08AUG06 Worldwide/China/India advanced ~2 months 21 days; Mexico & Philippines unchanged
F4 01MAR10 → 22JUN10 01MAR10 → 22JUN10 15DEC06 → 15DEC06 30APR01 → 30APR01 22MAR08 → 22MAR08 Worldwide/China advanced ~3 months 21 days; India, Mexico & Philippines unchanged

Employment-Based Cases (Final Action Dates)

Category All Countries China India Mexico Philippines Movement Notes
EB-1 C → C 01JUN23 → 01JUL23 15OCT22 → 15OCT22 C → C C → C China advanced 1 month; all other regions unchanged.
EB-2 C → C 01SEP21 → 01SEP21 U → U C → C C → C No movement in any region
EB-3 01AUG24 → 01SEP24 22DEC21 → 01JAN22 01JAN14→ 01JAN14 01AUG24 → 01SEP24 01AUG23 → 01AUG23 Worldwide/Mexico advanced 1 month; China advanced ~10 days; India & Philippines unchanged.
Other Workers 01MAR22 → 01APR22 01APR19 → 01MAY19 01JAN14 → 01JAN14 01MAR22 → 01APR22 01DEC21 → 01DEC21 Worldwide/Mexico advanced 1 month; China advanced 1 month; India & Philippines unchanged.
EB-4 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 All regions advanced 1 month.
Certain Religious Workers 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 15SEP22 → 15OCT22 All regions advanced 1 month.
EB-5 Unreserved C → C 01DEC16 → 01DEC16 U → U C → C C → C No movement in any region.
EB-5 Set Aside C → C C → C C → C C → C C → C Remains current in all regions

Employment-Based Cases (Dates For Filing)

Category All Countries China India Mexico Philippines Movement Notes
EB-1 C → C 01DEC23 → 01DEC23 01DEC23 → 01DEC23 C → C C → C No movement in any region.
EB-2 C → C 01JAN22 → 01JAN22 15JAN15 → 15JAN15 C → C C → C No movement in any region.
EB-3 C → C 01JAN22 → 08JAN22 15JAN15 → 15JAN15 C → C 01JAN24 → 01JAN24 China advanced 7 days; all other regions unchanged.
Other Workers 01AUG22 → 01AUG22 01OCT19 → 01OCT19 15JAN15 → 15JAN15 01AUG22 → 01AUG22 01AUG22 → 01AUG22 No movement in any region.
EB-4 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 No movement in any region.
Certain Religious Workers 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 01JAN23 → 01JAN23 No movement in any region.
EB-5 Unreserved C → C 01MAR17 → 01MAR17 01MAY24 → 01MAY24 C → C C → C No movement in any region.
EB-5 Set Aside C → C C → C C → C C → C C → C Remains current in all regions.

Key Takeaways from the August Visa Bulletin 2026

Family-Sponsored Categories

  • F2A saw the biggest advancement in August and is expected to remain current or experience only minimal movement in September.
  • F1, F2B, and F3 may continue with modest forward movement of a few weeks to one month if visa demand remains manageable.
  • F4 is expected to stay mostly unchanged due to heavy demand, particularly for India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Employment-Based Categories

  • EB-1 is under significant pressure. The Department of State has warned that EB-1 could become unavailable for some countries before the end of the fiscal year if annual visa numbers are exhausted.
  • EB-2 India is expected to remain Unavailable (U).
  • EB-3 may see little or no movement because remaining FY2026 visa numbers are limited.
  • EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers are likely to remain unchanged unless additional visa numbers become available.
  • EB-5 Set-Aside categories are expected to remain Current.

September Visa Bulletin Predictions 2026

Family-Based Categories

  • F2A is expected to remain current or see only minimal movement after its significant advancement in August.
  • F1, F2B, and F3 may continue to experience modest forward movement, likely ranging from a few weeks to one month, depending on visa demand.
  • F4 is expected to remain largely unchanged, with only limited movement possible in select chargeability areas.
  • Mexico and the Philippines are expected to see little or no significant movement across most family-based categories.

Employment-Based Categories

  • EB-1 may become Unavailable or remain unchanged as the Department of State manages the remaining FY2026 visa numbers.
  • EB-2 India is expected to remain Unavailable, while EB-2 China is likely to see little or no movement.
  • EB-3 categories are expected to remain mostly stable, with only limited advancement possible if additional visa numbers become available before the fiscal year ends.
  • EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers are expected to remain unchanged through September.
  • EB-5 Set-Aside categories are expected to remain Current, while EB-5 Unreserved is likely to see minimal or no movement.

With September marking the final month of Fiscal Year 2026, visa availability will depend heavily on remaining annual visa numbers. While family-based categories may continue to see modest progress, employment-based categories are expected to remain under significant pressure until the start of FY2027 on October 1.

Published On: July 22nd, 2026 / Categories: US Visa Bulletin News, USCIS Latest update /

Share it

Subscribe to the latest on US Immigration

We want to ensure that every person in the immigrant community stays abreast about the latest updates from USCIS with legal interpretation and nuances using articles, videos, podcasts and ebooks.

Related Posts