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The November 2026 Visa Bulletin advances most family-sponsored categories by a full year for applicants chargeable to countries other than Mexico and the Philippines. Several employment-based Final Action Dates also move forward, including EB-2 and EB-3 for all other countries, which partly recovers October’s retrogression. Employment-based Dates for Filing hold steady except EB-3 Other Workers.

For November, USCIS requires both family-sponsored and employment-based applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart, as in October.

USCIS requires use of the Dates for Filing chart for family-sponsored adjustment-of-status applications in November. Filing dates for F1, F2B, F3 and F4 advance one year for all countries except Mexico and the Philippines, which are unchanged from October. India is also unchanged in F4.

▌ F2A — CURRENT WORLDWIDE FOR FILING

• The November Dates for Filing chart lists F2A as Current for all countries. Because USCIS has authorized use of that chart for November, eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents may file adjustment-of-status applications regardless of priority date, provided they satisfy all other eligibility requirements. An underlying Form I-130 generally does not need to be approved before Form I-485 is filed. Eligible adjustment applicants may also apply for employment authorization and advance parole.

▌ F2A — FILING DIFFERENTIATED FROM FINAL APPROVAL

• Being Current for filing does not mean a green card can be approved immediately. Final approval remains subject to visa availability under the Final Action Dates chart, which advances one month to October 22, 2026, for all countries except Mexico, and to satisfaction of all other eligibility requirements.

▌ SPECIAL NOTE — F2A PER-COUNTRY LIMITS & MEXICO

• The State Department applies distinct rules for visas subject to or exempt from per-country limits. For November 2026, F2A numbers exempt from the per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than April 22, 2026. Numbers subject to the per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries except Mexico with priority dates from April 22, 2026, up to October 22, 2026. All F2A numbers for Mexico are exempt from the per-country limit, so Mexico’s Final Action Date is April 22, 2026, a one-month advance from October. This distinction does not affect the Dates for Filing chart, which is Current worldwide. However, eligibility to file does not mean eligibility for immediate approval.

▌ ADVANCES IN OTHER FAMILY CATEGORIES

November’s advances are concentrated in countries other than Mexico and the Philippines. Filing dates for all other countries move forward one year:

• F1: to February 1, 2021, including China and India.
• F2B: to September 1, 2020, including China and India.
• F3: to November 1, 2015, including China and India.
• F4: to November 1, 2012, including China.

Final Action Dates for those same countries also advance one year. In contrast, filing dates for Mexico and the Philippines are unchanged. Their Final Action Dates are unchanged as well, except that Mexico gains two weeks in F1, to September 22, 2008, and in F3, to July 15, 2001. Significant backlogs remain.

For November 2026, USCIS requires employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility. Final approval still requires a current priority date under the Final Action Dates chart. Every employment-based filing date is unchanged from October except EB-3 Other Workers.

• EB-2 All Other Countries — Final Action Date advances. The Final Action Date advances three months, from January 1, 2025, to April 1, 2025. The filing date remains March 15, 2026. As a result, applicants with priority dates before March 15, 2026, may file. However, those with priority dates on or after April 1, 2025, cannot be approved until the Final Action Date reaches them. This affects EB-2 National Interest Waiver applicants. Mexico and the Philippines share these dates.
• EB-2 India and China — Unchanged. India remains at a Final Action Date of November 1, 2013, and a filing date of January 15, 2015. China remains at a Final Action Date of October 1, 2021, and a filing date of January 1, 2023.
• EB-1 China — Final Action Date advances. China advances one month to August 1, 2023. India remains at February 1, 2023. Both filing dates remain July 1, 2024, and EB-1 remains Current for all other countries.
• EB-3 All Other Countries — Final Action Date advances. The Final Action Date advances one month, from May 15, 2024, to June 15, 2024. The filing date remains August 1, 2024. Mexico shares these dates.
• EB-3 China and India — Small advances. China’s Final Action Date advances two weeks to January 22, 2022, and India’s advances three weeks to January 22, 2014. Their filing dates are unchanged at April 1, 2024, for China and January 15, 2015, for India. The Philippines is unchanged at a filing date of January 1, 2024, and a Final Action Date of August 15, 2023.
• EB-3 Other Workers — Advances. The Other Workers category covers unskilled positions requiring less than two years of training or experience. For all other countries and Mexico, the Final Action Date advances five months, from January 1, 2022, to June 1, 2022. The filing date advances one month, from June 1, 2022, to July 1, 2022. The Philippines no longer shares these dates: its filing date remains June 1, 2022, and its Final Action Date remains January 1, 2022. India’s Final Action Date advances to January 22, 2014.
• EB-4 — Unchanged. The filing date remains January 1, 2025, and the Final Action Date remains December 15, 2022, worldwide. The Certain Religious Workers category remains authorized through December 11, 2026.
• EB-5 — Unchanged. India remains at a Final Action Date of December 1, 2023, and China at December 1, 2016. Set-aside categories for rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure investments remain Current worldwide.