January 2026 Visa Bulletin
Data verified October 22, 2026
Your line
Or go straight to a category history
F1 approval date for Mexico advances 6 months, while for most countries, F2A filing date advances 1 month.
One-page glance, for sharing or printing →C = Current. U = Unavailable.
C = Current. U = Unavailable.
C = Current. U = Unavailable.
C = Current. U = Unavailable.
What changed in the January 2026 bulletin
- F1 Mexico Cutoff now September 1, 2006.
- F2B Mexico Cutoff now November 15, 2008.
- F3 the Philippines Cutoff now March 1, 2005.
- F2B the Philippines Cutoff now December 22, 2012.
- F1 the Philippines Cutoff now March 1, 2013.
- F4 the Philippines Cutoff now July 22, 2006.
- EB-3 Other Workers ChinaLargest since 2024 Cutoff now December 8, 2018.
- EB-1 India Cutoff now February 1, 2023.
- EB-5 India Cutoff now May 1, 2022.
- EB-4 All countries The same move for every country listed.
- EB-4 Religious Workers All countries The same move for every country listed.
- EB-2 China Cutoff now September 1, 2021.
- EB-2 Most countries · India · Mexico · the Philippines The same move for most countries, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.
- EB-3 India Cutoff now November 15, 2013.
- EB-3 Other Workers India Cutoff now November 15, 2013.
- EB-3 Other Workers Most countries · Mexico · the Philippines The same move for most countries, Mexico, and the Philippines.
- EB-5 China Cutoff now August 15, 2016.
- EB-3 China Cutoff now May 1, 2021.
- EB-1 China Cutoff now February 1, 2023.
- EB-3 Most countries · Mexico · the Philippines The same move for most countries, Mexico, and the Philippines.
In brief
- 66 of 150 cutoff entries moved; 0 moved back.
- Largest move: EB-3 Other Workers for China, +12 mo (largest since 2024).
- Approval dates (from the official Final Action Dates chart) moved in 4 family-sponsored categories and 7 employment-based categories.
EB-4 approval date for most countries advances 4 months, while for China, EB-3 Other Workers approval date advances 12 months. For EB-3 Other Workers (China), this is the largest single-bulletin EB-3 Other Workers advance since 2024.
From the Department’s notes for January 2026
4 sections, reproduced verbatim from the U.S. Department of State’s January 2026 Visa Bulletin. The Department’s words, not ours.
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS FOR PREFERENCE IMMIGRANT VISAS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during January for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for…
From the bulletin:
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during January for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.
Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at
www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo , individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications. When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.
1. Procedures for determining dates. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; USCIS reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by December 2nd . If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. If it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a final action date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new final action date announced in this bulletin. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
2. The fiscal year 2026 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.
3. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa issuances will exceed the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.
4. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First : ( F1 ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:
A. ( F2A ) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. ( F2B ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third : ( F3 ) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth : ( F4 ) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
In plain words: “Unavailable” (“U”) means paused; “retrogress” means move back; “chargeability area” means country of birth; “final action date” means approval date; “date for filing” means filing date.
C. THE DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN FEBRUARY
From the bulletin:
For February , immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2026 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
Region
All DV Chargeability Areas Except
Those Listed Separately
AFRICA
45,000
Except: Algeria 37,000
Egypt 21,000
ASIA
30,000
Except: Nepal 6,500
EUROPE
11,000
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)
25
OCEANIA
1,175
SOUTH AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN
2,000
In plain words: “chargeability area” means country of birth.
D. SCHEDULED EXPIRATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT FOURTH RELIGIOUS WORKERS (SR) CATEGORY
H.R. 5371, signed on November 12, 2025, extends the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR)…
From the bulletin:
H.R. 5371, signed on November 12, 2025, extends the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category until January 30, 2026. No SR visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight January 29, 2026, as the law requires individuals issued SR visas must be admited to the United States before the program expiration date. Visas issued prior to that date will be valid only until January 29, 2026, and all individuals seeking admission in the non-minister special immigrant category must be admitted (repeat admitted) into the United States no later than midnight January 29, 2026.
The SR category is available and subject to the same final action dates as the other Employment Fourth Preference categories per applicable foreign state of chargeability for January. In the event there is no legislative action extending the category beyond January 30, 2026, the category will immediately become “Unavailable” as of January 30, 2026. In the event there is legislative action extending the category beyond January 30, the published dates will continue to be in effect for the remainder of January.
In plain words: “Unavailable” (“U”) means paused; “final action date” means approval date.
E. U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS (SIVs)
From the bulletin:
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, signed into law on December 22, 2023, may affect certain current and former employees of the U.S. Government abroad, as well as certain surviving spouses and children of deceased employees of the U.S. government abroad, applying for SIVs or adjustment of status, as described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of the INA. This does not affect certain Iraqis and Afghans applying for SQ and SI SIVs. Applicants should contact the consular section at which they filed their Form DS‑1884 for further information on the impact of that law on their case.
Get the movement, monthly
One email after each bulletin: what moved in your categories, from the archive. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
One email after each bulletin. Privacy: dates you check are never stored — privacy policy.
Understanding the two charts
Approval dates
For issuing green cards: the approval date (from the official Final Action Dates chart). If your priority date is earlier than the date shown for your category and country, a visa number is available and your case can be approved. “Open to everyone” means every priority date can move forward this month; “Paused” means no visa numbers are available this month.
Filing dates
For submitting I-485 applications: the filing date (from the official Dates for Filing chart). It is the earliest priority date at which you may assemble and submit documents, ahead of approval, when USCIS says to use this chart for the month. It lets applicants get in line earlier while waiting for a visa number.