US releases October 2026 Visa Bulletin, first of fiscal year 2027, after unusually late publication

The US Department of State has released the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first bulletin of fiscal year 2027, after what immigration lawyers described as the latest October release in at least several years — the bulletin had still not appeared as of late September, according to TamaraNews.

The annual reset of visa numbers brings reopened categories and substantial movement for oversubscribed countries. For India, EB-2 reopens after three months Unavailable, with a Final Action date of 1 November 2013 and a Dates for Filing date of 15 January 2015, while EB-1 advances by 20 months, according to Capitol Immigration Law Group. VisaVerge adds that EB-5 Unreserved India also reopens at 1 December 2023.

China sees a major advance: EB-3 moves from 8 January 2022 to 1 April 2024 on the filing chart, a leap of about 25 months, per both sources.

For the rest of the world, the picture reverses. EB-2 falls from Current to a 1 January 2025 Final Action date, and EB-3 drops from 1 September 2024 to 15 May 2024 — a 109-day retrogression. VisaVerge reports 15 employment cells retrogressed in total; the State Department says the pullbacks are necessary to keep visa issuances within FY2027 quarterly and annual limits.

USCIS has designated the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment-of-status applications in October.

Sources

• https://cilawgroup.com/news/2026/09/29/october-2026-visa-bulletin-new-fiscal-year-brings-reopened-categories-mixed-advances-for-india-china-and-retrogression-for-rest-of-world/
• https://www.visaverge.com/visa-bulletin/october-2026-visa-bulletin-complete-analysis-and-forecast/
• https://www.tamaranews.com/2026/09/28/october-2026-visa-bulletin-delay-2/
• https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html