October 2026 Visa Bulletin Opens a Filing Window for Applicants Born in China
Posted on October 01, 2026 by Warren Wen | Category: English
October 2026 Visa Bulletin Opens a Filing Window for Applicants Born in China
China EB-2 and EB-3 filing dates advance sharply as USCIS authorizes use of the Dates for Filing chart
The practical takeaway is clear: October creates a genuine opportunity for many adjustment applicants born in mainland China to file Form I-485. USCIS has directed both family-sponsored and employment-based applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart for the month. That is a meaningful change from September, when employment-based applicants had to use the more restrictive Final Action Dates chart.
The numbers are striking. The China EB-2 filing date moves from January 1, 2022, to January 1, 2023. The China EB-3 filing date moves from January 8, 2022, to April 1, 2024. Yet the dates controlling final approval move only modestly. October therefore opens the station doors for many applicants, but it does not move everyone to the end of the journey.
Why October Is Different
The October bulletin begins fiscal year 2027, when a new annual allocation of immigrant visa numbers becomes available. The Department of State lists a minimum worldwide family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000 and an employment-based minimum of 140,000. The ordinary per-country ceiling is 25,620. Those new numbers allow the government to reposition several cutoff dates at the beginning of the fiscal year.
That reset should not be mistaken for unlimited supply. The fiscal year 2026 employment-based total was 186,317, significantly above the new year’s statutory minimum because unused family-based numbers carried over. The State Department also moved some employment-based dates backward for countries not separately listed in order to manage quarterly and annual usage. In other words, October reflects active inventory management, not a promise that every category will continue advancing at the same pace.
Two Charts Answer Two Different Questions
The Visa Bulletin contains two separate sets of dates. The Dates for Filing chart determines when an applicant may take the procedural step of submitting an immigrant visa application or, when USCIS authorizes that chart, filing Form I-485. The Final Action Dates chart determines when an immigrant visa number is available for approval.
This distinction is essential in October. A person whose priority date is earlier than the applicable filing date may be able to submit Form I-485 if all other adjustment requirements are met. But USCIS generally cannot approve the green card until the priority date is also earlier than the applicable Final Action Date and a visa number is available.
Filing is therefore a valuable milestone, but it is not final approval. A properly filed adjustment application may permit the applicant and qualifying derivatives to seek employment authorization and advance parole while the case remains pending. Whether those benefits are advisable or sufficient in a particular case requires a separate review of status, travel, employment, and admissibility issues.
China Employment Categories Show Uneven Movement
For applicants chargeable to mainland China, the Final Action Dates move only slightly in most employment-based categories. EB-1 remains at July 1, 2023. EB-2 advances one month to October 1, 2021. EB-3 advances only seven days to January 8, 2022. The Other Workers date advances five months to October 1, 2019. The unreserved EB-5 date remains December 1, 2016, while the rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure set-aside categories remain current.
The Dates for Filing chart tells a very different story. China EB-1 advances to July 1, 2024; EB-2 advances to January 1, 2023; and EB-3 advances to April 1, 2024. The filing date for unreserved EB-5 advances to March 1, 2021. Because USCIS has authorized use of this chart in October, these dates are not merely administrative signals for consular processing. For otherwise eligible applicants in the United States, they define a real adjustment filing window.
EB-3 illustrates the point most clearly. Its filing date moves forward by more than two years, while its final approval date advances by only seven days. Both statements are accurate, but they describe different stages of the process. Calling this a two-year advance in green card approvals would overstate what the bulletin actually does.
Family Categories Mostly Hold Their September Gains
The family-sponsored categories do not repeat the broad forward movement seen in September. For applicants born in mainland China, the F1 Final Action Date remains January 22, 2020; F2B remains August 22, 2019; F3 remains October 22, 2014; and F4 remains October 22, 2011. F2A is the exception, advancing one month to September 22, 2026.
Under the Dates for Filing chart, F2A remains current, and USCIS has authorized family-sponsored applicants to use that chart in October. That may create a filing opportunity for certain spouses and children of permanent residents, but the usual adjustment requirements still apply. A current filing date does not cure an unlawful entry, a statutory adjustment bar, an inadmissibility issue, or a Child Status Protection Act problem.
Key October Dates for Applicants Born in China
| Category | September 2026 | October 2026 | Practical meaning |
| EB-1 Final Action | July 1 2023 | July 1 2023 | No change in approval cutoff |
| EB-1 Filing | December 1 2023 | July 1 2024 | Seven-month filing advance |
| EB-2 Final Action | September 1 2021 | October 1 2021 | One-month approval advance |
| EB-2 Filing | January 1 2022 | January 1 2023 | One-year filing advance |
| EB-3 Final Action | January 1 2022 | January 8 2022 | Seven-day approval advance |
| EB-3 Filing | January 8 2022 | April 1 2024 | Major filing window opens |
| Other Workers Final Action | May 1 2019 | October 1 2019 | Five-month approval advance |
| EB-5 Unreserved Final Action | December 1 2016 | December 1 2016 | No change in approval cutoff |
| EB-5 Unreserved Filing | March 1 2017 | March 1 2021 | Four-year filing advance |
| F2A Final Action | August 22 2026 | September 22 2026 | One-month approval advance |
What Applicants Should Do Now
EB-2 and NIW applicants Applicants with priority dates before January 1, 2023, should promptly confirm adjustment eligibility and assemble the filing package. Those whose dates are not yet current under the October 1, 2021, Final Action Date may be able to file, but their cases cannot yet be approved.
EB-3 applicants Confirm whether the petition is classified as a professional or skilled worker case or as Other Workers. The filing cutoffs are different and cannot be exchanged. Review the sponsoring employer, offered position, job portability strategy, and Supplement J requirements before filing.
EB-1 applicants The Final Action Date did not move, but the filing date advanced to July 1, 2024. Applicants newly within that window should review status maintenance, employment changes, and the continuing validity of the I-140 basis.
EB-5 applicants The unreserved filing date advanced dramatically, but the Final Action Date did not. Filing eligibility should not be confused with project quality, source-of-funds compliance, redeployment issues, sustainment requirements, or eventual I-829 risk.
Families with children Evaluate CSPA age calculations and the sought-to-acquire requirement immediately. Visa Bulletin movement can create deadlines as well as opportunities.
The Strategic Lesson for October
October offers an unusual combination for China-born employment applicants: the line for final approval moves only a short distance, while the filing queue expands substantially. USCIS has also opened the filing gate by selecting the Dates for Filing chart.
No one can assume that November will use the same chart or that Final Action Dates will quickly catch up. Future movement will depend on actual demand, quarterly usage, and the State Department’s management of the fiscal year 2027 allocation. The sound strategy is therefore not to celebrate a headline number in isolation, but to determine whether the October window applies to the individual case and, if so, to file a complete and legally sound application while the window is open.
This article is only for your reference. Please do not apply mechanically to any exact cases. You are welcome to consult our attorneys at Liu & Associates, P.C. For contact information, please click here.