The September 2026 Visa Bulletin produced the sharpest family-sponsored movement in recent memory while leaving the employment-based categories almost entirely frozen — an unusual split in the final month of a fiscal year.
On the Final Action Dates chart, the F3 category, for married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, advanced roughly 29 months for China, India, and all other chargeability areas, moving to October 22, 2014. The F4 category, for brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, advanced approximately 26 months for China and all other areas, moving to October 22, 2011. F2A, for spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents, advanced one month for all countries to August 22, 2026, with Mexico at August 22, 2025. Movement of two years or more in a single month is rare in categories that normally creep forward by weeks.
The employment-based side did not follow. EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and EB-5 final action dates are unchanged from August. The single exception is EB-4, covering certain special immigrants including religious workers, which advanced two months for all countries to December 15, 2022. EB-2 India remains unavailable, and the State Department has warned that EB-1 India, EB-2 across all countries, and the EB-5 unreserved categories may retrogress or become unavailable before the fiscal year closes on September 30, 2026.
Filing charts matter here. For adjustment of status filings in September, USCIS is using the Dates for Filing chart for family-sponsored categories and the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based categories. Family applicants should check the Dates for Filing chart to determine whether they can submit Form I-485 now; on that chart F2A remains current, while F1, F2B, F3, and F4 still require category-by-country review. Employment-based applicants get no such flexibility this month.
A note of caution on why family dates moved this far. Large end-of-fiscal-year advances often reflect the State Department pushing to use visa numbers before they expire on September 30, rather than a durable structural improvement in the backlog. Dates that jump in September can hold, stall, or retreat when the October bulletin opens the new fiscal year with a fresh annual allocation. Anyone whose priority date just became current should move quickly rather than assume the window stays open.
That urgency now runs into a second obstacle. The State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews worldwide for consular officer training on public charge screening, so applicants processing abroad may find their date current but no interview available. Applicants inside the United States who are eligible to adjust status should weigh filing promptly.
This bulletin movement was surfaced through practitioner discussion on X and verified against firm analyses of the September 2026 Visa Bulletin.
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Source: X (Twitter) @AmmyWith