November 2026 Visa Bulletin Predictions (Family Categories First)

Published October 2026 · Analysis ahead of the official November Visa Bulletin. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21) are not on the preference charts at all and do not wait for a visa number; this page is for the preference categories only.

Families watching the Visa Bulletin usually care about one question: will my priority date move in November? This page walks through directional expectations for the main family preference categories, especially F2A (spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents), F4 (siblings of U.S. citizens), and F1 (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens), before the official November bulletin is published. Use it to plan documents and risk, not to treat a prediction as a filing deadline. When the State Department posts the official chart, compare it against this analysis and against our Visa Bulletin hub.

What "prediction" means here

A Visa Bulletin prediction is a reading of recent Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing movement, plus known pressure on family preference visa numbers. It is not a second official chart. If your priority date is close to current, prepare the filing package early, but wait for the official November bulletin (and the USCIS chart-use announcement for adjustment cases) before treating a date as available.

Two facts anchor everything below. First, the October 2026 bulletin opened fiscal year 2027 with forward movement or no movement in every family column; nothing retrogressed. Second, USCIS announced that family-based adjustment applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart for October 2026. In our practice, those two facts together usually mean a quiet November: the State Department tends to hold the new fiscal year's early gains rather than extend them in the second month.

How to read Final Action Dates vs Dates for Filing

• Final Action Dates are the dates on which a green card or immigrant visa can generally be approved or issued. If your priority date is earlier than the cutoff for your category and country, a visa number is available.
• Dates for Filing often run ahead of Final Action Dates. They tell consular applicants when to submit documents to the National Visa Center, and USCIS decides each month whether adjustment applicants may use that chart for Form I-485.
• "Current" means no backlog: any priority date qualifies. A country-specific column (Mexico, the Philippines, India, or mainland China) overrides the worldwide column for people born there.

Our Visa Bulletin hub explains both charts step by step. If you are unsure which chart applies to your I-485, talk with a family-immigration lawyer before filing.

F2A: spouses and children of permanent residents

F2A remains the highest-stakes family category for many households because it can flip between current and backlogged. In 2026, F2A has already shown that current windows can open and that retrogression risk returns when demand spikes. The October bulletin set a Final Action cutoff of September 22, 2026 for most countries, which leaves nearly every pending F2A case inside the window, and March 22, 2026 for Mexico. On the Dates for Filing chart, F2A is current for every country, and that is the chart USCIS authorized for October adjustment filings.

For November 2026, the working expectation is continued sensitivity, not a promise of remaining current worldwide. The most likely outcome is that the Final Action Date holds or creeps forward by a few weeks, and that Mexico keeps closing the gap it narrowed by seven months in October. The less likely but real risk is that the State Department imposes a tighter cutoff if adjustment and consular demand both surge against the new fiscal year's allocation. If F2A is current or near-current on the chart USCIS authorizes for filing, eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21 of LPRs should treat the window as time-limited: gather the I-485 or consular packet now rather than waiting for a later month.

What to watch: the USCIS chart announcement for November; any Mexico or Philippines footnote; any sudden "U" (unavailable) flag. Run the F2A wait time calculator for a country-specific estimate, and read our April 2026 report on F2A going current for historical context only; the April status is not a statement about November.

F4: siblings of U.S. citizens

F4 is the longest common family preference line. Multi-year, often decade-plus, Final Action Dates for the rest of the world, with longer waits for Mexico and the Philippines, have been the baseline through 2026. In October, the worldwide Final Action Date sat at October 22, 2011; India at December 15, 2006; Mexico at April 22, 2001; and the Philippines at May 15, 2008. Only India, Mexico, and the Philippines moved, and Mexico moved by two weeks.

November predictions for F4 are usually about modest forward movement or flat dates, not a sudden clearance of the queue. Our expectation is that the worldwide column holds or gains a few weeks, India continues its slow drift forward, the Philippines keeps absorbing the larger moves it received in October, and Mexico stays in 2001. Sibling petitions filed today are still long-horizon planning tools. Use the F4 wait time calculator for a country-specific estimate, and track Child Status Protection Act risk for derivative children as dates crawl forward; a child who turns 21 before the priority date becomes current can lose the derivative place in line unless the CSPA formula protects them.

F1: unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

F1 typically sits between shorter preference waits and the extreme F4 backlog. In October the worldwide Final Action Date was January 22, 2020, with Mexico at September 8, 2008 and the Philippines at November 1, 2013; only the Mexico and Philippines columns advanced. November analysis should focus on whether Final Action Dates advance enough to clear near-cutoff priority dates, and whether Dates for Filing opens any early-document window for consular cases.

Our read is that the worldwide F1 column stays flat or moves by weeks in November, while Mexico and the Philippines remain the columns most likely to show visible movement. Adult unmarried sons and daughters, and any qualifying derivative children, should verify marital status rules still fit the category before assuming a date movement helps them. An F1 beneficiary who marries automatically converts to F3 and takes that category's longer wait; an F1 beneficiary whose petitioning parent is a permanent resident rather than a citizen is actually in F2B.

F2B and F3: shorter notes

F2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents) and F3 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) remain multi-year waits for most chargeability areas. October left the worldwide F2B Final Action Date at August 22, 2019 and worldwide F3 at October 22, 2014, with Mexico and the Philippines carrying all of the movement in both categories. November movement is usually incremental. For a realistic total timeline that combines USCIS processing with the bulletin wait, see our family sponsorship green card timeline and the green card processing time calculator.

Employment-based categories: reference only

• EB-1: recent tendency is current for most countries with India and China backlogged; November watch item is whether the fiscal-year reset holds.
• EB-2 and EB-3: likely modest movement or flat dates; watch India and China demand, which drives most retrogression risk in these rows.
• Other Workers and EB-4: watch for unavailability flags, which have appeared in prior fiscal years when the annual limit ran out early.

What to do before the official November bulletin

1. Confirm your category, your chargeability country, and your priority date from the I-130 receipt or approval notice. The priority date is the date USCIS received the petition, not the approval date.
2. Decide whether you are watching Final Action Dates, Dates for Filing, or both. Consular cases watch Dates for Filing for document submission and Final Action Dates for the interview; adjustment cases depend on the USCIS chart announcement.
3. Pre-stage civil documents, certified translations, and Affidavit of Support evidence if you are near current. Our I-864 guide for 2026 lists what sponsors need.
4. Recheck the Visa Bulletin hub the day the official November bulletin posts, usually in the second or third week of October.
5. If a date becomes available for a spouse, child, or sibling case and you need filing strategy, talk to an immigration lawyer about family preference adjustment or consular next steps, including whether a child needs a CSPA calculation before the window closes.

A case from our practice

In the spring of 2026 a permanent resident in Fort Worth asked us about her husband's F2A petition, approved with a 2024 priority date. The category had gone current, and she had read online that it would stay that way. We disagreed, and we told her why: F2A demand had been building for months, and current windows in that category have historically closed with little notice. We assembled the I-485 package, the I-864 with her tax transcripts, and the civil documents in three weeks and filed the week USCIS confirmed the Dates for Filing chart for that month.

By the time the October bulletin set a Final Action cutoff, the application had been pending for months and was already in line for an interview. Clients often tell us they would have waited for a "better" month. There is no better month than the one in which your date is available and your packet is ready. Not every case we file during a current window ends with an approval, and some have waited through later retrogressions, but the ones that filed when the window was open were the ones in the best position when it narrowed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will F2A still be current in November 2026?

Nobody can promise that. On the Dates for Filing chart, F2A was current for every country in October 2026, and the Final Action cutoff of September 22, 2026 covered nearly every pending case. Our expectation is that November holds close to that position, with Mexico still behind. The risk is a tighter cutoff if demand surges. If your date is available now, filing now is the only way to lock in the window.

Which chart does USCIS let me use for the I-485 in November?

USCIS announces that separately, usually within a week after the State Department posts the bulletin. For October 2026, USCIS authorized the Dates for Filing chart for all family-sponsored categories. Do not assume November will match; check the USCIS announcement before filing, and if your date is only available on the Dates for Filing chart, wait for that confirmation.

My brother's F4 priority date is from 2012. Will November help?

Probably not by much. The worldwide F4 Final Action Date was October 22, 2011 in October 2026, and the category moves by weeks, not years. A 2012 priority date is close enough to prepare documents and watch monthly, but you should plan around a wait that could still run a year or more, and longer if your brother was born in Mexico, India, or the Philippines.

What happens if the bulletin retrogresses after I file?

A properly filed I-485 stays pending; USCIS simply cannot approve it until a visa number is available again. Work and travel permits tied to the pending application generally continue. For consular cases, the National Visa Center holds the case until the date is available again. Retrogression is a delay, not a denial, which is why filing during an open window matters.

Does the prediction change if my child is about to turn 21?

Yes, and this is the situation that needs a lawyer soonest. The Child Status Protection Act freezes a derivative child's age using the date the visa became available and the time the petition was pending, but the calculation depends on which chart USCIS designates and on filing within one year of availability. A month of movement can decide whether a child stays on the parent's case.

Can I switch from consular processing to adjustment of status to use a better chart?

Sometimes, if the beneficiary is lawfully in the United States and eligible to adjust. The choice affects which chart matters, how long the case takes, and whether an unlawful presence problem is triggered by leaving the country. It is a strategy decision, not a form change, and it should be made with counsel before a date becomes current.

Where do I find the official November bulletin when it posts?

The Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin on its travel website each month, usually in the second or third week of the prior month. Our Visa Bulletin hub links to the official chart and explains how to read it. Treat every third-party prediction, including this one, as commentary until that official chart is posted.