The U.S. State Department's November 2026 Visa Bulletin has moved most family-sponsored green-card lines forward by a full year, one of the largest single-month advances in recent bulletins, according to an analysis of the October and November bulletins by Immigration Analytics. The bulletin was released on October 22 and is the second of fiscal year 2027.
Source: Immigration Analytics
For applicants from most countries — the chart's 'All Chargeability Areas,' which includes India and China in these categories — the F1 line for unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens moved from January 22, 2020 to January 22, 2021; F2B, for unmarried adult sons and daughters of green-card holders, moved from August 22, 2019 to August 22, 2020; F3, for married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, moved from October 22, 2014 to October 22, 2015; and F4, for brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, moved from October 22, 2011 to October 22, 2012.
Source: Immigration Analytics
The India exception Punjabi families will notice
India's F4 date did not move at all: it stays at December 15, 2006, far behind the worldwide date, Immigration Analytics and CitizenPath both reported. That means Indian siblings of U.S. citizens — a large Punjabi diaspora category — see no relief from this month's jump, even though Indian applicants in F1, F2B and F3 share the worldwide dates and gain the same 12 months.
Source: CitizenPath
F2A, the category for spouses and minor children of green-card holders, advanced one more month to October 22, 2026 for most countries, and its Dates for Filing chart remains current ('C') for every country, the analyses reported. Boundless summarized the month the same way: F1, F2B, F3 and F4 advance by approximately one year for most countries under Final Action Dates, while F2A moves forward one month.
Source: Boundless
Employment categories inch ahead; USCIS filing rule for November
Employment-based movement was smaller: EB-2 for most countries advanced three months to April 1, 2025, and EB-3 advanced one month to June 15, 2024, while EB-2 dates for India and China did not change, CitizenPath reported, citing Newsweek's coverage of the bulletin. Boundless reported that China and India also saw modest EB-3 movement.
Source: CitizenPath
For applicants already in the United States, USCIS has confirmed that all family-sponsored and employment-based applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart in November, Immigration Analytics and CitizenPath reported. The State Department cautions that dates can stall or move backward later in the year if demand exceeds the visas available. Readers should check their own priority date against the November charts — this report is general information, not legal advice.
Source: Immigration Analytics