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The March 2026 Visa Bulletin lists immigrant visa cutoffs by preference category and chargeability area. To tell whether a date is available for your case, match your category and chargeability column, then compare your priority date with the relevant chart. If you plan to file Form I-485, first check USCIS’s chart-selection guidance for March 2026.
How to read the March 2026 Visa Bulletin
The U.S. Department of State’s March 2026 Visa Bulletin contains two date charts: Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications. The correct row depends on your family- or employment-based preference category; the correct column depends on your chargeability area. The dates below are selected examples, not a replacement for the full official charts.
- Final Action Dates: For an oversubscribed category, the listed date is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. A visa number is authorized for issuance only if the applicant’s priority date is earlier than the listed date.
- Dates for Filing Applications: This chart indicates when certain applicants processing immigrant visas overseas may begin the documentation process. If your priority date is earlier than the listed date, you may assemble and submit documents to the National Visa Center after receiving its notification and instructions. This does not mean a visa has been issued.
- C and U: “C” means current: numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants. “U” means unauthorized: numbers are not authorized for issuance.
In either date chart, a priority date equal to the cutoff is not earlier than it. For both charts, check the full official bulletin and the correct category and chargeability column before acting.
Selected family-sponsored dates
Dates below are listed as day-month-year. The bulletin’s “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column applies when a separate listed country column does not apply. China refers to mainland-born applicants in the chart.
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Final Action Dates
| Category | All chargeability areas except those listed | China mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | 08 Nov 2016 | 08 Nov 2016 | 08 Nov 2016 | 22 Dec 2006 | 01 Mar 2013 |
| F2A | 01 Feb 2024 | 01 Feb 2024 | 01 Feb 2024 | 01 Feb 2023 | 01 Feb 2024 |
| F2B | 01 Dec 2016 | 01 Dec 2016 | 01 Dec 2016 | 15 Feb 2009 | 22 Dec 2012 |
| F3 | 08 Sep 2011 | 08 Sep 2011 | 08 Sep 2011 | 01 May 2001 | 01 Mar 2005 |
| F4 | 08 Jan 2008 | 08 Jan 2008 | 08 Jan 2008 | 08 Apr 2001 | 01 Sep 2006 |
Dates for Filing Applications
| Category | All chargeability areas except those listed | China mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | 01 Sep 2017 | 01 Sep 2017 | 01 Sep 2017 | 01 Dec 2007 | 22 Apr 2015 |
| F2A | 22 Feb 2026 | 22 Feb 2026 | 22 Feb 2026 | 22 Feb 2026 | 22 Feb 2026 |
| F2B | 15 Mar 2017 | 15 Mar 2017 | 15 Mar 2017 | 15 Feb 2010 | 01 Oct 2013 |
| F3 | 22 Jul 2012 | 22 Jul 2012 | 22 Jul 2012 | 01 Jul 2001 | 01 Jun 2006 |
| F4 | 01 Mar 2009 | 01 Mar 2009 | 15 Dec 2006 | 30 Apr 2001 | 15 Jan 2008 |
Use the column corresponding to your chargeability area rather than assuming that one family-category date applies to every applicant.
Selected employment-based dates
Final Action Dates
| Category | All chargeability areas except those listed | China mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | 01 Mar 2023 | 01 Mar 2023 | C | C |
| EB-2 | 15 Oct 2024 | 01 Sep 2021 | 15 Sep 2013 | 15 Oct 2024 | 15 Oct 2024 |
| EB-3 | 01 Oct 2023 | 01 May 2021 | 15 Nov 2013 | 01 Oct 2023 | 01 Aug 2023 |
| Other Workers | 01 Nov 2021 | 08 Dec 2018 | 15 Nov 2013 | 01 Nov 2021 | 01 Nov 2021 |
| EB-4 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 |
| Certain Religious Workers (SR) | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 | 15 Jul 2021 |
| EB-5 unreserved | C | 15 Aug 2016 | 01 May 2022 | C | C |
Dates for Filing Applications
| Category | All chargeability areas except those listed | China mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | 01 Dec 2023 | 01 Dec 2023 | C | C |
| EB-2 | C | 01 Jan 2022 | 01 Nov 2014 | C | C |
| EB-3 | 15 Jan 2024 | 01 Jan 2022 | 15 Aug 2014 | 15 Jan 2024 | 01 Jan 2024 |
| Other Workers | 22 Jun 2022 | 01 Oct 2019 | 15 Aug 2014 | 22 Jun 2022 | 22 Jun 2022 |
| EB-4 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 |
| Certain Religious Workers (SR) | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 | 01 Jan 2023 |
| EB-5 unreserved | C | 01 Oct 2016 | 01 May 2024 | C | C |
The bulletin lists the EB-5 rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure set-aside categories as current in all five columns. “Current” is the bulletin’s category notation; it does not remove other eligibility or process requirements.
Rank #2
Which chart applies to your filing route?
Consular processing abroad
For immigrant visa applicants abroad, Dates for Filing may allow the National Visa Center documentation process to begin after the NVC sends notice and instructions. The final action date remains the test for whether a visa number is authorized for issuance. Meeting a filing-chart date is not the same as receiving a visa.
Adjustment of status in the United States
Applicants filing Form I-485 generally use the Final Action Dates chart unless U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says the Dates for Filing chart may be used for that month. USCIS’s adjustment-of-status guidance directs applicants to its Visa Bulletin information to determine which chart governs I-485 filing, and notes that applicants must otherwise be eligible. Do not assume that the Department of State’s filing chart is automatically the chart USCIS accepts for I-485.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems- Identify your preference category and priority date.
- Find the corresponding chargeability column and compare your priority date with the date in the relevant chart.
- If filing Form I-485, check USCIS’s monthly chart selection for March 2026 before filing, and confirm that you meet the other adjustment requirements.
Diversity visa cutoffs for April 2026
The March bulletin provides these DV-2026 rank cutoffs for April. A rank must be below the listed cutoff.
| Region | April 2026 cutoff |
|---|---|
| Africa | 55,000, except Algeria 37,000 and Egypt 30,000 |
| Asia | 35,000, except Nepal 10,000 |
| Europe | 20,000 |
| Bahamas | 50 |
| Oceania | 1,500 |
| South America and the Caribbean | 3,000 |
Visa limits, date movement, and the SR category
The Department of State gives a FY2026 family-sponsored preference immigrant limit of 226,000, a worldwide annual employment-based preference level of at least 140,000, a per-country preference limit of 25,620, and a dependent-area limit of 7,320. These are annual program limits, not individual visa guarantees. The bulletin allocates 7.1% of worldwide employment-based numbers to EB-4 and 7.1% to EB-5; 32% of EB-5 numbers are reserved across rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure categories.
The Department says visa issuance rates for certain countries had decreased in light of administration actions, including Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998 and immigrant visa processing updates. It says dates were advanced across various categories so prospective immigrants from other countries could use FY2026 numbers. The bulletin warns that dates may later retrogress as demand materializes or relevant actions change, to keep issuance within annual limits. March cutoffs therefore do not guarantee later availability, and the stated rationale should not be read as a prediction about any particular applicant or country.
The March bulletin reported that H.R. 7148, signed February 3, 2026, extended the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category until September 30, 2026, with the same filing and final-action dates as other EB-4 cases for the relevant chargeability area. That stated extension date has passed; the March bulletin alone does not establish the category’s status after September 30, 2026. Check a later official bulletin for current status.
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