The Department of State’s November 2026 Visa Bulletin advances four family-preference final action dates by 12 months and moves F2A ahead by one month. The schedule applies during November to applicants in the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column, where people born in Cuba are typically counted.
The five categories cover unmarried adult children, spouses and children under 21 of permanent residents, married children of U.S. citizens, and siblings of citizens. Each has its own cutoff.
Four category cutoffs move a year, while F2A advances one month
The table lists the October cutoff beside the new November date for each category. These are the dates in the column that typically applies to people born in Cuba.
| Category | Family relationship | October cutoff | November cutoff | Advance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens aged 21 or older | January 22, 2020 | January 22, 2021 | 12 months |
| F2A | Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents | September 22, 2026 | October 22, 2026 | 1 month |
| F2B | Unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents aged 21 or older | August 22, 2019 | August 22, 2020 | 12 months |
| F3 | Married children of U.S. citizens | October 22, 2014 | October 22, 2015 | 12 months |
| F4 | Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 | October 22, 2011 | October 22, 2012 | 12 months |
F1, F2B, F3 and F4 each advance by a year. F2A moved by one month after being the only one of these five categories to advance in October, when its cutoff changed from August 22, 2026 to September 22, 2026.
A cutoff makes a visa number available, not an approval
Table A, the final-action chart, identifies which priority dates can be considered for visa-number availability. An applicant’s priority date must fall before the published cutoff. Even then, the rest of the case must qualify.
An F4 applicant with a priority date of October 15, 2012 falls before the November cutoff of October 22, 2012. A priority date of November 1, 2012 falls after it. The distinction is narrow, but decisive for whether a number is available under that chart.
A priority date generally marks when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services properly received the family petition, Form I-130. Applicants can find it on case notifications. The date establishes a beneficiary’s place in a preference category subject to annual limits.
A cutoff advance is not a visa approval, and it does not automatically shorten an applicant’s total wait by the same amount. Applicants must satisfy the relevant immigration requirements, finish pending procedures and address any legal restrictions that apply.
Family preference categories cover relatives beyond immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of citizens aged 21 or older are immediate relatives and are not subject to annual numerical caps. The preference categories do have limits; no single country can receive more than seven percent of total family preference visas in a given year. The adult-child and sibling cutoffs remain years behind the current calendar.
Document filing and adjustment applications use different chart decisions
The Dates for Filing chart indicates when some applicants may begin submitting immigrant-visa documents. In October, F2A showed “C,” meaning “Current,” for all countries. Consular applicants can submit documents when the National Visa Center instructs them to do so.
That opportunity is not the same as having a visa number available for final action. The final-action chart governs that determination. A filing date alone does not settle the application.
The Department of State publishes the charts, but USCIS separately selects which chart adjustment-of-status applicants may use each month. The November F2A filing chart is current for all chargeability areas; that status alone does not establish eligibility to file Form I-485.
Applicants preparing to file in November should check USCIS’s chart choice before relying on Chart B. The selection determines which chart adjustment applicants may use.
Mexico and the Philippines have separate final-action cutoffs
The November figures for other chargeability columns differ. In the final-action chart, FB2A advances to October 22, 2026 for all countries of chargeability except Mexico, where the cutoff advances to April 22, 2026.
For FB2B, the cutoff advances to August 22, 2020 for all countries except Mexico and the Philippines. Mexico remains at May 15, 2010, while the Philippines remains at October 1, 2013. Applicants must use the column that applies to their case.
The date movements address visa-number timing. They do not announce that separate immigration restrictions that may apply to Cuban citizens have been lifted.
As of October 22, 2026, USCIS’s adjustment-of-status charts page still listed October as the current month and said the next month’s selection was coming soon. That selection is the next step for applicants planning a November adjustment filing.
