October 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 Rest of World is no longer current

The first bulletin of fiscal year 2027 took EB-2 for most of the world from current to a cut-off date. For employers this splits one population into two: employees who can still file an I-485 but cannot be approved, and employees who cannot file at all.

What the bulletin shows

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin sets these employment-based cut-offs for applicants chargeable to most countries:

• EB-2: final action date 01 January 2025; date for filing 15 March 2026.
• EB-3 professionals and skilled workers: final action date 15 May 2024; date for filing 01 August 2024.
• EB-3 other workers: final action date 01 January 2022; date for filing 01 June 2022.
• EB-1: current.

For India, EB-2 has a final action date of 01 November 2013; for mainland China, 01 October 2021. The Department of State explains that the Rest-of-World retrogressions are necessary to keep FY2027 issuances within quarterly and annual limits, and that it will keep monitoring.

Which chart applies

USCIS decides each month whether adjustment applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart. Its filing-chart page confirms that for October 2026 all employment-based categories use Dates for Filing. An EB-2 employee with a priority date before 15 March 2026 can therefore file an I-485 this month, even though the case cannot be approved unless the priority date is also before 01 January 2025.

What it changes for the company

Three practical consequences follow. First, a case that was weeks from approval in September may now wait an unknown time; nothing about the employee changed. Second, filing still has value: a pending I-485 unlocks interim benefits and is the starting point for AC21 job portability, the mechanics of which are set out in moving an approved I-140 to a new employer. Third, interim work permits matter more now that renewals no longer carry an automatic extension, as covered in the final EAD rule.

Retrogression does not suspend the underlying petition. An I-140 must still be adjudicated on its merits, a point developed in how retrogression works. A company told that its I-140 is waiting for a visa number should treat the answer as a processing question; that is where I-140 delay litigation operates. The final step, approval of the adjustment itself, waits for the number, and a delay claim cannot change that, a limit discussed on Mandamus.com's I-485 page.

Planning for the rest of FY2027

• Re-sort the green card pipeline by priority date against both charts and send each employee a short note on where they stand.
• File eligible I-485s while the Dates for Filing chart is open; USCIS can switch charts in any month.
• Track derivative children's ages, since retrogression is what turns a margin into an age-out risk.
• Check the bulletin and the USCIS chart page together every month; neither one alone answers the question.

Questions

Can an EB-2 employee with a 2025 priority date file in October?

Yes, if the priority date is earlier than 15 March 2026, because USCIS is accepting the Dates for Filing chart. Approval still requires the final action date to be reached.

Does retrogression pause the I-140?

No. The petition is adjudicated on eligibility; visa availability governs only the final approval of the green card.

Will the dates move back again?

Nobody can forecast that reliably. The Department of State says it is monitoring demand and will adjust as needed.

General information, not legal advice. Rules and processing practice change; verify against the agency's own published figures and take advice on your own facts.