People hoping to obtain a green card through relatives will be able to wait for a final decision on their applications sooner as the processing timeline has moved forward, according to data from the United States Visa Bulletin for August 2026. At the same time, the authorities warn: due to high demand until the end of September, the deadlines may change again.
The visa bulletin uses two tables. Final Action Dates indicate when the government can issue an immigrant visa or approve a green card. Dates for Filing determine when an applicant can begin filing a case.
As follows from the document, the limit on the number of visas for fiscal year 2026 (which ends on September 30) for immigrants in the family category will be 226,000 people. At the same time, the law establishes four priority classes for family members of US citizens.
Category F1 includes unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens. There are 23,400 visas available for it. They have speeded up the process: for most countries, the date for final consideration of applications has moved from February 1, 2018 to December 15, 2018.
The F2 category includes spouses and children, as well as unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents, with 114,200 visas allocated for them. Now green cards can be obtained by applicants whose priority date occurred earlier than July 22, 2026, and not January 1, 2025.
There are 23,400 visas available for married sons and daughters of American citizens in the F3 category. This category has made little progress. Most countries received a rollover from April 15, 2012 to May 15, 2012, and Mexico moved from June 1, 2001 to July 1, 2001. The Philippines remained faithful to the date of February 22, 2006.
There are 65,000 visas available to siblings of adult United States citizens in the F4 category. For most countries, the final review date has been moved from 1 January 2009 to 1 September 2009.
For labor categories of immigrants, the United States is ready to provide at least 140,000 visas. There are five categories of labor immigration. The first includes priority workers. Next comes the group, which includes representatives of professions requiring high qualifications, or persons with exceptional abilities. The third category includes skilled workers, specialists and other workers. Each of the first three groups accounts for 28.6% of the total number of visas.
The fourth includes special categories of immigrants, accounting for 7.1%. The same percentage of visas is allocated for those who invest in the country. Of this, 32% is allocated for specific purposes, of which 20% is earmarked for investment in rural areas, 10% for areas with high unemployment and 2% for skilled immigrants investing in infrastructure projects. The remaining 68% is unreserved and distributed among all other skilled immigrants.
The State Department warns that before the end of September, dates may change – certain categories of labor immigration may become unavailable or deadlines may be pushed back due to high demand. These include priority and highly qualified workers from the first two groups.
