The U.S. Department of State’s release of the February 2026 Visa Bulletin has drawn close attention from immigrants, employers, and legal experts alike, as it signals key shifts—however modest—in the landscape of green card eligibility and wait times. While much of the bulletin’s content remains unchanged from previous months, a few noteworthy adjustments could have significant implications for those navigating the complex world of U.S. immigration.
According to the Department of State’s bulletin, which was published on January 13, 2026, most Employment-based (EB) and family-based green card categories saw little to no movement. Yet, the EB-3 category for skilled workers and professionals offered a sliver of hope for many, advancing by three months for applicants from all countries except China and India. For those outside these two nations, the Final Action Date for EB-3 moved forward by five weeks to June 1, 2023, and the Dates for Filing chart advanced by three months to October 1, 2023. As Boundless, an immigration services provider, noted, “This month’s Visa Bulletin brings modest forward movement in a handful of family- and employment-based categories, while most others remain unchanged.”
For applicants already residing in the United States, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has instructed that they must use the Dates for Filing chart for both family- and employment-based categories in February. This guidance is crucial, as it determines who can submit adjustment of status applications—a pivotal step in the green card process. The USCIS is expected to confirm in the coming days whether this guidance will hold for the entire month, but for now, applicants are urged to review their eligibility based on the Dates for Filing chart.
Digging deeper into the numbers, the bulletin reveals that the EB-1 category, which covers priority workers such as extraordinary individuals, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives, saw a slight retrogression of two weeks for China and India. Their Final Action Dates now stand at February 1, 2023. For all other countries in the EB-1 category, the dates remain current, meaning there is no backlog and eligible applicants can proceed without delay. The EB-2 category, which includes professionals with advanced degrees and individuals of exceptional ability, showed no movement for any country—China remains at September 1, 2021, India at July 15, 2013, and all other countries at April 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, EB-4, which covers “special immigrants” such as certain religious workers, faces a much more precarious situation. The EB-4 Certain Religious Worker (SR) category is set to expire on January 30, 2026, unless Congress intervenes to reauthorize it. If lawmakers do not act, the SR category will become unavailable immediately after midnight on January 29, 2026. This means no new immigrant visas may be issued abroad, and USCIS will be unable to approve or finalize any pending adjustment of status cases in this category after that cutoff. Any visas already issued before expiration will only be valid until January 29, 2026, and all SR applicants must be admitted to the U.S. by that date. Should Congress extend the program, the EB-4 Final Action Date of January 1, 2021, would continue to apply through February 2026.
For religious worker sponsors and their beneficiaries, this looming deadline is a source of anxiety. Legal experts advise close monitoring of legislative developments and preparation of contingency plans in case the program lapses. As one immigration attorney put it, “Religious worker sponsors and beneficiaries should closely monitor legislative developments and prepare contingency plans in light of the imminent SR expiration.”
Turning to the family-based categories, the February 2026 Visa Bulletin brought only limited movement. The F-2A category, which covers spouses and minor children of green card holders, advanced by one month across all countries. Mexico saw more significant progress, with the F-1 category (unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens) and the F-2B category (unmarried adult children of green card holders) each advancing by three months. Other family-based categories, including F-3 (married children of U.S. citizens) and F-4 (siblings of U.S. citizens), remained unchanged.
For many, the visa bulletin is a source of both hope and frustration. The tables and charts it contains are a monthly ritual for those awaiting their chance at permanent residency, but they can also be a source of confusion. The bulletin does not provide exact wait times; instead, it offers a snapshot of current backlogs and cut-off dates. As Boundless explains, “The Visa Bulletin can’t give you an exact answer. The wait time depends on your category and country backlog. It’s helpful to track patterns in your category over multiple months to get a better sense.”
Applicants are encouraged to check their priority date—the date their green card petition was initially filed—against the relevant chart. If their priority date is earlier than the date listed in the bulletin for their category and country, they may be eligible to proceed with the next step in the process. If not, patience remains the order of the day. Some countries, like India and China, face particularly long backlogs due to high demand, causing their cut-off dates to move more slowly and even, at times, to retrogress.
For those in the EB-5 investor category, the bulletin brought no changes. The unreserved categories for China remain at August 15, 2016, India at May 1, 2022, and all other countries are current. The set-aside categories (rural, high unemployment, and infrastructure) remain current for all countries, offering a potential avenue for investors seeking faster processing.
As the February 2026 Visa Bulletin demonstrates, the U.S. immigration system remains a patchwork of shifting timelines and evolving policies. For EB-3 applicants outside China and India, the recent advancements may offer a much-needed opportunity to move forward. For religious workers and their sponsors, the next few weeks could prove decisive, depending on congressional action. And for everyone else, the monthly ritual of checking the bulletin continues—a testament to the enduring complexity and unpredictability of the U.S. green card process.
As the dust settles on this month’s Visa Bulletin, applicants, sponsors, and legal professionals alike are left to ponder their next steps, ever mindful that in the world of immigration, a single date can make all the difference.
