February 2026 Visa Bulletin Released

 

The Department of State (DOS) has published its February 2026 Visa Bulletin. This month shows minimal forward movement in both employment and family-based categories, Fortunately, none of the categories will retrogress.

For employment-based final action dates, only the EB-3 Worldwide category will advance. For family-based final action dates, nationals of Mexico will see forward movement in the F-1 and F-2B categories.

In addition, USCIS will continue to honor the Dates for Filing Chart for both employment and family-based petitions in February (charts provided further below). These dates are much further ahead than the Final Action Dates, so more beneficiaries of all immigrant visa petitions can get their applications filed and obtain interim employment and travel benefits until the government can actually approve their application.

Employment-Based Movement

In February, the EB-3 category will move forward by five weeks for all nationals, except for nationals of China and India, whose final action dates will remain the same.

All other final action dates remain the same.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

That said, USCIS will honor the Dates for Filing (further below), which are further ahead than Final Action Dates. That said, the only category to advance is EB-3 worldwide, which moves ahead by three months in February.

Family-based Movement

In February, nationals of Mexico will see a 15-week advancement in the F-1 category, and a three-month advancement in the F-2B category.

All other final action dates remain the same.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

As mentioned previously, USCIS will honor the Dates for Filing chart (further below) for family-based immigrant visa categories. Notably, the F-2A category moves forward for all countries by one month and F-1 and F2B for nationals of Mexico move forward by three months in February.

By way of reminder, the categories are:

  • F-1 category: unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

  • F2-A category: spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents

  • F2-B category: unmarried adult children (over 21) of lawful permanent residents

  • F-3 category: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

  • F-4 category: siblings of U.S. citizens

WHAT DATES IN THE VISA BULLETIN SHOULD YOU USE FOR FILING YOUR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION WITH USCIS?

If USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, then USCIS will state here that you may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, which usually has dates later than the Final Action Dates noted above. Otherwise, USCIS will indicate on its website that you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart (above) to determine when you may file your adjustment of status application in the United States.

For February 2026, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing (below) should be used for both family and employment-based categories.

 
 
 
 

If the priority date for your employment or family-based category is before the date listed above and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust your status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission (assuming you have no bars to admissibility) with USCIS in February.

The entire visa bulletin is available on the State Department’s website, which includes information on the diversity visa lottery and the EB-5 priority dates.

If you would like more information on how to understand the monthly visa bulletin, please check out our blog post on this topic and our podcast available here.

This alert is for informational purposes only. Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further.

 
Nadia Yakoob