August 2026 Visa Bulletin Released

 

The Department of State (DOS) has published its August 2026 Visa Bulletin. In August, most employment and family-based categories will see forward movement. Fortunately, no categories will retrogress.

For employment-based final action dates, the EB-1 category for nationals of China will advance by one month. The EB-2 category remains the same as last month with EB-2 India remaining unavailable. The EB-3 and EB-3 Other Worker categories will advance for all nationals except for nationals of India and the Philippines.

For family-based final action dates, the F-1 and F-3 categories will move forward for all nationals except for nationals of the Philippines. The F-2A category will leap forward for all nationals. The F-2B category will advance for all nationals except for nationals of Mexico. The F-4 category also will move forward for all nationals except for those from India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

In August, USCIS will only honor the Dates for Filing Chart for family-based petitions (chart provided further below). Most family-based categories will progress in August. As these dates continue to fall ahead of the Final Action Dates, beneficiaries of family-based immigrant visa petitions who are in the United States lawfully can get their applications filed and obtain interim employment and travel benefits until the government can actually approve their application.

Employment-Based Movement

In August, the EB-1 category remains current worldwide, except for Indian nationals, for whom the dates will remain the same as last month, and Chinese nationals, for whom the dates will advance by one month.

The EB-2 category will remain current for all nationals except for nationals of China and India. EB-2 China will remain the same, and EB-2 India remains unavailable.

The EB-3 category will move forward for all nationals, except those from India and the Philippines whose dates remain the same as last month. Similarly, the EB-3 Other Workers category (for positions requiring less than two years of training) for all nationals will advance, except for those from India and the Philippines.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

As a reminder, USCIS will honor the Final Action Dates noted above in August. If the priority date for your employment-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 August.

Family-based Movement

In August, the F-1 category will advance by ten months and 2 weeks for all nationals, except for those from Mexico and the Philippines. While the dates for nationals of the Philippines will remain the same as last month, the dates for nationals of Mexico will advance by three weeks and two days.

The F-2A category will leap forward by one year, six months, and three weeks for all nationals (!).

The F-2B category will advance by one month and ten days for all nationals, except for nationals from Mexico, for whom there will be no forward movement, and nationals from the Philippines, for whom there will be a two-week and three-day advancement.

The F-3 category will advance by one month for all nationals, except for nationals of the Philippines.

The F-4 category will move forward by eight months for all nationals, except for nationals of India, Mexico, and the Philippines for whom the dates will stay the same.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

As mentioned above, USCIS will continue to honor the Dates for Filing chart (further below) for family-based immigrant visa categories in August.

  • 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 August 2026, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing (below) should be used only for family-based categories.

 
 

If the priority date for your 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 August.

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