USCIS Has Blocked the Employment-Based Filing Window for Five Straight Months. October Is Where That Changes.

What the filing window actually is

The Visa Bulletin gives you two separate cutoff dates for each employment-based category: the Final Action Date and the Dates for Filing date. The Final Action Date is the hard line — your priority date needs to be before it to get your I-485 approved. The Dates for Filing date is earlier, and it governs a separate question: when can you submit your I-485 application package to USCIS, even if your Final Action Date has not arrived yet.

That second window — filing before your Final Action Date — is what practitioners call Chart B, or the Dates for Filing chart. Every month, USCIS publishes a separate announcement deciding whether that earlier window is open for employment-based adjustment of status filings. It is not automatic. It requires USCIS's affirmative determination that there is enough visa number supply in the pipeline to absorb new applications without outrunning the available numbers.

Why does filing early matter if your I-485 cannot be approved yet? Because submission triggers everything downstream. The day USCIS receives your I-485, you become eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole — the combination that lets you work for any employer and travel internationally while the application sits pending. For H-1B workers who want the freedom to change jobs without losing their place in the green card queue, that earlier filing date can mean years of added flexibility.

What disappeared in April — and stayed gone through September

For most of the period between 2017 and early 2026, USCIS allowed Chart B for employment-based applicants more months than not. The Dates for Filing window was a normal part of how the system worked in practice, even for categories like EB-2 and EB-3 where Final Action Dates moved slowly.

That changed in 2026. USCIS killed Chart B for employment-based applications effective April 30. May came without it. June, July, August, and now September — five consecutive months with Final Action Dates only for employment-based I-485 filings. If you have a priority date that falls between the Final Action Date and the Dates for Filing cutoff, those five months have been months where filing was simply not an option.

The reasons USCIS cites are consistent: demand projections, visa number supply, and the need to control the pipeline so that approved applications can actually be matched with visa numbers. When fiscal-year supply is depleted — as it has been in EB-2 India since May 2026, EB-5 Unreserved since July, and as EB-1 India risks before September 30 — accepting Chart B filings would stack applications in the queue that cannot be approved before the year closes. That increases backlogs without moving anyone forward.

Why October is the strongest case for restoration

October 1 is the first day of fiscal year 2027. The annual supply of 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas resets completely. Categories that have been Unavailable since May reopen. The Department of State publishes the October bulletin in mid-September — expected this year around September 15 to 22 — and that bulletin sets the opening dates for FY2027.

October is historically the month when USCIS is most likely to allow Chart B for employment-based categories. The logic is straightforward: at the start of a fiscal year, demand projections are based on a full twelve months of supply. There is no end-of-year exhaustion pressure. The pipeline is fresh. If USCIS determines it can absorb Chart B filings without depleting the allocation too quickly, October is where that decision is made.

The FY2027 numbers make the case stronger than usual. Family-based visa numbers that went unused in FY2026 are estimated to spill over into the employment-based pool at approximately 81,000 visas — creating a total employment-based supply of around 221,000 for FY2027, significantly above the statutory 140,000 base. EB-2 worldwide is projected to receive roughly 63,200 of those numbers. With a larger pool than the base allocation, the pressure to ration Chart B access is lower than it would be in a typical year.

What the specific October numbers look like

For EB-2 India, the Department of State has projected the Final Action Date will restart at approximately July 15, 2014 or earlier when the October bulletin publishes — coming back from the Unavailable status it has held since May. The Dates for Filing chart, if USCIS activates it, typically runs three to six months ahead of the Final Action Date. That would place the Dates for Filing cutoff for EB-2 India somewhere in the range of October 2014 to January 2015 — covering a meaningfully larger population than the Final Action Date alone.

For EB-1 India, the October bulletin will almost certainly show an advance from the September date of October 15, 2022. If Chart B opens, the Dates for Filing for EB-1 India would be ahead of that — potentially reaching into 2023 — covering applicants who have been watching but could not file under Final Action Dates only.

For EB-3 rest-of-world, September's Final Action Date was September 1, 2024. That category has been advancing steadily. In October, with fresh numbers and a likely Chart B opening, applicants with priority dates in late 2024 or even early 2025 could find themselves inside a filing window they have not had access to since April. EB-3 China and EB-2 China applicants near the current cutoffs would see similar effects.

What changes for you if the window opens

Filing your I-485 does not approve your green card. What it does is start the clock on benefits you can access while you wait for final approval. An I-485 receipt makes you eligible to apply for an EAD — Form I-765 — that gives you open-market work authorization not tied to your current H-1B employer. It also makes you eligible to apply for Advance Parole — Form I-131 — which is your travel document if you need to leave the country while the I-485 is pending.

For H-1B workers years into the green card queue, the EAD and AP combination is often the most immediately valuable outcome of filing. With an EAD, you can change jobs or industries without a transfer petition and without going back into the H-1B cap lottery. With AP, you can travel internationally without maintaining H-1B status through your current employer. Both expire and must be renewed, but as long as the underlying I-485 is pending and the category stays active, renewals continue.

If Chart B opens in October and closes again in November or December — which has happened in prior fiscal years — the window could be narrow. Acting during October, not waiting to see whether November is also open, is how applicants historically capture these windows. Chart B availability is a monthly call, not a season-long commitment.

How to be ready before the October bulletin drops

The October bulletin is expected around September 15 to 22. USCIS typically announces its chart decision — which chart governs I-485 filings for that month — within 24 to 48 hours of DOS publishing the bulletin on travel.state.gov. That means the actionable window between the bulletin dropping and needing to file can be measured in days.

Being ready means having your package prepared before the bulletin: an approved I-140 in good standing, civil documents for yourself and any co-applicants, and your employer's I-485 support documentation if the petition is employer-sponsored. Most of those documents you likely already have. What takes more lead time is the Form I-693 medical exam.

The I-693 is completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon and must be sealed before submission. Civil surgeons have appointment backlogs — sometimes weeks. The exam takes time. The sealed report can only be submitted with the I-485 itself, not held in draft indefinitely, though a completed I-693 remains valid for two years from the examination date. If your priority date might fall inside the October Dates for Filing cutoff for your category, schedule the medical exam now. Waiting until after the bulletin drops to begin the scheduling process is a reliable way to miss the window.

What if October does not bring it back?

USCIS is not required to allow Chart B for employment-based applicants. It is a discretionary monthly decision. If the October bulletin shows favorable Dates for Filing cutoffs but USCIS announces Final Action Dates only, the filing window stays closed for another month. That has happened — USCIS has declined Chart B at the start of fiscal years before, though it is less common in October than in the months when supply is tighter.

If October does not open Chart B, watch November and December. The start of the fiscal year is the most favorable period, but it is not the only time USCIS has restored Chart B mid-year. The decision tracks the relationship between demand projections and available visa numbers; if those numbers look favorable and the pipeline is not overloaded, Chart B can return at any point in the year.

What does not change regardless of Chart B: your priority date. It is fixed at the date your PERM labor certification was filed, or the date your I-140 was filed for categories that do not require PERM labor certification. A Chart B window does not move your priority date; it moves when you can submit your I-485. Your place in the queue for final approval is still governed by your priority date against the Final Action Date when adjudication occurs.

This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Visa bulletin cutoffs, Chart B availability, and USCIS filing instructions change each month and can update mid-month. Always verify current chart instructions at uscis.gov before submitting any application. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before making filing decisions based on Chart B or any other visa bulletin development.