The October Bulletin Is Out. Chart B Is Back. And Rest of World Just Retrogressed.

What October 1 just confirmed

Three things happened simultaneously when fiscal year 2027 began on October 1. The annual employment-based immigrant visa supply reset — 140,000 numbers plus whatever spillover comes from unused family-based allocations. USCIS confirmed it will honor the Dates for Filing chart for October employment-based adjustment of status filings — what practitioners call Chart B, and what has been suspended since April 30, a six-month gap. And Rest of World EB-2 and EB-3, the categories that had been sitting at Current for most of FY2026 with no cutoff date at all, picked up specific cutoff dates in the October bulletin.

Two of those developments are good news. One is not. All three are happening at the same time, to different populations who may not realize they need to read all three sections of the bulletin carefully. The filing window that just opened is genuine. So is the retrogression that arrived alongside it.

USCIS also confirmed Chart B for family-sponsored adjustment of status filings in October — the same monthly decision, extending to F1, F2A, F2B, F3, and F4 applicants. Several family categories advanced from September. But employment-based is where the most urgent I-485 decisions lie for the applicants who use this site.

The actual numbers, category by category

EB-2 India Final Action Date: November 1, 2013. That is the return date after EB-2 India sat at Unavailable from May through September 2026 — five months with no visa numbers available for India-born EB-2 workers and no I-485 approvals issuing in this category regardless of priority date. The Dates for Filing cutoff under Chart B is January 15, 2015. EB-3 India Final Action Date: January 1, 2014, unchanged from September 2026. The Dates for Filing cutoff for EB-3 India is also January 15, 2015.

EB-2 China Final Action Date: October 1, 2021, one month forward from September. EB-3 China Final Action Date: January 8, 2022, seven days forward from September. EB-2 Rest of World Final Action Date: January 1, 2025. In September, this category showed Current — no cutoff at all. The Dates for Filing cutoff for EB-2 ROW is March 15, 2026. EB-3 Rest of World Final Action Date: May 15, 2024, moved back from September's date of September 1, 2024. The Dates for Filing cutoff for EB-3 ROW is August 1, 2024.

EB-5 India also returned from Unavailable status in the October bulletin. Several family-based categories advanced, with F2A among the beneficiaries of the FY2027 reset. The complete bulletin is published at travel.state.gov — always verify current dates there before making any filing decisions.

Why Rest of World retrogressed at the start of a new year

The sequence looks backward on its face. A new fiscal year starts, numbers reset, and categories that had no wait now have cutoff dates. Immigration practitioners are calling the October ROW retrogression extremely unusual for the first month of a fiscal year — this type of day-one restriction typically appears in the final weeks of a fiscal year when annual limits are nearly exhausted, not at the opening of a fresh supply.

The explanation starts with how the Department of State manages quarterly and annual visa limits. The 140,000 employment-based numbers reset on October 1 but are meant to last twelve months. If DOS allows unlimited Current-status filing in October, heavy demand from ROW applicants would pull a disproportionate share of FY2027 numbers during the first quarter alone, leaving the remaining three quarters with a depleted supply. Setting a Final Action Date of January 1, 2025 for EB-2 ROW and May 15, 2024 for EB-3 ROW is DOS pacing usage to stay within quarterly limits.

The second factor is demand history. In FY2026, Rest of World EB-2 and EB-3 consumed visa numbers at an elevated rate because Current status attracted a large volume of filings and approvals throughout the year. DOS's demand modeling for FY2027 projects the same pattern continuing at the current applicant volume — and without early intervention, that demand would exhaust the worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 allocation before the fiscal year ended. Setting cutoff dates on October 1 is DOS managing that demand curve from day one rather than waiting until mid-year to apply corrections.

This is different from the India and China per-country dynamics most people in the backlog know well. Those are per-country limit mechanics specific to high-demand birth countries. The October ROW retrogression is a worldwide supply management decision. It affects applicants born in any country outside India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines — people who have generally moved through EB-2 and EB-3 quickly, often without country-specific waits.

EB-2 India is back — but the inversion did not flip

Before the October bulletin, the most widely circulated prediction among immigration analysts was that EB-2 India would return at approximately July 15, 2014 — a date that would put it ahead of EB-3 India's September 2026 position at January 1, 2014. The so-called inversion flip: EB-2 India overtaking EB-3 India for the first time since spring, reversing the months-long situation where the downgrade was the right strategic call.

The October bulletin shows EB-2 India Final Action Date at November 1, 2013. That is meaningful progress — EB-2 India is operational again after five months at Unavailable — but it lands more than seven months behind the analyst consensus. EB-3 India at January 1, 2014 still leads in the Final Action Dates chart. The inversion persists on the approval side: EB-3 India covers people through January 1, 2014; EB-2 India covers people through November 1, 2013.

The Dates for Filing chart tells a different story. Both EB-2 India and EB-3 India carry the same DFF cutoff this month: January 15, 2015. Under Chart B, a worker with a December 2013 or January 2014 priority date can file an I-485 in either category this month. The inversion matters for final approval timing — the actual grant of the green card — but for the question of whether you can get into the I-485 queue today and start your EAD and Advance Parole clock, the two categories sit at exact parity.

Workers who downgraded from EB-2 to EB-3 earlier in 2026 made the right call at the time, and EB-3 India still carries the better Final Action Date now. Do not reverse that decision based on the October numbers alone. The more important question is how EB-2 India progresses through FY2027 — the conservative October opening does not mean it stays conservative all year, and the large FY2027 spillover from family-based numbers may push it forward significantly by mid-year.

Who can file an I-485 today

Chart B is active for October, so the relevant threshold is the Dates for Filing cutoff, not just the Final Action Date. If your priority date falls before the DFF cutoff for your category and country, you can submit your I-485 today even if the Final Action Date has not yet reached your priority date. Always verify the current USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page — not just the DOS bulletin — before submitting, since USCIS posts which chart governs that month.

For EB-2 India: priority date on or before January 15, 2015 means you can file under Chart B today. If your priority date is on or before November 1, 2013, your Final Action Date is current — USCIS can approve your case when it reaches adjudication. For EB-3 India: on or before January 15, 2015 to file; on or before January 1, 2014 for current Final Action Date status.

For EB-2 ROW: priority date on or before March 15, 2026 means you can file under Chart B this month. On or before January 1, 2025 means your Final Action Date is also current. A priority date after March 15, 2026 means you cannot file this month under either chart — a direct consequence of the retrogression. For EB-3 ROW: on or before August 1, 2024 to file under Chart B; on or before May 15, 2024 for a current Final Action Date. This is a significant contraction from September, when virtually any ROW applicant with an approved I-140 could file immediately at Current.

Documents: what the current rules require

The I-485 form was revised effective September 18, 2026. The required edition shows 09/18/26 in the lower-left corner of page one. USCIS has been rejecting prior editions since that date. Every person in the filing package — primary applicant and each dependent adjusting status — needs the current edition on their individual I-485. If your attorney prepared a filing package earlier in 2026 in anticipation of a window opening, confirm the form edition before submitting.

The DHS public charge final rule took effect September 18, 2026 and applies to all I-485 filings on or after that date. For most EB-2 or EB-3 workers adjusting from H-1B with steady employment and no means-tested public benefits history, the public charge analysis is typically straightforward. The new form asks more detailed questions about benefits usage than prior editions. If you or any dependent has history with Medicaid, CHIP, or other means-tested programs, discuss that history with an immigration attorney before filing.

USCIS has operated under a no-RFE denial policy since August 2026. Under this policy, USCIS can deny an I-485 for clear evidentiary deficiencies without first issuing a Request for Evidence. An expired Form I-693 medical exam, a wrong form edition, or a missing exhibit can produce an outright denial rather than a second chance to cure. The I-693 must be from a civil surgeon examination within the last two years. If your medical exam is expired or approaching expiration, schedule an appointment with a USCIS-designated civil surgeon immediately — not after the November bulletin drops.

October is when to act — this window will not last

Chart B is a monthly determination, made fresh by USCIS each time the Department of State releases a bulletin. Prior fiscal years have seen Chart B open in October and close again within one to three months as demand projections tightened and the quarterly supply picture changed. The window the October bulletin created could be the only employment-based Chart B window of FY2027, or it could hold through early spring. You have no way to know in advance, and waiting to see has a cost.

For ROW applicants who were sitting at Current in September: your Dates for Filing window is still open this month for EB-2 (March 15, 2026) and narrower for EB-3 (August 1, 2024). The Final Action Date retrogression is the headline, but the DFF cutoffs still cover a wide range of recent priority dates. If your date falls within the DFF range and you have an approved I-140, treat October as the filing window to act on. If Chart B closes in November, that window closes with it — and the Final Action Date would need to advance considerably to reach 2024 or 2025 priority dates through Chart A alone.

For India-born workers with 2013 through early 2015 priority dates: October gives you EB-2 India returning and an active Chart B simultaneously. Neither was available for most of the past six months. EB-2 India was Unavailable from May through September. Chart B was suspended from April through September. Having both at once — even at the more conservative date than analysts predicted — is a materially better position than anything FY2026 offered after April.

This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Priority dates, form editions, filing chart availability, and USCIS policies change each month and sometimes mid-month. Always verify current chart instructions at uscis.gov before submitting any application. The information in this article is based on sources available as of October 1, 2026. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before making any filing decisions.