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F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin October 2026: Cutoffs & Movement

F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin October 2026: official cutoffs, Chart A and Chart B, 12/36-month movement, USCIS filing-chart guidance, FAQ, and source links.

Issue: October 2026Data updated: USCIS filing chart

F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin tracks the current Chart A and Chart B cutoff dates, USCIS filing-chart source, and recent 12/36-month movement.

Use this page as a crawlable, shareable reference for the category rather than a one-off filter state on the homepage.

Check your priority date against both charts before making a filing plan: Chart A is closer to final approval, while Chart B is only an I-485 filing window when USCIS allows it for the month.

Current official cutoffs

F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin current Chart A and Chart B

Chart A: Final Action Dates

Jan 22, 2020Latest official issue: September 2026
Last 12 months
Advanced 1286 days
Last 36 months
Advanced 1847 days
View DOS source

Chart B: Dates for Filing

Feb 1, 2020Latest official issue: September 2026
Last 12 months
Advanced 883 days
Last 36 months
Advanced 883 days
View DOS source

Movement history

Last 12 official cutoff rows

Positive movement means the cutoff advanced. Negative movement means retrogression. Blank movement usually means Current, Unavailable, or no comparable date.

IssueChart AChart A movementChart BChart B movement
September 2026Jan 22, 2020Advanced 403 daysFeb 1, 2020Advanced 231 days
August 2026Dec 15, 2018Advanced 317 daysJun 15, 2019Advanced 165 days
July 2026Feb 1, 2018Advanced 153 daysJan 1, 2019Advanced 92 days
June 2026Sep 1, 2017No changeOct 1, 2018No change
May 2026Sep 1, 2017Advanced 123 daysOct 1, 2018Advanced 214 days
April 2026May 1, 2017Advanced 174 daysMar 1, 2018Advanced 181 days
March 2026Nov 8, 2016No changeSep 1, 2017No change
February 2026Nov 8, 2016No changeSep 1, 2017No change
January 2026Nov 8, 2016No changeSep 1, 2017No change
December 2025Nov 8, 2016No changeSep 1, 2017No change
November 2025Nov 8, 2016No changeSep 1, 2017No change
October 2025Nov 8, 2016Advanced 116 daysSep 1, 2017No change

Category background

Understanding F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin: history, demand drivers, and pitfalls

Adult children of citizens: the F1 wait

F1 covers unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens who are 21 or older — the children who aged past the 'immediate relative' line where no quota applies. The worldwide queue runs the better part of a decade, against an annual cap of 23,400 plus whatever fourth-preference numbers go unused.

The cruel mechanics: marriage moves a beneficiary from F1 to F3, which is years slower, and a parent naturalizing converts a faster F2B case into F1 — which for some countries is actually a downgrade. Families routinely time weddings and naturalization around exactly the dates on this page.

Reading F1 movement honestly

F1 advances in lurches: months of stagnation, then catch-up jumps when DOS rebalances family categories at the fiscal-year boundary. The 36-month summary above smooths the lurches into an honest annual pace — typically a fraction of a calendar year per year, which is why the queue persists.

If the beneficiary is from Mexico or the Philippines, the worldwide line on this page is not your line — those countries run their own dramatically older F1 cutoffs, and the per-country tables in the official bulletin linked above are the controlling source.

FAQ

Common questions

What is the current Chart A cutoff for F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin?

The F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin Chart A / Final Action cutoff shown for October 2026 is Jan 22, 2020. If October 2026 is not published yet, the page uses the latest official DOS bulletin available.

What is the current Chart B cutoff for F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin?

The F1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin Chart B / Dates for Filing cutoff is Feb 1, 2020. Whether Chart B can be used for I-485 filing still depends on the USCIS filing-chart guidance for the month.

Is this legal advice?

No. This is source-backed Visa Bulletin data and historical movement context from DOS and USCIS sources, not case-specific legal advice. Use it to compare your own priority date against Chart A and Chart B, then confirm the USCIS monthly filing-chart guidance before making a filing decision.

Official sources

DOS and USCIS source links

DOS Visa Bulletin archiveUSCIS Adjustment of Status Filing ChartsUSCIS September 2026 Adjustment of Status Filing Charts

Keep reading

All Visa Bulletin pages

Every employment-based and family-based category page plus a monthly archive of each Visa Bulletin: official cutoffs, Chart A vs Chart B, movement history, and DOS and USCIS source links.

EB-1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin

EB-1 Worldwide Visa Bulletin cutoffs, Chart A / Chart B comparison, movement history, and official sources.

EB-2 Worldwide Visa Bulletin

EB-2 Worldwide Visa Bulletin cutoffs, Chart A / Chart B comparison, movement history, and official sources.

EB-3 Worldwide Visa Bulletin

EB-3 Worldwide Visa Bulletin cutoffs, Chart A / Chart B comparison, movement history, and official sources.

Other Workers Worldwide Visa Bulletin

Other Workers Worldwide Visa Bulletin cutoffs, Chart A / Chart B comparison, movement history, and official sources.

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