The Visa Bulletin is a monthly chart from the U.S. Department of State showing whose green card cases in capped categories can move to the next stage. You compare your priority date with the date listed for your category – if yours is earlier, the case can proceed.
Immigrant visas in capped family categories and in employment categories come with a line, and its pace changes from month to month. That is why Przemysław Jan Bloch, P.C. has for years prepared a monthly review of the latest bulletin for Poland.us readers – the November 2026 update is below.
Visa Bulletin for November 2026: dates for family and employment categories
Poland does not have a separate column in the bulletin, so people born in Poland look at the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column (the column is generally determined by country of birth, not citizenship). Below are the dates from Chart A (Final Action Dates) and – in parentheses – from Chart B (Dates for Filing).
- F1 – unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: January 22, 2021 (February 1, 2021)
- F2A – spouses and children of permanent residents: October 22, 2026 (C)
- F2B – unmarried sons and daughters (21 or older) of permanent residents: August 22, 2020 (September 1, 2020)
- F3 – married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: October 22, 2015 (November 1, 2015)
- F4 – brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens: October 22, 2012 (November 1, 2012)
- EB-1 – priority workers: C (current) (C)
- EB-2 – people with a master’s degree or higher or of exceptional ability: April 1, 2025 (March 15, 2026)
- EB-3 – skilled workers and bachelor’s degree holders: June 15, 2024 (August 1, 2024)
- EB-3 “Other Workers” – jobs requiring no qualifications: June 1, 2022 (July 1, 2022)
In November 2026, USCIS accepts adjustment of status applications (I-485) based on Chart B (Dates for Filing) – for both family-sponsored and employment-based cases (USCIS announcement for November 2026). Source: the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin.
How to read the Visa Bulletin
The key is the priority date – in family cases usually the day the I-130 petition was filed, and in employment cases the day the PERM labor certification application was filed, or the I-140 petition if no PERM was required. If your priority date is earlier than the date listed in the bulletin for your category, your case is “current.” The letter “C” (current) means there is no line that month, and “U” (unauthorized) means that visas in that category may not be issued that month.
Chart A (Final Action Dates) shows when a visa can be issued or an application approved. Chart B (Dates for Filing) allows documents to be submitted earlier – to the National Visa Center in consular processing, and in the U.S. only in months when USCIS announces that it is using it. Dates can move forward, stay in place and sometimes move back.
Capped categories at a glance
The statute lists the family categories: F1 covers unmarried adult sons and daughters of citizens, F2A – spouses and children of permanent residents, F2B – their unmarried adult sons and daughters, F3 – married sons and daughters of citizens, F4 – brothers and sisters of citizens who are at least 21. The immediate relatives of a citizen (spouse, children under 21, parents) do not wait for the bulletin because they are not subject to the caps – more on this in the article on family sponsorship and visa backlogs.
The most common employment categories are EB-2 and EB-3, and for jobs requiring no qualifications – “Other Workers,” with its own small annual cap (8 U.S.C. § 1153). The path from a job offer to a green card is described in the firm’s article on employment sponsorship and the PERM process.
The Visa Bulletin every month on Poland.us
Attorney Przemysław Jan Bloch has reviewed the Visa Bulletin for Polish-American readers for years – this page is updated every month, so it is worth bookmarking and revisiting after each new bulletin is published. More about the firm and its experience in family and employment cases – profile and client reviews on PolishPages.
The bulletin itself answers only the question “when.” The questions “whether” and “how” – whether a petition is in the right category, what happens when marital status changes, how to prepare documents for the consulate – require an assessment of the specific case. Przemysław Jan Bloch, P.C., 158 Montague Street, Brooklyn, phone 718-522-6773; the attorney speaks Polish; contact also through the firm’s full profile in the Polish business directory.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Every case requires an individual assessment – please contact Przemysław Jan Bloch, P.C. about your situation. Attorney advertising.
