November Visa Bulletin Still Unpublished After October's Record-Late Release; China EB-2 Final Action Date Advanced to October 2021
As of mid-October, the U.S. Department of State has not yet published the November Visa Bulletin; until it appears, the October bulletin governs filings through October 31. According to immigration law firms and media reports, the October bulletin itself was released only around September 28 — two days before the new fiscal year began and the latest October release in years — with no reason given by the department.
The current October bulletin is the first of fiscal year 2027. For China-mainland-born applicants, key employment-based Final Action Dates are: EB-1 at July 1, 2023 (unchanged), EB-2 advanced to October 1, 2021, EB-3 advanced to January 8, 2022, and EB-5 unreserved unchanged at December 1, 2016; the EB-5 rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure set-asides are current. On the Dates for Filing chart, EB-1 is July 1, 2024, EB-2 is January 1, 2023, and EB-3 is April 1, 2024.
USCIS has announced that October adjustment-of-status filings use the Dates for Filing chart for both family- and employment-based categories, though final approval still requires the Final Action Date to reach an applicant's priority date. In the family categories, the F2A final action date stands at September 22, 2026, worldwide.
Beyond the bulletin delay, immigration media have reported that the State Department froze immigrant visa interviews worldwide starting August 25 to retrain consular officers under new public-charge screening, with no restart date announced. Applicants are awaiting the November bulletin for signals on EB-2 and EB-3 movement.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 护照与美国国旗（示意图）。图：Cytis／Wikimedia Commons，CC0。A passport and the U.S. flag (illustration). Photo: Cytis / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
