Years behind, by category and country
Each figure is the gap between the November 2026 bulletin month and the cut-off date on the chart USCIS accepts (Dates for Filing for family, Dates for Filing for employment). C means current, U means unavailable.[1][2]
| Category | Rest of world | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 17.9 | 11.5 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 15.6 | 12.1 |
| F3 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 23.9 | 20.0 |
| F4 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 19.7 | 25.5 | 17.6 |
| EB-1 | C | 2.3 | 2.3 | C | C |
| EB-2 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 11.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| EB-3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 11.8 | 2.3 | 2.8 |
| EB-3 Other Workers | 4.3 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
| EB-4 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| EB-5 Unreserved | C | 5.7 | 2.5 | C | C |
The backlog is a floor, not a forecast. A category whose date moves slower than the calendar takes longer than its backlog to clear. Use the priority date calculator for a projection on your own date.
Why the wait can be longer than the backlog
Over the last five years, the family Dates for Filing cut-offs advanced at these speeds relative to the calendar (1.0 means one month of movement per month):[1]
| Category | Rest of world | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | 0.94 | 0.94 | 0.94 | 1.67 | 0.00 |
| F2A | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| F2B | 0.79 | 0.79 | 0.79 | 2.09 | 0.20 |
| F3 | 1.24 | 1.24 | 1.24 | 0.45 | 0.61 |
| F4 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 0.22 | 0.38 | 1.03 |
A pace of 0.5 means the queue moves half as fast as time passes, so a 10-year backlog takes about 20 years for a new applicant. The visa bulletin predictions page applies the same idea to every category with ranges.
Family wait times since 2015
F4, brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, carries the longest family backlogs.[4]
- Rest of world
- China
- India
- Mexico
- Philippines
Vertical axis: the cut-off date printed in the bulletin. “Current” is plotted at the bulletin month; gaps are months when USCIS used the other chart or the category was unavailable.
- Rest of world
- China
- India
- Mexico
- Philippines
Vertical axis: the cut-off date printed in the bulletin. “Current” is plotted at the bulletin month; gaps are months when USCIS used the other chart or the category was unavailable.
Who has no wait at all
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, meaning spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of citizens who are 21 or older, are not subject to the annual preference limits and never appear in the Visa Bulletin.[3] Their timeline is set by USCIS processing alone, which our green card processing time page tracks. The diversity visa lottery has its own 55,000 visas a year and no priority-date queue. Preference categories are capped at a family floor of 226,000 and an employment level of about 140,000 numbers a year, with no country taking more than 7%.[3][5]
See each category in detail: F2A, EB-2, EB-3. Mexico's family dates are summarized in Spanish on the boletín de visas page.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the green card wait time for siblings (F4)?
In November 2026, the F4 cut-off is 14.0 years behind for most countries, 19.7 years for India, 25.5 years for Mexico and 17.6 years for the Philippines. A new petition can take longer because the date moves slower than the calendar.
Which green card category has the shortest wait?
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens have no Visa Bulletin wait. Among preference categories, F2A and most employment categories for countries other than India and China are current or close to current in many months.
Does the wait time include USCIS processing?
No. These figures are only the Visa Bulletin queue. USCIS still needs time to approve the I-130 or I-140 and to decide the I-485 or the consulate to issue the visa; see our processing-time pages.
Sources
- When to File Your Adjustment of Status Application for Family-Sponsored or Employment-Based Preference Visas: November 2026
- Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
- 8 U.S.C. 1151 (INA 201): worldwide level of immigration
- 8 U.S.C. 1153 (INA 203): allocation of immigrant visas
- 8 U.S.C. 1152 (INA 202): numerical limitations on individual foreign states
- The Visa Bulletin (monthly publication and archive)