Family Green Card Applicants Get August Visa Bulletin Boost

The State Department's August Visa Bulletin shows significant forward movement for family-based green card applicants, particularly in the F2A category for spouses and children of permanent residents, which advanced by 18.5 months. This shift could reduce wait times for thousands of applicants in that category.

Other family-sponsored categories also saw progress, though at a slower pace. The F1 category for unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens moved forward by two weeks, while F2B for unmarried adult children of permanent residents advanced by one month. F3 and F4 categories for married children and siblings of citizens saw modest gains of two to three weeks.

In contrast, employment-based categories experienced widespread stagnation and retrogression. The EB-2 and EB-3 categories for India and China saw significant cutoffs, with EB-3 India retrogressing by over a year. The bulletin also warned of impending freezes for high-demand regions, including India and China, in the coming months.

The Visa Bulletin, issued monthly by the State Department, sets priority date cutoffs for green card applicants based on category and country of birth. Applicants with priority dates earlier than the listed cutoffs may proceed with their applications. The August bulletin reflects the final month of fiscal year 2026, which often brings adjustments as annual visa limits approach exhaustion.