How do I get notified when F2A becomes current?

Set an alert for F2A and your country: we email you when the Final Action Date or Date for Filing passes your priority date or turns C.

Why does F2A keep going back?

Retrogression usually means demand is outpacing the year's numbers; F2A's large per-country-exempt share makes it swing with total demand.

Does F2A Mexico differ?

It can: the 25% of numbers subject to the per-country limit is why Mexico sometimes has a different date.

Why does F2A move so differently from the other family categories?

Updated November 12, 2026 · Not legal advice

F2A (spouses and children under 21 of green card holders) gets at least 77% of the 114,200 F2 numbers, and 75% of F2A numbers are exempt from the per-country limit. That makes F2A the fastest family preference line for most countries, but also prone to sudden retrogression when more applicants file than numbers allow.

F2A: current cutoff dates

See the current bulletin for this month's F2A dates: official Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov. We do not copy dates by hand, so this page shows them only after our automated fetch has read the official bulletin.

USCIS says family-based adjustment applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin (USCIS filing charts).

F2A at a glance (INA 203(a)(2), 202(a)(4))
Item	Rule
F2 limit	114,200 plus any amount by which the family limit exceeds 226,000, plus unused F1
F2A share	Not less than 77% of F2
Per-country exemption	75% of F2A numbers are issued without regard to the per-country limit
Who	Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents

The pattern: jumps, current, then back

Because most F2A numbers ignore the per-country cap, the line is driven by total demand. When demand falls, the State Department can move it quickly or make it current; when many people then file, it can retrogress. Read the notes before assuming a jump will hold.

If your spouse naturalizes

When the green card holder becomes a U.S. citizen, an F2A spouse or child under 21 becomes an immediate relative and stops waiting for the bulletin.

Movement history

This table is built month by month from the official bulletins as we read them, so it only shows months we have fetched. Until then, past bulletins are in the official archive.

Quick answers

How do I get notified when F2A becomes current?: Set an alert for F2A and your country: we email you when the Final Action Date or Date for Filing passes your priority date or turns C.
Why does F2A keep going back?: Retrogression usually means demand is outpacing the year's numbers; F2A's large per-country-exempt share makes it swing with total demand.
Does F2A Mexico differ?: It can: the 25% of numbers subject to the per-country limit is why Mexico sometimes has a different date.

What to do next: get your Visa Bulletin alert

Choose F2A and your country: get an email the day it moves forward, back or becomes current.

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Sources

Checked: November 12, 2026