F2A Is Current for Filing: Spouses of Green Card Holders Can File Now

Two things are true at the same time in September 2026, and together they open a filing window that a lot of eligible people are not using.

1. F2A is listed as “Current” on the Dates for Filing chart — for every country of chargeability, including Mexico and the Philippines.
2. USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for all family-sponsored categories this month.

Put together: if you are the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of a lawful permanent resident with an approved or pending I-130, your priority date does not matter for filing purposes right now. You can file.

What the two charts say

F2A, September 2026	Worldwide	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
Dates for Filing	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
Final Action Dates	22 Aug 2026	22 Aug 2026	22 Aug 2026	22 Aug 2025	22 Aug 2026

F2A is the only family category Current on the filing chart this month. The others are years back:

Category	Dates for Filing (worldwide)
F1 — unmarried adult children of citizens	1 Feb 2020
F2A — spouses/minor children of LPRs	Current
F2B — unmarried adult children of LPRs	1 Sep 2019
F3 — married children of citizens	1 Nov 2014
F4 — siblings of citizens	1 Nov 2011

Note the Final Action row too. At 22 August 2026, the F2A final action date is roughly a month behind the bulletin itself — so F2A is close to current for approval, not only for filing. Mexico sits a year back at 22 August 2025, which is unusual for Mexico, a country that is decades behind in F3 and F4.

Why F2A behaves differently from every other family category

This is not an accident of one month. It is written into the statute.

F2A has a structural protection no other family category gets: the law exempts F2A from the ordinary per-country limit to a significant degree, on the reasoning that separating a green card holder from their spouse and minor children is a different kind of harm from a longer wait for an adult sibling.

That is why F2A for Mexico is measured in months while Mexican F4 is measured in twenty-five years — and why F2A oscillates in and out of Current while F3 and F4 crawl.

What filing actually gets you

If you are in the United States and eligible to adjust status, filing the I-485 now is not a formality. It unlocks benefits that arrive long before the green card does:

• Employment authorization (I-765) — the right to work while the case is pending.
• Advance parole (I-131) — permission to travel and return without abandoning the application. Do not leave the country without it.
• Protection for a child approaching 21 — this is the urgent one, see below.
• A pending application, which is a materially different position from an approved petition with nothing filed against it.

You can file the I-485 together with the I-765 and I-131, and there is no additional filing fee for the latter two when filed concurrently with a pending I-485. See our guides to adjustment of status, the EAD and advance parole.

The age-out problem, which is the real reason to move

F2A covers unmarried children under 21. On their 21st birthday a child moves to F2B — which is currently at 1 September 2019 on the filing chart, roughly a seven-year difference.

The Child Status Protection Act can freeze a child’s “CSPA age” and preserve F2A eligibility, but the protection is not automatic and it is not open-ended. The calculation subtracts the time the I-130 was pending from the child’s biological age, and in most cases the child must “seek to acquire” permanent residence within one year of a visa becoming available.

A month when F2A is Current on the designated chart is precisely the kind of moment that starts that clock and that a family can miss by waiting. If you have a child anywhere near 21, this is worth an attorney’s time this month rather than next year. Our CSPA guide walks through the arithmetic.

Two cautions

Filing is not approval. The Dates for Filing chart controls when USCIS accepts the application. The Final Action Dates chart controls when it can be approved — currently 22 August 2026 for most countries, 22 August 2025 for Mexico. A pending I-485 with work authorization is a good place to be; it is not a green card.

The designation changes monthly, and F2A has retrogressed before. USCIS picks which chart applies each month and publishes it separately from the bulletin. F2A being Current is not permanent — it has moved backwards in past years when demand rose. Confirm the current designation on the USCIS adjustment of status filing charts page before filing, and see how to read the Visa Bulletin for the mechanics.

October is late

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin has still not been published as of 22 September 2026 — about a week past its usual mid-month release. October opens a new fiscal year with a fresh allocation, which is generally when family dates are reset for the year ahead.

There is no October figure to plan against yet. If F2A is Current under the chart designated for September and you are eligible, that is the window you actually have.

This is general information, not legal advice. CSPA calculations and adjustment eligibility have real edge cases — particularly around prior status violations, unlawful presence and travel — and are worth confirming with an immigration attorney.