Who can file an F4 petition?

A U.S. citizen who is at least 21, for a brother or sister.

What happens if the U.S. citizen petitioner dies?

The approved petition is generally revoked, but humanitarian reinstatement or INA 204(l) relief may be possible. Talk to an attorney.

Do the sibling's kids need their own petition?

Not if they are unmarried and under 21 (or CSPA-protected) when the visa is issued.

Why is F4 (siblings of U.S. citizens) the slowest Visa Bulletin line?

Updated November 12, 2026 · Not legal advice

F4 is for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 and gets 65,000 visas a year plus numbers unused by F1 to F3. Demand is far larger than that, and each sibling's spouse and children also use numbers, so F4 cutoffs are typically many years behind, longest for countries like Mexico and the Philippines.

F4: current cutoff dates

See the current bulletin for this month's F4 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).

F4 at a glance (INA 203(a)(4))
Item	Rule
Annual limit	65,000 plus numbers not required for F1 to F3
Who	Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens aged 21+
Derivatives	Sibling's spouse and unmarried children under 21
If the petitioner dies	The petition is generally revoked; humanitarian reinstatement or INA 204(l) may help

Reading F4 cutoffs

An F4 cutoff shows the priority date being processed now, not how long new filers will wait. If the cutoff is many years behind the bulletin month, today's filers can expect at least that long, often longer if demand keeps growing.

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

Who can file an F4 petition?: A U.S. citizen who is at least 21, for a brother or sister.
What happens if the U.S. citizen petitioner dies?: The approved petition is generally revoked, but humanitarian reinstatement or INA 204(l) relief may be possible. Talk to an attorney.
Do the sibling's kids need their own petition?: Not if they are unmarried and under 21 (or CSPA-protected) when the visa is issued.

What to do next: get your Visa Bulletin alert

Set F4 and your country: we email you when the cutoff moves, which may be rare but matters when it happens.

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Sources

Checked: November 12, 2026