April 2026 Visa Bulletin: Significant Movement and Current EB-3 Categories

The Department of State has just issued the April 2026 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Immigrant Visa):

Table B: Dates for Filing – Form I-485 Applications to Adjust Status with these priority dates or earlier may be filed with USCIS:

USCIS will continue to use Table B: Dates for Filing chart for I-485 employment-based filings in April 2026. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

This month’s visa bulletin provides welcome relief from retrogression, as several categories became current for the first time in several years.

The most significant surges forward are for Adjustments of Status under the Dates for Filing Chart, where EB-3 categories for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico are current for the first time since April 2023, and EB-2 India moved forward five months to January 15, 2015.

Under the Final Action Dates chart, EB-2 All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and Philippines are all current for the first time since November 2022. EB-3 All Chargeability Areas and Philippines moved forward 8 months, and EB-2 India moved forward 10 months.

As in March 2026, the visa bulletin again notes that the dates for filing and final action dates advanced significantly in April 2026 as a result of immigration restrictions put in place by the Trump administration. The visa bulletin notes that if immigration restrictions are later eased or if visa demand increases, retrogression could be necessary later in the fiscal year.

January 2026 Visa Bulletin: More Forward Movement in All Categories

The Department of State has just issued the January 2026 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates – Applications with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency Card) or Immigrant Visa Appointment:

Employment- based	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01FEB23	01FEB23	C	C
2nd	01APR24	01SEP21	15JUL13	01APR24	01APR24
3rd	22APR23	01MAY21	15NOV13	22APR23	22APR23

Table B: Dates for Filing

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01AUG23	01AUG23	C	C
2nd	15OCT24	01JAN22	01DEC13	15OCT24	15OCT24
3rd	01JUL23	01JAN22	15AUG14	01JUL23	01JUL23

USCIS will use Table B: Dates for Filing chart for I-485 employment-based filings in January 2026. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

EB-1: EB-1 China and EB-1 India each moved forward in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin. All other EB-1 categories remain current.

• EB-1 China: 1 week
• EB-1 India: 11 months

EB-2: EB-2 categories made the following progress forward in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin: 

• EB-2 All Chargeability, EB-2 India, EB-2 Mexico, and EB-2 Philippines: 2 months
• EB-2 China: 3 months 

EB-3: EB-3 categories made the following progress forward in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin:

• EB-3 All Chargeability, EB-3 Mexico, and EB-3 Philippines: 1 week
• EB-3 China: 1 month
• EB-3 India: 7 weeks

October 2024 Visa Bulletin: Movement Forward for EB-3

The Department of State has just issued the October 2024 Visa Bulletin, the first of the new Fiscal Year. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates - Consular applicants with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment:

Table B: Dates of Filing - Adjustment of Status applicants with these priority dates or earlier may file their Form I-485:

MU Law Analysis

EB-1 and EB-2: The Visa Bulletin for categories EB-1 and EB-2 made nearly no movement from September 2024. Only China EB-1 and EB-2 made forward progress of less than a month.

EB-3: The EB-3 categories for Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines moved forward roughly 2 years from the September 2024 visa bulletin, closely mirroring the June 2024 visa bulletin which was issued before the DOS began rolling back visa numbers for the rest of the fiscal year.

EB-3 India moved forward less than one month, while EB-3 China retrogressed 5 months from the September 2024 Visa Bulletin.

EB-1, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5 Green Cards Unavailable through September 2024

Last week, the Department of State announced that all available Green Cards had been issued for EB-1 and EB-4 categories.

The Department of State announced earlier last month that the limits had been reached for EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers and EB-5 unreserved categories.

For any category that is announced as “Unavailable”, Green Cards will not be issued to consular applicants completing an Immigrant Visa interview under that category, and Adjustment of Status applications filed under that category will not be approved until the new fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2024.

The following categories are now unavailable until October 1, 2024:

• EB-1
• EB-3
• EB-3 other workers
• EB-4
• EB-5 unreserved

As discussed in MU's blog on the September 2024 visa bulletin, visa unavailability is temporary through September 2024, and new immigrant visa numbers will become available in all categories beginning October 1, 2024.

SEPTEMBER 2024 VISA BULLETIN: EB-3 RETROGRESSED

The Department of State has just issued the September 2024 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

The USCIS will use the Table A Final Action chart for I-485 employment-based filings in September 2024. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

There was no movement forward for any employment-based category, and the EB-3 category for Philippines, Mexico, and Rest of World retrogressed an additional year, which the Department of State cautioned in the July 2024 and August 2024 Visa Bulletins.

The Visa Bulletin notes that the EB-3 category for Philippines, Mexico, and Rest of World are rapidly approaching the annual limit for FY-2024. If the annual limit of any category is reached, the Department of State will immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers will be honored.

Finally, the Department of State indicated that it anticipates final action dates will advance in October 2024.

FAQ

In response to the many questions received about this Visa Bulletin, Musillo Unkenholt provides the following FAQ:

Q.  Why do visa categories often retrogress in September?

A. The Department of State has a limited number of immigrant visas it may issue each fiscal year, which runs from October 1 – September 30. The Department of State must avoid issuing excess immigrant visa numbers before the end of the fiscal year or else it violates federal law. 

The issuance totals in the categories retrogressed in September are rapidly approaching the annual limit for FY-2024, necessitating the Visa Bulletin’s retrogression in order to slow down issuance rates. 

Q. Does this mean that the Philippine EB3 and Rest of World dates will permanently be retrogressed?

A.  No. This is a temporary retrogression in effect for the month of September. The Department of State anticipates final action dates will advance in October 2024, when the new fiscal year begins.

Q.  If I have an interview, but my priority date will retrogress in September, will I still be able to get my green card?

A.  If you have an interview before August 31, you will be able to get your green card.  However, if you do not have an interview until September, the interview may be postponed until your priority date becomes current again.

If you have questions on this month’s Visa Bulletin, please reach out to your MU attorney directly or Contact Us.

JULY 2024 VISA BULLETIN: ALL EB-3 VISAS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED

The Department of State has just issued the July 2024 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

Employment- based	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01NOV22	01FEB22	C	C
2nd	15MAR23	01MAR20	15JUN12	15MAR23	15MAR23
3rd	01DEC21	01SEP20	22SEP12	01DEC21	01DEC21

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS will use the Table A Final Action chart for I-485 employment-based filings. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

This Visa Bulletin essentially means that there will not be any more employment-based immigrant visas issued this fiscal year.  The August Visa Bulletin will likely retrogress or make unavailable all EB-3 dates. 

WHAT DOES THE AUGUST RETROGRESSION MEAN FOR FUTURE PRIORITY DATES?

The retrogression cut-off in the EB3 category pushed back priority dates to 2020.  While a retrogression is never great news, this retrogression is not as dramatic as it might seem at first look.  Our sense is that when the October 2023 visa bulletin is published, it will show an EB-3 (non-India and non-China) with a mid-2022 priority date.  However, because the Department of State is not forthcoming with their demand and usage data, please assume large error bars around our projection.

A significant retrogression of priority dates is common nearly every summer.  Visa numbers began to run out toward September 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.  The DOS is trying to use the last of the 140,000 annual employment-based visas in September.  (Note- in some years the employment-based visa quota is greater than 140,000).  While the DOS could theoretically release all 140,000 immigrant visas on October 1 every year, they do not do this so that there is a steady stream of immigrant visas throughout the year.

In October an additional 140,000 EB visas will be allocated, which is why we expect the dates to progress again.  Again, it is difficult to be too precise with an October 2023 EB-3 projection because we do not know too much about the DOS’ demand and usage data.

JUNE 2023 VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State just issued the June 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin 

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

 

EB	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
EB-1	C	01FEB22	01FEB22	C
EB-2	15FEB22	08JUN19	01JAN11	15FEB22
EB-3	01JUN22	01APR19	15JUN12	01JUN22
Other workers	01JAN20	01SEP15	15JUN12	01JAN20

USCIS

The USCIS is expected to use Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings. A Beneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart to file their I-485, Adjustment of Status applications. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis 

There was virtually no change between the June 2023 Visa Bulletin and the May 2023 Visa Bulletin, which is unsurprising given that the May 2023 VB was notably retrogressed, indicating that the State Department has probably allocated most of this fiscal year’s visas. 

The only change on the above chart was that China EB-3 Other Workers progressed four months to September 15, 2015.

The June 2023 Visa Bulletin included a statement indicating that all India EB-3 visas have been utilized. 

E. VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) FOR INDIA

Steady number use and high demand in the EB-3 category for India will most likely necessitate retrogression of the EB-3 final action date for India as early as next month to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

MAY 2023 VISA BULLETIN: EB-3 RETROGRESSION

The Department of State just issued the May 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin 

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

 

EB	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
EB-1	C	01FEB22	01FEB22	C
EB-2	15FEB22	08JUN19	01JAN11	15FEB22
EB-3	01JUN22	01APR19	15JUN12	01JUN22
Other workers	01JAN20	15APR15	15JUN12	01JAN20

USCIS

The USCIS is expected to use Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings. A Beneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart in order to file their I-485, Adjustment of Status applications. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis 

The May 2023 Visa Bulletin retrogressed Philippines and Worldwide EB-3 to June 1, 2022.  This means that unless the Beneficiary has a priority date earlier than June 1, 2022, they will unfortunately not be able to proceed with a visa appointment.  MU Law expects that this June 1, 2022 date will not progress until at least October 1, 2023.  The October 2023 Visa Bulletin, which should be released by the State Department in mid-September 2023, will be the next time that we may see forward movement in the EB-3 category. 

On the good news front, China EB-3 actually progressed five months to April 1, 2019.  China EB-2, India EB-3 and India EB3 remained unchanged.  Philippine and ROW EB-3 Other Workers, which is the category for occupations such as Nurse Aides, remains retrogressed but held steady to January 2020.