United States: April 2026 Visa Bulletin – Continued Advancement in Several Employment-Based Categories; USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing
March 17, 2026
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At a glance
- The EB-2 Final Action Dates will become current in April for all countries except China and India, and the Dates for Filing for the EB-3 Professional & Skilled Worker category will become current for all countries except China, India, and Philippines.
- All other employment-based categories will either advance or remain the same in the Final Action and Dates for Filing charts.
- USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications in April from foreign nationals with a priority date that is earlier than the Dates for Filing listed in the April Bulletin.
A closer look
Continuing the forward movement observed last month, the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin shows advancement in several employment-based immigrant visa categories, with especially large advances for most countries in the Final Action Dates for the EB-2 category and the Dates for Filing for the EB-3 Professional & Skilled Worker category.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced on its own Visa Bulletin-related web page that the agency will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications based on the Visa Bulletin Dates for Filing chart in April.
The Dates for Filing cutoff dates govern when a foreign national may be eligible to submit an adjustment of status application to USCIS. To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in April, foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the Date for Filing listed for their preference category and country below:
- EB-1: China and India will remain at December 1, 2023. All other countries will continue to be current.
- EB-2: India with advance by two and a half months, to January 15, 2015. China will remain at January 1, 2022. All other countries will remain current.
- EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: All countries except India, China, and Philippines will advance by over fourteen months and become current. India will advance by five months to January 15, 2015. China will remain at January 1, 2022, and Philippines will remain at January 1, 2024.
- EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories, China will remain at October 1, 2016, and India will remain at May 1, 2024. All other countries will remain current. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will also remain current.
Under the April Bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa or approval of an adjustment of status application will be as follows:
- EB-1: China and India will advance by one month to April 1, 2023. All other countries will continue to be current.
- EB-2: China will remain at September 1, 2021, and India will advance by ten months to July 15, 2014. All other countries will advance a year and a half, becoming current.
- EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: China will advance by six weeks to June 15, 2021. India and Philippines will remain at November 15, 2013, and August 1, 2023, respectively. All other countries will advance by eight months to June 1, 2024.
- EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories, China will advance by two weeks to September 1, 2016, and India will remain at May 1, 2022. All other countries will remain current. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will also remain current.
The complete list of dates for each chart is located below.
State Department comments on availability of immigrant visas
The State Department’s April Visa Bulletin carries over last month’s note attributing the recent broad advancement in most cutoff dates to the decrease in consular immigrant visa issuance rates, which in turn is due to various actions taken by the Trump administration, including the nationality-based travel ban affecting nationals of almost 40 countries and the immigrant visa processing pause affecting nationals of 75 countries (some of which overlap with travel ban countries). The April Visa Bulletin, however, continues to warn that if demand for immigrant visa numbers increases and/or the government revises its restrictive immigrant visa actions, it may be necessary to retrogress some of these dates later in the fiscal year. The fiscal year ends on September 30, 2026.
Dates for Filing for April 2026
EB-1
China: December 1, 2023
India: December 1, 2023
All other countries: Current
EB-2
China: January 1, 2022
India: January 15, 2015
All other countries: Current
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China: January 1, 2022
India: January 15, 2015
Philippines: January 1, 2024
All other countries: Current
EB-3 Other Workers
China: October 1, 2019
India: January 15, 2015
All other countries: August 1, 2022
EB-4
All countries: January 1, 2023
EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center and Non-Regional Center)
China: October 1, 2016
India: May 1, 2024
All other countries: Current
EB-5 Set-Asides
Rural: Current for all countries
High Unemployment: Current for all countries
Infrastructure: Current for all countries
Final Action Dates for April 2026
EB-1
China: April 1, 2023
India: April 1, 2023
All other countries: Current
EB-2
China: September 1, 2021
India: July 15, 2014
All other countries: Current
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China: June 15, 2021
India: November 15, 2013
Philippines: August 1, 2023
All other countries: June 1, 2024
EB-3 Other Workers
China: February 1, 2019
India: November 15, 2013
All other countries: November 1, 2021
EB-4
All countries: July 15, 2022
EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center and Non-Regional Center)
China: September 1, 2016
India: May 1, 2022
All other countries: Current
EB-5 Set-Asides
Rural: Current for all countries
High Unemployment: Current for all countries
Infrastructure: Current for all countries
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
