United States | July 2026 Visa Bulletin: Most employment-based categories advance, with exceptions for India’s Final Action Dates

The U.S. Department of State released the July 2026 Visa Bulletin, which indicates forward movement for most employment-based preference categories. However, applicants from India continue to face stagnant final action dates in several categories.

For the EB-1 category, final action dates for India advanced by two months to January 1, 2021, while China moved forward by three months to February 15, 2022. All other countries remain current. In the EB-2 category, India’s final action date remained unchanged at January 1, 2015, while China advanced by one month to June 1, 2020.

The EB-3 category saw India’s final action date hold steady at January 1, 2013, with China moving forward by two months to January 1, 2020. Other countries remain current. For EB-4 and EB-5 categories, all countries including India are current.

The bulletin also notes that the filing dates for most categories advanced, offering some relief for applicants who can now submit adjustment of status applications earlier. The State Department advises that demand and visa availability will continue to influence future movements.