US Visa Bulletin April 2026: India's EB-2 Green Card queue jumps 11 months

US Visa Bulletin April 2026: EB-2 India sees 11-month jump as USCIS opens filing window for Indian green card applicants

Continuing the forward movement seen last month, the US State Department’s April 2026 Visa Bulletin, released today, shows movement in key employment-based categories, with EB-2 for India advancing by 11 months and EB-1 moving ahead by four months. China, however, saw no movement in EB-2. The update shows movement across several employment-based categories and confirms that US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications in March using the Dates for Filing chart.

 

What is the US visa bulletin? Why is it closely watched

 

The US State Department issues a monthly update that tells people when they can get a US Green Card. The bulletin shows three main dates: Final Action Date, which is the date when your Green Card can actually be approved; Date for Filing, which is the date when you can submit your application paperwork; and Priority Date, which is the date your employer starts your Green Card process.

   

The visa bulletin is closely watched as countries like India and China have large backlogs. The movement of these dates cannot be predicted, and in some months there is no movement at all.

 

US visa bulletin April 2026

 

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on its Visa Bulletin-related web page that the agency will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications based on the Dates for Filing chart in April.

 

The Dates for Filing cutoff dates decide 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 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 will 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 the 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 the 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. 

 

Final action dates in April

 

Under the April bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates for issuing an immigrant visa or approving an adjustment of status application are 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 by one and a half years, becoming current.

EB-3 professionals and skilled workers: China will advance by six weeks to June 15, 2021. India and the 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. 

 

Movement reflects case processing shift

 

“This is not just incremental movement. This is real progress,” said Rahul Reddy, immigration lawyer, in a blog post. “If your priority date is before January 15, 2015, and USCIS allows the use of the Dates for Filing chart, you may now be eligible to file your I-485. That means access to EAD, Advance Parole, and job flexibility, which are major benefits for thousands of Indian professionals stuck in the backlog.”

 

“For those waiting on approvals, the forward movement in Final Action Dates signals that USCIS is actively clearing older cases. This is often a leading indicator of more movement in upcoming months,” he added.

 

Reddy linked the movement partly to shifting visa demand. “This kind of advancement does not happen randomly. It indicates that visa number usage is being managed more efficiently or that demand has softened slightly, both of which can benefit Indian applicants in the short term,” he said. 

 

“But let’s be clear. This is not the end of the backlog problem. It is a positive window, not a permanent fix,” he added.

 

For many other countries, there is no visa backlog in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. EB-2 is the employment-based second preference category meant for highly skilled professionals such as engineers, doctors, data scientists, and researchers. EB-3 is the employment-based third preference category meant for mid-level skilled workers, including IT employees.

 

How are employment-based green cards divided?

 

Employment-based immigrant visas are split across five preferences, each with a fixed share of the annual global quota and its own eligibility rules.

 

EB-1

– Priority workers

– Individuals with extraordinary ability

– Outstanding professors and researchers

– Certain multinational executives and managers

 

EB-2

– Professionals with advanced degrees or individuals of exceptional ability

– Professionals with advanced degrees

– Individuals with exceptional ability in sciences, arts or business

 

EB-3

– skilled workers, professionals and Other Workers

– Skilled workers and professionals

– “Other Workers” doing unskilled labour, subject to a 10,000 visa cap

 

EB-4

– Certain special immigrants

– Some religious workers

– Certain employees of US foreign service posts

– Other special categories set by statute

 

EB-5

– Employment creation

– 20 per cent reserved for rural projects

– 10 per cent for high unemployment areas

– 2 per cent for infrastructure projects

– The remaining 68 per cent unreserved and open to other qualifying investments