The US Department of State has published the January 2026 Visa Bulletin, outlining updated cutoff dates for employment-based immigrant visas. These dates determine when green card applicants can complete the final steps of the process or submit required documents to the National Visa Center. The bulletin applies to applications with demand received by December 2.
For many Indian professionals waiting in long green card backlogs, the bulletin brings some positive news, especially in the top employment-based categories.
EB1: Big advance for India
In the Employment-Based First Preference (EB1) category, India sees a significant improvement. The cutoff date advances to February 1, 2023, from March 15, 2022. This nearly 11-month jump means more Indian applicants with priority dates before February 2023 may now move closer to green card approval.
For all other countries, EB1 remains current, meaning there is no backlog and visas are immediately available.
EB1: Slow but steady progress
In the EB2, which includes professionals with advanced degrees, India's cutoff date moves forward to July 15, 2013, from May 15, 2013. While the progress is modest, it still represents forward movement, known for long delays.
For applicants from all other countries, EB2 advances significantly to April 1, 2024.
EB3 and other workers
The EB3 category, covering skilled workers and professionals, also shows movement. India's cutoff date advances to November 15, 2013, from September 22, 2013. For all countries, EB3 is now set at April 22, 2023.
In the EB3 other workers subcategory, India matches the EB3 cutoff at November 15, 2013, while other countries remain far behind with a cutoff of September 1, 2021.
EB4 and EB5 updates
The EB4 category, which includes certain special immigrants, advances slightly to January 1, 2021, from September 1, 2020.
In the EB5 investor visa category, India's cutoff date moves forward to May 1, 2022, from July 1, 2021. EB5 remains current for all other countries and for all three EB5 set-aside categories, rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure projects.
Visa limits and filing rules
For fiscal year 2026, the family-sponsored immigrant visa cap is 226,000, while employment-based visas total at least 140,000. The per-country limit is 7 per cent, or 25,620 visas.
Unless USCIS announces otherwise, applicants filing adjustment of status applications must rely on the Final Action Dates chart when determining eligibility.
Overall, the January 2026 Visa Bulletin offers cautious optimism, especially for Indian applicants, while highlighting the continued challenges of the US green card backlog system
