The U.S. Department of State's June 2026 Visa Bulletin has sent shockwaves through the employment-based immigration community, delivering steep retrogression for India-born applicants in the EB-1 and EB-2 categories while USCIS simultaneously tightens filing eligibility by mandating the more restrictive Final Action Dates chart.
The Numbers: A Dramatic Step Backward
In June, the Final Action Date for EB-2 India will retrogress by more than 10 months, while the EB-1 India Final Action Date will retrogress by three and a half months.
Specifically,
EB-1 India retrogressed from April 1, 2023, to December 15, 2022, and EB-2 India saw a massive retrogression from July 15, 2014, to September 1, 2013.
Not all news was bleak.
The Final Action Dates for EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers will advance by six weeks for China and by one month for India.
All other countries in the EB-1 category will continue to be current.
The State Department made clear this was a necessary response to surging demand.
High demand and number use by aliens chargeable to India in the EB-1 and EB-2 visa categories made it necessary to retrogress the final action dates to hold number use within the FY 2026 annual limit.
USCIS Mandates Final Action Dates: A Double Blow
Compounding the retrogression,
USCIS has confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Final Action Dates chart to determine eligibility to file adjustment of status applications.
Because USCIS has designated the Final Action Dates chart as the operative chart for June 2026, the Dates for Filing chart is not available for employment-based adjustment of status applications this month. Applicants who were eligible to file under the Dates for Filing chart but whose priority dates are not yet current under the Final Action Dates chart will be unable to file in June 2026.
This decision carries particular weight given the context.
For the first time in years, priority dates in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories of the Dates for Filing chart had become "current" in the April 2026 bulletin, indicating no processing queue or wait time.
But USCIS changed course and announced that despite priority dates remaining current in certain EB-2 and EB-3 categories of the Dates for Filing chart, the agency would be using the Final Action Dates chart—a decision that stopped some of the motion brought on by the DOS moves in April 2026.
For family-sponsored applicants, the picture is more favorable.
USCIS confirmed that applicants filing for adjustment of status must use the Dates for Filing chart for Family-Sponsored preference categories and the Final Action Dates chart for Employment-Based preference categories.
EB-2 India: Annual Limit Already Exhausted
In a development that underscores the severity of the situation,
the State Department, working in close collaboration with USCIS, has issued all available immigrant visas in the EB-2 category for applicants chargeable to India for FY 2026.
The announcement came on May 22, 2026.
As a result, U.S. embassies and consulates may not issue immigrant visas in the EB-2 preference category to India-chargeable applicants, and EB-2 based adjustment of status applications filed with USCIS may not be approved until the government fiscal year resets on October 1, 2026.
There is a narrow silver lining for some:
USCIS will still accept EB-2 India adjustment of status filings that are current in the June Visa Bulletin, and applicants with scheduled adjustment of status interviews should still plan to attend.
However,
a pending adjustment of status application is not automatically denied when a category becomes unavailable—it waits until a visa number is available again, which for EB-2 India means the October 1, 2026 reset.
More Retrogression Ahead?
The State Department's warnings suggest the worst may not be over.
Further retrogressions, or making the categories "unavailable," may be necessary in the coming months if India's pro-rated limits in the EB-1 or EB-2 categories are reached before the fiscal year ends.
The bulletin also flagged additional categories at risk.
EB-2 China may face retrogression or unavailability due to increased demand. EB-3 Philippines may require retrogression later in the fiscal year. And EB-5 Unreserved for India may face retrogression or unavailability as early as next month.
Analysts are watching closely.
EB-1 India may face further retrogression in July or August—potentially into mid-2022—and an "unavailable" designation in late summer is possible, though a meaningful forward jump is expected when FY 2027 begins on October 1, 2026.
Why This Is Happening Now
The aggressive forward movement the DOS pushed in prior months was meant to use FY 2026 numbers in light of reduced issuance from certain countries due to Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998 and related processing updates.
Those proclamations, which restrict visa issuance to nationals of dozens of countries,
fully or partially suspended entry for and visa issuance to nationals of 39 countries.
The resulting reduction in demand from affected countries created surplus visa numbers that were redirected to oversubscribed categories like India—but that well has now run dry.
India has roughly 66,700 employment-based I-485s already on file—about 21,900 EB-1, 27,700 EB-2, and 17,100 EB-3 as of January 2026—against a combined FY 2026 supply near 30,800.
The math is simple and sobering: demand overwhelmingly exceeds supply.
Practical Implications for Applicants and Employers
For EB-2 India applicants: No new immigrant visas or green card approvals will be issued until October 1, 2026.
As long as your Form I-485 is pending, you remain eligible to apply for and renew your employment authorization document (EAD) and advance parole.
Pending cases are not denied—they are paused.
For EB-1 India applicants: Only those with priority dates before December 15, 2022, may file for adjustment of status in June under the Final Action Dates chart. Further tightening is likely in coming months.
For employers:
Employers sponsoring high volumes of India-born employees in the EB-2 pipeline should assess risk in light of the potential for further retrogression or unavailability before September 30, 2026.
For those considering alternatives:
EB-5 continues to be an attractive alternative for certain applicants facing prolonged EB-1 and EB-2 backlogs, particularly where concurrent filing benefits remain available.
EB-5 set-aside categories remain current for all countries.
Looking Ahead
The new fiscal year beginning October 1, 2026, brings a fresh approximately 140,000 EB numbers and new per-country allocations. India and China applicants who were paused during summer retrogressions should see significant forward movement in the October 2026 bulletin.
Until then, applicants and their counsel should monitor the Visa Bulletin closely each month, maintain all pending applications in good standing, and consider whether alternative filing strategies—including EB-3 downgrade filings or EB-5 pathways—may be appropriate given the uncertain landscape ahead.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance on how these changes affect your specific case, please consult with an immigration attorney.