The U.S. Department of State's June 2026 Visa Bulletin has landed with a jolt for tens of thousands of Indian-born professionals in the employment-based green card pipeline.
The bulletin delivers a significant setback for Indian employment-based applicants, with steep retrogressions in both the EB-1 and EB-2 categories as immigrant visa demand continues to surge.
Meanwhile,
USCIS will again require use of the Final Action Dates chart — rather than the more permissive Dates for Filing chart — for employment-based adjustment of status filings.
The combination of backward movement and a restrictive filing standard marks what may be the most consequential month for Indian EB applicants in FY 2026.
What Changed: The Numbers
The headline figures are stark.
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.
Here are the key cutoff dates for the June 2026 Final Action Dates chart:
- EB-1 India:
- EB-1 China:
- EB-1 All Other Countries:
- EB-2 India:
- EB-2 China:
- EB-3 India:
- EB-3 China:
EB-5 set-aside categories remain current for all countries, continuing to offer one of the few immediately available immigrant visa pathways for many applicants.
Why It Happened: High Demand Meets Per-Country Limits
The State Department did not mince words about the cause.
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.
The retrogression follows months of aggressive forward movement earlier in the fiscal year.
In the April 2026 Visa Bulletin, the DOS announced the welcome end of certain visa processing queues — for the first time in years, priority dates in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories of the Dates for Filing chart became "current."
That optimism was short-lived.
Adding to the urgency,
the Department of State separately confirmed that the fiscal year 2026 annual limit for visa issuance in the India EB-2 category had been reached and no more immigrant visas would be issued within this category until next fiscal year.
The announcement came on May 22, 2026.
This means that
while India EB-2 applicants may continue to file their applications if their priority dates are current in the visa bulletin, they will not receive immigrant visas for the rest of FY 2026, which ends on September 30.
USCIS Confirms Final Action Dates — A Restrictive Posture
The filing chart designation compounds the impact.
For June 2026, 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.
This is the second consecutive month USCIS has opted for the more restrictive chart.
Despite priority dates remaining current in certain EB-2 and EB-3 categories of the Dates for Filing chart in the May and June 2026 Visa Bulletins, the agency instead would be using the Final Action Dates chart to determine who is eligible to file an AOS application.
The practical consequence is clear:
because USCIS has designated the Final Action Dates chart as the operative chart, 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.
For family-sponsored applicants, the news is somewhat better.
USCIS confirmed a split approach: applicants in Family-Sponsored preference categories should use the Dates for Filing chart.
More Retrogression May Be Coming
The State Department issued multiple warnings that the situation could worsen before the fiscal year ends.
EB-1 and EB-2 India will retrogress in June, and the State Department warns that further retrogressions in these categories, or making the categories unavailable, may be necessary before the fiscal year ends on September 30, 2026.
Additional categories are also at risk.
Additional retrogression in EB-1, EB-2 (India and China), EB-3 (Philippines), and EB-5 Unreserved (India) is possible before the end of FY 2026.
Visa categories may become "Unavailable" prior to the end of the fiscal year if annual limits, category limits, or pro-rated per-country limits are reached.
What This Means for Applicants
The retrogression has immediate and far-reaching consequences:
For EB-2 India applicants:
The sharp retrogression — moving backward nearly a year — will impact thousands of adjustment applicants and may delay final green card approval for many already in the pipeline.
With the per-country limit already exhausted, even applicants whose priority dates are technically current cannot receive their green cards until the October 1 reset.
For pending I-485 applications:
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.
As long as a Form I-485 is pending, applicants remain eligible to apply for and renew their employment authorization document (EAD) and advance parole.
For applicants 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.
Looking Ahead: The October Reset
Despite the bleak summer outlook, there is a structural reason for cautious optimism.
Expect a meaningful reset on October 1, 2026. The new fiscal year brings a fresh ~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.
In the near term, however,
further retrogression is likely in July or August — potentially into mid-2022 for EB-1 India — and an "unavailable" designation in late summer is possible.
Practical Steps for Applicants and Employers
Immigration practitioners are urging proactive measures. Key steps include:
-
Confirming whether a priority date is current under the Final Action Dates chart — not just the Dates for Filing chart — before submitting an adjustment of status application in June 2026.
- For India-chargeability applicants, assessing the impact of retrogression on case timelines and considering whether EB-3 downgrade strategies may be viable given EB-3 India's modest forward movement.
- Monitoring the USCIS website for any mid-month updates affecting chart availability.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Applicants should consult a qualified immigration attorney regarding their specific circumstances.