March 2026 Visa Bulletin Brings Meaningful Forward Movement

Quick Hits

• EB-1 advances for China and India.
• All EB-2 categories advance, except China.
• EB-3 advances except China and India.

Final Action Dates

The final action dates chart show the following movement in the March 2026 Visa Bulletin:

• EB-1: Advances one month for China and India; all other countries continue to be current.

• EB-2: No movement for China, India advances two months to September 15, 2013; all other countries advance to October 15, 2024.
• EB-3: All countries advance except for China-mainland (which remains at May 1, 2021) and India (which remains at November 15, 2013). The Philippines advances two months to August 1, 2023. All other countries advance by four months to October 1, 2023.
• EB-4: All countries advance to July 15, 2021.
• EB‑4 Certain Religious Workers: July 15, 2021.
• EB-5: No movement is shown.

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01MAR23	01MAR23	C	C
2nd	15OCT24	01SEP21	15SEP13	15OCT24	15OCT24
3rd	01OCT23	01MAY21	15NOV13	01OCT23	01AUG23
Other Workers	01NOV21	08DEC18	15NOV13	01NOV21	01NOV21
4th	15JUL21	15JUL21	15JUL21	15JUL21	15JUL21
Certain Religious Workers	15JUL21	15JUL21	15JUL21	15JUL21	15JUL21
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5, NU, RU)	C	15AUG16	01MAY22	C	C
5th Set Aside: Rural (20%, including NR, RR)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%, including NH, RH)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%, including RI)	C	C	C	C	C

Source: U.S. Department of State, March 2026 Visa Bulletin, Final Action Dates Chart

Dates for Filing

The dates for filing advance significantly almost across the board. Additionally, the EB-4 Certain Religious Workers subcategory was Unavailable (U) for all countries in February 2026, and is now available for January 1, 2023, for all countries.

• EB-1: China and India advance four months to December 1, 2023. All other countries remain current.
• EB-2: No movement is shown for China. India advances eleven months to November 1, 2014. All other countries become current.
• EB-3: No movement for China-mainland and India. Philippines advances to January 1, 2024, and Mexico advances to January 15, 2024. All other countries advance by more than three months to January 15, 2024.
• EB-4: All countries advance to January 1, 2023.
• EB‑4 Certain Religious Workers: January 1, 2023.
• EB-5: China advances to October 1, 2016, for 5th unreserved. No other movement is shown.

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01DEC23	01DEC23	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN22	01NOV14	C	C
3rd	15JAN24	01JAN22	15AUG14	15JAN24	01JAN24
Other Workers	22JUN22	01OCT19	15AUG14	22JUN22	22JUN22
4th	01JAN23	01JAN23	01JAN23	01JAN23	01JAN23
Certain Religious Workers	01JAN23	01JAN23	01JAN23	01JAN23	01JAN23
5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)	C	01OCT16	01MAY24	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Rural: NR, RR – 20%)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment: NH, RH – 10%)	C	C	C	C	C
5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure: RI – 2%)	C	C	C	C	C

Source: U.S. Department of State, March 2026 Visa Bulletin, Dates for Filing Chart

The State Department notes that this advancement is in part due to the immigrant visa processing pause on certain nationalities and if the administration’s policies shift, retrogression may be necessary later in the fiscal year to bring the issuance of immigrant visas within the annual limits.

Key Takeaways

The significant advancement of most categories in the Dates for Filing Chart will allow more applicants to file adjustment of status applications starting March 1, 2026.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

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