The U.S. Department of State has released its April 2026 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular immigrant visa application interviews and approvals. In order to be “current,” the priority date held by a person applying for permanent residence must be before the cut-off date specified in the monthly Visa Bulletin.

The Visa Bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing chart and a Final Action Dates chart. The Final Action Dates chart indicates when a priority date is current and I-485 AOS applications or Immigrant Visa applications may be approved and permanent residence granted. The Dates for Filing chart, when followed by USCIS, indicates when intending immigrants may file their AOS applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Dates for Filing

USCIS will use the Dates for Filing chart in April 2026.  The April 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing chart includes forward movement from the March 2026 Visa Bulletin for some Employment-Based (EB) categories and countries of chargeability in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories without any movement for China in any category.

• EB-1 cut-off dates remain Current for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-1 India remains at 12/01/2023. EB-1 China also remains at 12/01/2023.
• The India EB-2 category moves forward slightly from 11/01/2014 to 01/15/2015.  The India EB-3 category also moves forward from 08/15/2014 to the same cut-off date of 01/15/2015.
• China EB-2 and EB-3 categories  remain unchanged at 01/01/2022.
• The Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines EB-2 category remains Current.
• The Rest of the World and Mexico EB-3 category became Current. The Philippines EB-3 category stays at 01/01/2024.

 

Dates for Filing Chart

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01DEC23	01DEC23	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN22	15JAN15	C	C
3rd	C	01JAN22	15JAN15	C	01JAN24

 

Final Action Dates 

The April 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Final Action Dates chart for most EB categories shows some advancement from the March 2026 Visa Bulletin, with the EB-2 category for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines becoming current.

• The EB-1 Rest of the World, Mexico, and Philippines categories remain Current. EB-1 China advances one month from 03/01/2023 to 04/01/2023.  EB-1 India also advances one month from 03/01/2023 to 04/01/2023.

• The EB-2 India category advances significantly from 09/15/2013 to 07/15/2014. EB-2 China remains unchanged at 09/01/2021. The EB-2 categories for the Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines move from 10/15/2024 to Current.

• The EB-3 category for the Rest of World and Mexico also advances significantly from 10/01/2023 to 06/01/2024. The EB-3 category for the Philippines stays at 08/01/2023. The EB-3 India category stays at 11/15/2013. The EB-3 China category moves slightly forward from 05/01/2021 to 06/15/2021.

 

Final Action Dates Chart  

Employment- based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01APR23	01APR23	C	C
2nd	C	01SEP21	15JUL14	C	C
3rd	01JUN24	15JUN21	15NOV13	01JUN24	01AUG23

 

Dates for Filing Chart Will Control in April 2026 

Each month, USCIS chooses either to follow the Final Action or the Dates for Filing chart. As noted above, for April 2026 USCIS will follow the Dates for Filing chart for Employment-Based AOS application filings. To be eligible to file an Employment-Based (EB) AOS application, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed in the dates for filing chart above for his or her preference category and country of chargeability. The “C” listing indicates that the category is “current” and that applications may be approved with any priority date, however recent.

 

T&S Takeaway 

The April 2026 Visa Bulletin makes no comment in this regard, but this is the sixth month in succession that USCIS has chosen to impose Dates for Filing chart for EB dates. This reflects the fact that USCIS is encouraging AOS filings, and that the volume of such filings may have been less than anticipated in the past few months.  It appears that this volume remains lower than desired, with the result that the State Department is attempting to generate more AOS and immigrant visa application filings by making some categories Current (for the first time in a number of years) and advancing the cut-off dates of others.  All  eligible  persons should file their  AOS  applications as soon as possible, since it is possible that cut-off date retrogression may occur later in the year, especially as immigrant visa numbers will be used in significant numbers as the year progresses.

The attorneys of Tafapolsky & Smith LLP will monitor and analyze all developments affecting immigrant visa availability, including all statements made by the Department of State officers in the relevant Visa Bulletin and will provide immediate updates on any significant developments.