The U.S. Department of State has released its January 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 January 2026.  The January 2026 Visa Bulletin’s  Dates for Filing chart includes minor forward movement from the December 2025 Visa Bulletin for some Employment-Based (EB) categories and countries of chargeability in the EB-1 and EB-2 categories without any movement for EB-3.  January marks the start of the second quarter of the 2026 Fiscal Year; the Department of State has in the past revised EB cut-off dates on a quarterly basis, and this has once again happened in January 2026.   

• EB-1 cut-off dates remain Current for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-1 India moves forward from 04/15/2023 to 08/01/2023. EB-1 China moves forward from 05/15/2023 to 08/01/2023. 

• The India EB-2 category remains unchanged at 12/01/2013, andthe India EB-3 category stays at 08/15/2014. 

• The China EB-2 category moves forward from 12/01/2021 to 01/01/2022, and the China EB-3 category remains unchanged at 01/01/2022. 

• The Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines EB-2 category moves forward from 07/15/2024 to 10/15/2024. The Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines EB-3 category stays at 07/01/2023. 

Dates for Filing Chart

Employment-based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed (Rest of World)	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01AUG23	01AUG23	C	C
2nd	15OCT24	01JAN22	01DEC13	15OCT24	15OCT24
3rd	01JUL23	01JAN22	15AUG14	01JUL23	01JUL23

 

Final Action Dates 

The January 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Final Action Dates chart for all EB categories shows some, also minor, advancement from the December 2025 Visa Bulletin, with significant forward movement (close to one year) in the India EB-1 category.   

• The EB-1 Rest of the World, Mexico, and Philippines categories remain Current. EB-1 China advances from 1/22/2023 to 02/01/2023. EB-1 India advances significantly from 03/15/2022 to 02/01/2023.  It is not clear what the cause of this advancement is and the Visa Bulletin makes no comment in this regard, but the obvious explanation is a lower-than-expected immigrant visa usage by Indian nationals in this category.  

• The EB-2 India category advances from 05/15/2013 to 07/15/2013. EB-2 China advances from 06/01/2021 to 09/01/2021. The EB-2 categories for the Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines move forward two months from 02/01/2024 to 04/01/2024. 

• The EB-3 category for the Rest of World, Mexico and the Philippines advances slightly from 04/15/2023 to 04/22/2023. The EB-3 India category advances from 09/22/2013 to 11/15/2013. The EB-3 China category also advances one month from 04/01/2021 to 05/01/2021. 

Final Action Dates Chart  

Employment-based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed (Rest of World)	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	01FEB23	01FEB23	C	C
2nd	01APR24	01SEP21	15JUL13	01APR24	01APR24
3rd	22APR23	01MAY21	15NOV13	22APR23	22APR23

 

Dates for Filing Chart Will Control in January 2026 

Each month, USCIS chooses either to follow the Final Action or the Dates for Filing chart. For January 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 first 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 Department of State has in the past announced an intention to adjust cut-off dates on a quarterly basis and this has happened, albeit to a minor degree, in January 2026. 

The January 2026 Visa Bulletin makes no comment in this regard, but this is the fourth month in succession that USCIS has chosen to impose Dates for Filing 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.  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 since 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. 

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