The U.S. Department of State has released its March 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 March 2026.  The March 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing chart includes forward movement from the February 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 and India EB-3.

• EB-1 cut-off dates remain Current for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-1 India moves forward from 08/01/2023 to 12/01/2023. EB-1 China also moves forward from 08/01/2023 to 12/01/2023.

• The India EB-2 category moves forward significantly from 12/01/2013 to 11/01/2014.  The India EB-3 category stays at 08/15/2014.

• The China EB-2 category remains unchanged at 01/01/2022.  The China EB-3 category also remains unchanged at 01/01/2022 (the same date as the China EB-2 cutoff).

• The Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines EB-2 category moves forward from 10/15/2024 to becoming Current. The Rest of the World and Mexico EB-3 categories also move forward from 10/01/2023 to 01/15/2024.  The Philippines EB-3 category also moves forward from 10/01/2023 to 01/15/2024. [1]

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	01NOV14	C	C
3rd	15JAN24	01JAN22	15AUG14	15JAN24	015JAN24

 

Final Action Dates 

The March 2026 Visa Bulletin’s Final Action Dates chart for all EB categories shows some advancement from the February 2026 Visa Bulletin, with the EB-2 category for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines moving forward significantly.     

• The EB-1 Rest of the World, Mexico, and Philippines categories remain Current. EB-1 China advances one month from 02/01/2023 to 03/01/2023.  EB-1 India also advances one month from 02/01/2023 to 03/01/2023.

• The EB-2 India category advances from 07/15/2013 to 09/15/2013. EB-2 China remains unchanged at 09/01/2021. The EB-2 categories for the Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines move forward by more than six months from 04/01/2024 to 10/15/2024.

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

Final Action Dates Chart  

 

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

 

Dates for Filing Chart Will Control in March 2026 

Each month, USCIS chooses either to follow the Final Action or the Dates for Filing chart. As noted above, for March 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 March 2026 Visa Bulletin makes no comment in this regard, but this is the fifth 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.  This appears to have been the case with the EB-2 ROW and India categories.  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.

[1] The “Printer Friendly” version of the March Visa Bulletin indicates a cutoff date of 1/1/2024 for the EB-3 Philippines category.  This almost certainly a typographical error.