July 2026 Employment-Based Visa Bulletin Updates

This week, the Department of State (DOS) released its Visa Bulletin for July 2026 for July 2026.

Below is a summary of the employment-based updates, compared to the June 2026 Bulletin.

This month, the most significant development is continued retrogression and unavailability in the EB-1 and EB-2 Final Action Dates for India, driven by high demand that has exhausted India’s pro-rated limits. India EB-1 retrogresses by two months, while India EB-2 becomes unavailable for the remainder of FY 2026. Most other employment-based categories advance, including EB-1 China and broad forward movement across EB-3. USCIS continues to require the use of Final Action Dates for employment-based I-485 filings. The State Department warns that further retrogressions, or making categories “unavailable,” may be necessary before the fiscal year ends on September 30, 2026, although the State Department projects that EB-2 India will likely recover in October to at least the May 2026 cutoff of July 15, 2014.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED FINAL ACTION DATES

EB-1

All others –Current (unchanged)

China –  June 1, 2023 (advanced 2 months)

India –  October 15, 2022 (retrogressed 2 months)

Mexico – Current (unchanged)

Philippines – Current (unchanged)

EB-2 

All others –   Current (unchanged)

China – September 1, 2021 (unchanged)

India –  UNAVAILABLE (retrogressed from September 1, 2013)

Mexico – Current (unchanged)

Philippines – Current (unchanged)

EB-3                          

All others –  August 1, 2024 (advanced 2 months)

China – December 22, 2021 (advanced 4 months and 21 days)

India – January 1, 2014 (advanced 17 days)

Mexico – August 1, 2024 (advanced 2 months)

Philippines – August 1, 2023 (unchanged)

 

EARLY ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS (AOS) FILING DATES

Although the Dates for Filing chart cannot be used for I-485 filings in July, the DOS has published the following dates, which remain unchanged from June:

 

 

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

 

KEY TERMS

*Final Action Dates: Applicants whose priority dates are current under these dates can file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) and/or have their application approved in July 2026.

*Dates for Filing / Early Filing Dates: Applicants with current priority dates under these dates may file their AOS in July 2026 and begin to have their applications be processed, but must wait for their priority date to become current under Final Action Dates for approval.

*Current: Means that an applicant with a priority date earlier than or matching the published cutoff date is eligible to move forward with their immigration application.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your immigration counsel.