March 2026 Visa Bulletin – Significant Forward Movement Across EB Categories

The U.S. State Department has released the March 2026 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year.  The headline in this month’s Visa Bulletin is the significant forward movement across several employment-based categories compared to February 2026. The most notable advancements are found in the EB-2 category for the “Rest of World” (ROW) and India, as well as positive movement for both India and China in the EB-1 category.

The significant forward movement across multiple immigrant visa categories in the March 2026 Visa Bulletin is directly attributed to decreased visa issuance rates from certain countries following recent administration actions, such as Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998, which were implemented to protect national security and advance U.S. interests.

Which Employment-based Applicants Are Eligible to File I-485 in March 2026?

By using the Dates for Filing chart, USCIS will allow the following applicants to file I-485 in the month of March 2026.   The change (“forward” or “retrogression”) noted below is related to the I-485 filing eligibility from the prior month.

Worldwide (ROW)

• EB-1 ROW with any priority date (approved or pending I-140);
• EB-2 ROW with any priority date (forward from October 15, 2024 to Current);
• EB-3 ROW with PD before January 15, 2024 (forward by 3.5 months).

India

• EB-1 India with priority date (PD) (approved or pending I-140) before December 1, 2023 (forward by 4 months);
• EB-2 India with PD before November 1, 2014 (forward by 11 months);
• EB-3 India with PD before August 15, 2014 (no change).

China

• EB-1 China with priority date (PD) (approved or pending I-140) before December 1, 2023 (forward by 4 months);
• EB-2 China with PD before January 1, 2022 (no change);
• EB-3 China with PD before January 1, 2022 (no change).

EB-2 to EB-3 India and China Downgrade Opportunities

Unlike previous months, the March 2026 Visa Bulletin removes the opportunity available to EB-2 India applicants to downgrade their preference category to EB-3 and file I-485s. This is because the EB-2 India filing date (November 1, 2014) has advanced significantly and is now well ahead of the EB-3 India filing date (August 15, 2014).

Because the cutoff dates for EB-2 and EB-3 China remain identical for I-485 filings, there is no advantage of downgrading during the month of March 2026.

Summary of the March 2026 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based (EB)

Please note that USCIS will determine and publish, about a week after this Visa Bulletin is published, whether or not to accept I-485 filings on the basis of these filing dates.

Summary of the March 2026 Visa Bulletin – Family-Based (FB)

USCIS will determine and publish separately, a few days after this Visa Bulletin is published, whether or not to accept I-485 filings on the basis of these filing dates.

Current Date?

Our office stands ready to assist in the applicable process.  There are many applicants across many of the employment and family categories who can now process their (and their family members’) I-485 Adjustment of Status applications from within the U.S. or process their immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if our office can help you take advantage of this (very time-sensitive for some) opportunity to file I-485 applications. We are also happy to provide a free quote for preparing and filing your I-485 application.

Confused About the Visa Bulletin?

We understand that the Visa Bulletin, with its the multiple publications, categories and conditions may be confusing – we invite you to review our Visa Bulletin Explained article for our attempt in helping applicants understand the Visa Bulletin and know what to look for (and when).

Further Updates and News

We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics. We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about this month’s Visa Bulletin.