April 2026 Visa Bulletin – Significant Forward Movement Across Multiple Categories

The U.S. State Department has released the April 2026 Visa Bulletin which is the seventh Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year.   The headline in this month’s Visa Bulletin is the continued and significant forward movement across several employment-based and family-based categories compared to March 2026. The most notable advancements are found in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for the “Rest of World” (ROW), which both advanced to “Current” in the Dates for Filing chart, as well as a massive leap for all Family-Based 2A (F2A) applicants to “Current” for filing.   EB India also advanced moderately for I-485 filings.

The significant forward movement across multiple immigrant visa categories in the April 2026 Visa Bulletin continues to be directly attributed to decreased visa issuance rates from certain countries following recent administration actions, which were implemented to protect national security and advance U.S. interests. The State Department continues to advance dates to ensure available FY-2026 immigrant visa numbers are utilized, though they caution that retrogression may be necessary later in the fiscal year if demand materializes.   See our alert on details.

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

By using the Dates for Filing chart, USCIS will allow the following applicants to file I-485 in the month of April 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 (remains Current);
• EB-3 ROW with any priority date (forward from January 15, 2024 to Current).

India

• EB-1 India with a priority date (PD) before December 1, 2023 (no change);
• EB-2 India with a PD before January 15, 2015 (forward by 2.5 months);
• EB-3 India with a PD before January 15, 2015 (forward by 5 months).

China

• EB-1 China with a PD before December 1, 2023 (no change);
• EB-2 China with a PD before January 1, 2022 (no change);
• EB-3 China with a PD before January 1, 2022 (no change).

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

In the April 2026 Visa Bulletin, the filing dates for EB-2 India (January 15, 2015) and EB-3 India (January 15, 2015) are now perfectly identical. Therefore, there is no longer any filing advantage to downgrading from EB-2 to EB-3 for Indian nationals. Similarly, because the cutoff dates for EB-2 and EB-3 China remain identical for I-485 filings (January 1, 2022), there is no advantage to downgrading during the month of April 2026.

Summary of the April 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 April 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.