July 2026 Visa Bulletin

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the July 2026 Visa Bulletin. There is forward movement in select employment-based categories, while certain employment-based categories retrogress. All cutoff dates listed below refer to the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified.

Visa Bulletin Summary

Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category

In the EB1 category, China’s cutoff date moves slightly forward to 01.Jun.2023, while India’s cutoff date retrogresses to 15.Oct.2022. The EB1 category remains current for all other countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2) Category

In the EB2 category, India’s category becomes “unavailable” (which means that no applications in this category can be filed after June 2026 until the category reopens). EB2 China still has a cutoff date of 01.Sep.2021. The EB2 cutoff date for all other countries remains current.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3) Category

India’s EB3 cutoff date advances to 01.Jan.2014, and China’s EB3 cutoff date advances to 22.Dec.2021. The EB3 cutoff date for all other countries of chargeability also advances to 01.Aug.2024.

EB3 Other Workers

In the EB3 Other Workers category, India’s cutoff date advances to 01.Jan.2014. For China, the cutoff date remains at 01.Apr.2019. The EB3 other workers category advances to a cutoff date of 01.Mar.2022 for all other countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB4) Category

In the EB4 category, the cutoff date advances to 15.Sep.2022. This cutoff date also applies to the EB4 program for certain religious workers, which has been renewed through midnight of 30.Sep.2026. After that, if the program is not renewed by Congress, it will become unavailable.

Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB5) Category

The EB5 unreserved category for India becomes “unavailable” (which means that no applications in this category can be filed after June 2026 until the category reopens), and China’s unreserved cutoff date advances to 01.Dec.2016. The EB5 category remains current for all other chargeability areas and for the three EB5 set-aside categories (rural, high unemployment, and infrastructure) across all countries.

Family-Based, Second Preference (FB2A and FB2B) Category

In the FB2A family-based category, the cutoff date remains at 01.Jan.2025 for all countries, except Mexico which remains at 01.Jan.2024. In the FB2B family-based category, the cutoff date advances to 22.Nov.2017 for all countries except Mexico and the Philippines.

Conclusion

We will continue to monitor and report on movement and predictions related to the monthly visa bulletin. Subscribe to the free MurthyBulletin to receive weekly updates on the latest in U.S. immigration.

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