United States | March 2026 Visa Bulletin: India’s EB-2s leap ahead by 11 months

The U.S. State Department has released the March 2026 Visa Bulletin. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced filings for employment-based visa preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart in the March Bulletin, which shows China and India advancing in the EB-1 category, India substantially advancing in the EB-2 category, Mexico and the Philippines advancing in the EB-3 category and China advancing in the EB-5 category.

The Dates for Filing chart indicates who is eligible to submit their application and supporting documents for further processing, even if the green card itself is not available. Review BAL’s employer’s guide to reading the Visa Bulletin to better understand this monthly report.

Dates for Filing chart category movement

EB-1 visa

• China EB-1 visa Dates for Filing advance four months, with a cutoff date of Dec. 1, 2023.
• India EB-1 visa Dates for Filing advance four months, with a cutoff date of Dec. 1, 2023.
• For all other countries under the EB-1 visa category, including Mexico and the Philippines, Dates for Filing remain current.

EB-2 visa

• China EB-2 visa Dates for Filing remain the same, with a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2022.
• India EB-2 visa Dates for Filing advance 11 months, with a cutoff date of Nov. 1, 2014.
• For all other countries under the EB-2 visa category, including Mexico and the Philippines, Dates for Filing become current.

EB-3 visa

• China EB-3 visa Dates for Filing remain the same, with a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2022.
• India EB-3 visa Dates for Filing remain the same, with a cutoff date of Aug. 15, 2014.
• For all other countries under the EB-3 visa category, including Mexico but excluding the Philippines, the Dates for Filing advance three-and-a-half months, with a cutoff date of Jan. 15, 2024. For the Philippines, Dates for Filing advance three months, with a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2024.

EB-5 visa (unreserved)

• China EB-5 visa Dates for Filing advance 40 days, with a cutoff date of Oct. 1, 2016.
• India EB-5 visa Dates for Filing remain the same, with a cutoff date of May 1, 2024.
• For all other countries under the EB-5 unreserved visa category, including Mexico and the Philippines, Dates for Filing remain current.

Dates for Filing Chart for employment-based visa applications

Additional Information: Final Action Dates for the March Visa Bulletin can be found here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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