What Does the Jump in Visa Bulletin Mean?

A surprise jump in employment-based priority dates in the April 2026 visa bulletin gave a unique opportunity to many employment-based applicants. EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories were current on the Dates for Filing chart for all countries except three. Unfortunately, the wait time for India, China, and the Philippines remains long.

The jump was in large part due to the visa freeze put in place by the Trump Administration for 75 countries abroad. Nationals of those countries were, in most cases, able to do their filings and interviews, then issued a 221(g) refusal, which is a temporary hold on a U.S. visa application indicating that the application is missing documentation or requires further administrative processing. With consulates unable to issue immigrant visas in those cases, that opened up those visas to be utilized elsewhere.

Due to the flood of petitions filed in April, the May 2026 visa bulletin does show another backlog in place for EB-3 applicants in the US. USCIS will require applicants to use the second chart—Final Action Dates—when determining whether an adjustment of status case can be filed. As a result, only those with priority dates earlier than June 2024 can file their cases at USCIS.

What can we expect for the rest of fiscal year 2026? Typically, we see a slowdown or regression of priority dates as the end of the fiscal year (September 30) approaches, and then forward movement in the October bulletin. We expect that to remain the case this year as well. If the visa freeze is lifted this year, although we do not know the exact process that consulates will take to issue visas for 221(g) cases, we would expect that the visa dates will backlog even more.

What does this mean for EB-3 cases, and should applicants still go this route in the face of impending backlogs? Many applicants had been discouraged and looked to other categories when the backlog appeared in 2023, but those who persevered were rewarded with faster movement than expected, and now with this jump to “Current” for April 2026.

EB-3 for Indian nationals is at November 2013 in the May 2026 visa bulletin. Still, having an approved labor certification and its subsequent USCIS filing, the I-140, in hand offers certain benefits for those holding an H1B, mainly work authorization for H4 spouses and unlimited 3-year extensions of the H status. In light of these benefits and opportunities, we recommend those who are qualified and have sponsors to move forward with EB-3 filings. 

2027 H1B Lottery: Takeaways

The most significant change this year is how selections were made. Instead of a purely random lottery, USCIS used a wage-based system. This means applicants offered higher salaries—based on government-defined wage levels—had a better chance of being selected. Higher wage levels were seeing strong selection across the board. Master’s degree holders at lower wage levels were also getting selected at solid rates, but for those being offered Level I/II wages without an advanced degree, the odds were significantly lower.

APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES—MAY 2026

DATES FOR FILING VISA APPLICATIONS—MAY 2026