USCIS reverts to Final Action Dates for May 2026 employment-based filings
India EB-2 holds at July 15, 2014, and EB-3 at November 15, 2013, as USCIS narrows the chart for adjustment-of-status filings.
The U.S. Department of State released the May 2026 Visa Bulletin on April 2, 2026, with India's main employment-based Final Action Dates unchanged. USCIS announced it will accept only the Final Action Dates chart — not the Dates for Filing chart — for employment-based adjustment-of-status applications received in May 2026.
What's new
India EB-2 remains at July 15, 2014, and India EB-3 for Skilled Workers and Professionals at November 15, 2013, in the May 2026 bulletin (Bulletin Number 14, Volume XI). Both dates are unchanged from the April 2026 bulletin. India EB-1 sits at April 1, 2023, EB-4 at July 15, 2022, and EB-5 Unreserved at May 1, 2022.
USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment-of-status applications in May 2026 only when the applicant's priority date is current under the Final Action Dates chart. The Dates for Filing chart, which USCIS had honored for employment-based filings in prior months of the 2026 fiscal year, no longer governs which applications are eligible.
For applicants from India whose priority date falls between the EB-2 Dates for Filing entry of January 15, 2015, and the Final Action Date of July 15, 2014, the change closes the May filing window for Form I-485.
Why it matters
The chart-selection shift concentrates May filing access in a narrower group of beneficiaries with earlier priority dates and removes filing eligibility for applicants who relied on the more permissive Dates for Filing chart in prior months.
“As a consequence, adjustment of status eligible for filing based on the April 2026 Visa Bulletin's Dates for Filing Chart may not be eligible for filing in May.,”
The chart change also affects benefits that flow from a pending Form I-485, including employment authorization documents and advance parole eligibility for principal applicants and derivatives whose filings are now deferred.
Where it stands
The May 2026 chart selection takes effect for adjustment applications USCIS receives on or after May 1, 2026. The Department of State's Section E note in the bulletin warns that demand and number use by India in the EB-5 Unreserved category may require retrogression of the Final Action Date, or make the category unavailable, later in the fiscal year. The Department also warns that if visa demand rises or restrictive immigrant visa actions are revised, retrogression across other Final Action Dates remains possible.
The 2026 federal fiscal year ends September 30, 2026. The June 2026 Visa Bulletin is typically released in mid-May.
Sources
Primary government sources
Named-expert citations
- Geeta M. Shah, Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins (Chicago)