The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for January 2026. Until January 1, the December 2025 Visa Bulletin remains in effect.   

The Visa Bulletin contains the DOS’s Final Action Dates chart, which lists the priority dates that are current in each respective category, the categories that are current during the applicable month (i.e., categories that do not have any backlogs), and the categories that are unavailable. The Visa Bulletin also contains the DOS’s Dates for Filing chart, which usually progresses ahead of the Final Action Dates chart, and which U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) sometimes uses to determine the date that Adjustment of Status filings are permitted in each category.   

 For January 2026, USCIS has confirmed that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the Dates for Filing chart to determine eligibility to file Adjustment of Status applications.   

 Key Takeaways:  

 Final Action Dates 

• EB-1 for India advanced 10.5 months, while EB-1 for China advanced one week. The EB-1 category remains current for all other countries.  
• EB-2 for China advanced 3 months. All other EB-2 categories, including India, advanced 2 months.  
• The EB-3 category advanced almost 2 months for India, one month for China, and one week for all other countries.  
• The Other Workers category advanced one year for China, almost 2 months for India, and one month for all other countries.  
• Both the EB-4 and the Certain Religious Workers categories advanced 4 months for all countries.  
• The 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5, NU, RU) category advanced 10 months for India and one month for China, while staying current for all other countries.  
• All other EB-5 categories stayed current.  

Dates for Filing 

• EB-1 advanced 4 months for India and 3 months for China. The EB-1 category remains current for all other countries. 
• EB-2 advanced one month for China and 3 months for all other countries, except for India which saw no movement.  
• The EB-3 category had no movement. 
• The Other Workers category advanced one year for China, but there was no movement for any other country.  
• Both the EB-4 and the Certain Religious Workers categories advanced one month for all countries.  
• The 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5, NU, RU) category advanced more than 2 years for India and one month for China, while staying current for all other countries.  
• All other EB-5 categories stayed current.  

Final Action Date Chart for Employment-Based Preference Cases for January 2026: 

Dates for Filing Chart for Employment-Based Preference Cases for January 2026:  

For case-specific guidance or to confirm filing eligibility, please contact a Foster LLP attorney. Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates©, articles, and globs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.