August 2026 Visa Bulletin: India EB-2 Remains "Unavailable"

August 2026 Visa Bulletin brought steady advancements for Family-based categories across most countries of chargeability. F2A filing dates remain "Current" for all countries. 

In the Employment-based categories, due to high demand, visa numbers for India EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved preferences remain "Unavailable". The State Department indicates that, moving forward, continuous consumption of visa numbers may lead to retrogression or exhaustion of visa numbers in other preferences.

In August, USCIS will accept family-sponsored adjustment of status applications based on the Filing Dates chart, and employment-based adjustment of status applications based on the Final Action Dates chart.

AD: Dates for Final Action (Green Card Approval)  

FD: Dates for Filing Applications Only

Family-based	All Others	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
F1	A: 12/15/18 F: 06/15/19	A: 12/15/18 F: 06/15/19	A: 12/15/18 F: 06/15/19	A: 12/01/07 F: 12/01/08	A: 05/01/13 F: 04/22/15
F2A	A: 07/22/26 F: Current	A: 07/22/26 F: Current	A: 07/22/26 F: Current	A: 07/22/25 F: Current	A: 07/22/26 F: Current
F2B	A: 01/01/18 F: 01/01/19	A: 01/01/18 F: 01/01/19	A: 01/01/18 F: 01/01/19	A: 02/15/09 F: 05/15/10	A: 06/01/13 F: 10/01/13
F3	A: 05/15/12 F: 03/01/13	A: 05/15/12 F: 03/01/13	A: 05/15/12 F: 03/01/13	A: 07/01/01 F: 07/15/01	A: 02/22/06 F: 08/08/06
F4	A: 09/01/09 F: 06/22/10	A: 09/01/09 F: 06/22/10	A: 11/01/06 F: 12/15/06	A: 04/08/01 F: 04/30/01	A: 08/01/07 F: 03/22/08

1st: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens (about 23,400 per year).

2A: The 2 “A” preference is for Spouses and Children (under 21 & unmarried) of LPR's.
2B: The 2 “B” Preference is for Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 or older) of LPR's.
3rd: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens (about 23,400 per year)
4th: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens. (about 65,000 per year)

Employment-based	All Others	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	A: Current F: Current	A: 07/01/23 F: 12/01/23	A: 10/15/22 F: 12/01/23	A: Current F: Current	A: Current F: Current
EB-2	A: Current F: Current	A: 09/01/21 F: 01/01/22	A: Unavailable F: 01/15/15	A: Current F: Current	A: Current F: Current
EB-3	A:09/01/24 F: Current	A:01/01/22 F: 01/08/22	A: 01/01/14 F: 01/15/15	A:09/01/24 F: Current	A: 08/01/23 F: 01/01/24
Other Workers	A: 04/01/22 F: 08/01/22	A: 05/01/19 F: 10/01/19	A: 01/01/14 F: 01/15/15	A:04/01/22 F: 08/01/22	A: 12/01/21 F: 08/01/22
EB-4	A: 10/15/22 F: 01/01/23	A: 10/15/22 F: 01/01/23	A: 10/15/22 F: 01/01/23	A:10/15/22 F: 01/01/23	A: 10/15/22 F: 01/01/23
EB-5	A: Current F: Current	A: 12/01/16 F: 03/01/17	A: Unavailable F: 05/01/24	A: Current F: Current	A: Current F: Current

1st: Priority Workers (Extraordinary ability aliens, multinational companies' executives/managers, outstanding prof./researchers)

2nd: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability.

3rd: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers (Unskilled.)

4th: “Special Immigrants” (Religious & others)

5th: Employment Creation (Investors)

*China and India EB-5 visa numbers for rural, high unemployment & infrastructure areas/projects are current.

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)