January 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB Priority Dates Advance

In the January 2026 Visa Bulletin, the employment-based priority dates advance for all countries across all preferences. In particular, India EB-1 advances by nearly a year.  

USCIS will accept I-485 adjustment of status (green card) applications based on the Dates of Filing chart for both family-based and employment-based categories in January 2026.

AD: Dates for Final Action (Green Card Approval)  

FD: Dates for Filing Applications Only

Family-based		Other Countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
F1	AD	11/08/2016	11/08/2016	11/08/2016	09/01/2006	03/01/2013
	FD	09/01/2017	09/01/2017	09/01/2017	09/01/2007	04/22/2015
F2A	AD	02/01/2024	02/01/2024	02/01/2024	02/01/2023	02/01/2024
	FD	10/22/2025	10/22/2025	10/22/2025	10/22/2025	10/22/2025
F2B	AD	12/01/2016	12/01/2016	12/01/2016	11/15/2008	12/22/2012
	FD	03/15/2017	03/15/2017	03/15/2017	11/15/2009	10/01/2013
F3	AD	09/08/2011	09/08/2011	09/08/2011	05/01/2001	03/01/2005
	FD	07/22/2012	07/22/2012	07/22/2012	07/01/2001	02/01/2006
F4	AD	01/08/2008	01/08/2008	11/01/2006	04/08/2001	07/22/2006
	FD	03/01/2009	03/01/2009	12/15/2006	04/30/2001	01/15/2008

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		Other Countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	AD	C	02/01/2023	02/01/2023	C	C
	FD	C	08/01/2023	08/01/2023	C	C
EB-2	AD	04/01/2024	09/01/2021	07/15/2013	04/01/2024	04/01/2024
	FD	10/15/2024	01/01/2022	12/01/2013	10/15/2024	10/15/2024
EB-3	AD	04/22/2023	05/01/2021	11/15/2013	04/22/2023	04/22/2023
	FD	07/01/2023	01/01/2022	08/15/2014	07/01/2023	07/01/2023
Other Workers	AD	09/01/2021	12/08/2018	11/15/2013	09/01/2021	09/01/2021
	FD	12/01/2021	10/01/2019	08/15/2014	12/01/2021	12/01/2021
EB-4	AD	01/01/2021	01/01/2021	01/01/2021	01/01/2021	01/01/2021
	FD	03/15/2021	03/15/2021	03/15/2021	03/15/2021	03/15/2021
EB-5	AD	C	08/15/2016	05/01/2022	C	C
	FD	C	08/22/2016	05/01/2024	C	C

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.)  

The 2026 Diversity Visa Program Opens October 2, 2024

 

The Diversity Visa Program is an American immigrant visa program created by Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to promote diversity.  It is also known as the "Green Card Lottery." It is an annual program which opens to all individuals worldwide, with approximately 55,000 visas available. The DV-2026 program opens on October 2, 2024. 

What are the costs?

The lottery is free of charge to enter. It is an official U.S. government immigration program supervised by the U.S. Department of State. The department has set up an official website where all applications have to be submitted. 

Who is eligible to apply?

For DV-2026, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because there were more than 50,000 people immigrated to the United States from these countries in the previous five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, The People’s Republic of China (including mainland and Hong Kong born), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Venezuela, and Vietnam.   

Despite the fact that people born in mainland China and Hong Kong are not eligible for DV-2026, those who were born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to apply.  United Kingdom and its dependent territories are eligible countries for DV-2026.

If one was not born in an eligible country, there are two other ways that the person may quality to apply:

(1) If the person's spouse was born in an eligible country, then the person can claim the spouse's country of birth as their birth country to apply.   

(2) If an applicant was born in an ineligible country, he may claim one of his parents' eligible country of birth if two requirements are met:  a) Neither of the applicant's parents were born in applicant's country of birth, and b) Both parents were not legal residents of applicant's country of birth at the time when the applicant was born.  For example, if an applicant was born in mainland China, but her parents were born in Malaysia (an eligible country).  As long as both parents were not legal residents of China when applicant was born, the applicant may claim Malaysia as her birth country for DV-2026.

What are the education and work experience requirements?

An applicant must either have a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

When and how to submit an entry?

Entries for the DV-2026 program must be submitted electronically. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at dvprogram.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. DV-2026 registration began at 12:00 pm (EST) on October 2, 2024, and will continue until 12:00 pm (EST) on November 5, 2024.  A unique confirmation number will be issued after an application has been successfully submitted.

What information is required?

Principal entrants are required to provide their biographic information including: their name, date of birth, city and country of birth, mailing address, email address, country of residence, marital status, country of eligibility, spouse and children's information, the highest level of education, information about their passport, etc.  They must also submit a digital photo that meets the program technical requirements.

How to find out the results of the lottery?

The U.S. State Department will use a computerized random selection process to select winners from among qualified entries.  All entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2026 online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program.   Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 3, 2025, through at least September 30, 2026.  Selectees will be directed to a confirmation page with further instructions to proceed.

 How to improve the odds for selection?

The DV program has very strict technical requirements for submission. Entries not following the official instructions and requirements will be rejected and disqualified. Furthermore, fraudulent or multiple entries will be rejected. To legally improve the odds for selection, all eligible family members should enter the lottery.  Do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website issues and delays. When in doubt, don't hesitate to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.

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

Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2024 ("Green Card Lottery") - Opened for Application!

 

                                    

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2024 is a visa lottery program created by U.S. Congress. It is also known as the "Green Card Lottery." It is an annual program which opens to all individuals worldwide with approximately 55,000 visas available. For the fiscal year 2024, applicants must submit applications online between 10/5/2022 and 11/8/2022. 

Where to apply and what are the costs?

The lottery is free of charge! It is an official government immigration program supervised by the U.S. Department of State. The Department has set up an official website where all applications have to be submitted. Official Application Website of the U.S. Government: www.dvlottery.state.gov.  (Beware of other websites that look similar!) 

Who can apply? 

For DV-2024, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because these there were more than 50,000 natives immigrated to the United States from these countries in the previous five years:
 
Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent
territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
 
Despite the fact that people born in mainland China and Hong Kong are not eligible for DV-2024, those who born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to apply.

If one was not born in an eligible country, there are two other ways the person may become qualified:

(1) If the person's spouse was born in an eligible country, then the person can claim the spouse's country of birth as his/her birth country, and enter the visa lottery based on the spouse's native country.  

(2) An applicant may also claim his/her parent's eligible country of birth, provided (1) neither of the applicant's parents were born in the applicant's country of birth (which is ineligible), and (2) they were not residents of the ineligible country at the time when the applicant was born. For example, if an applicant was born in mainland China, but her parents were born in Taiwan, and they were not residents in of China at the time of applicant's birth, then the applicant is eligible to apply.

What are the education and work experience requirements?

An applicant must either have a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

When and how to submit an entry?

Entries for the DV-2024 program must be submitted electronically. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. DV-2024 registration began at 12:00 PM (noon) EST on 10/5/2022, and will end at 12:00 PM (noon) EST 11/8/2022. 
 
Information required

Principal entrants are required to provide their biographic information including their name, date of birth, city and country of birth, mailing address, country of residence, marital status, country of eligibility, spouse's and children's information, the highest level of education, information about their passport, etc.  They must also submit a digital photo that meets the program technical requirements.
 
Selection process

Lucky winners will be randomly selected by a computer system.  There is no way to improve the odds of getting selected.  As stated before, all eligible members within a family may apply individually, thus increasing the chance of winning.

How to find out the results

Beginning May 6, 2023, through September 30, 2024, applicants will be able to check the status of their DV-2024 entries online.  Visit www.dvlottery.state.gov, click on Entrant Status Check, and enter the unique confirmation number and personal information. Entrant Status Check will be the only way that applicants may check the status of their applications.  It will also provide instructions to the winners of the visa lottery how to proceed with the application process, and also notify them of their appointments for their immigrant visa interview.

Tips:

The DV program has very strict technical requirements for submission. Entries not following the official instructions and requirements will be rejected and disqualified. Furthermore, DHS is technologically capable of identifying fraudulent entries, illegal entries or multiple entries. Also, do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website glitches and delays. When in doubt, don't hesitate to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.

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

Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2023 ("Green Card Lottery") - Opens Today!

 

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2023 is a visa lottery program created by U.S. Congress. It is also known as the "Green Card Lottery." It is an annual program which opens to all individuals worldwide with approximately 55,000 visas available. For the fiscal year 2023, applicants must submit applications online between 10/6/2021 and 11/9/2021. 

Where to apply and what are the costs?

The lottery is free of charge! It is an official government immigration program and the U.S. Department of State supervises the program. The department has set up an official website where all applications have to be submitted. Official Application Website of the U.S. Government: www.dvlottery.state.gov.

Who can apply? 

For DV-2023, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because these there were more than 50,000 natives immigrated to the United States from these countries in the previous five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican

Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,

Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent

territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Despite the fact that people born in mainland China and Hong Kong are not eligible for DV-2023, those who born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to apply.

If one was not born in an eligible country, there are two other ways the person may have a chance to be a qualified applicant:

(1) If the person's spouse was born in an eligible country, then the person can claim the spouse's country of birth as his/her birth country, and apply visa lottery based on the spouse's native country.  

(2) As long as neither of the applicant's parents was born in ineligible countries, and they were not residents of the ineligible country at the time when the applicant was born, the applicant would be able to apply for DV-2023 by claiming one of his/her parents' country of birth. For example, if an applicant was born in China mainland, but her parents were born in Taiwan and they were not residents in China mainland at the time of applicant's birth, then the applicant is eligible to apply.

What are the education and work experience requirements?

An applicant must either have a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

When and how to submit an entry?

Entries for the DV-2023 program must be submitted electronically. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. DV-2022 registration began at 12:00 PM (noon) EST on 10/6/2021, and will continue to 12:00 PM (noon) EST 11/9/2021. 

Information Required

Principal entrants are required to provide their biographic information including their name, date of birth, city and country of birth, mailing address, country of residence, marital status, country of eligibility, spouse and children's information, highest level of education, information about their passport, etc.  They must also submit a digital photo that meets the program technical requirements.

Selection process

Lucky winners will be randomly selected by a computer system.  There is no way to improve the odds of getting selected.  As stated before, all eligible members within a family may apply individually, thus increasing the chance of winning.

How to find out the results

Beginning May 8, 2022, through September 30, 2023, applicants will be able to check the status of their DV-2023 entries online.  Visit www.dvlottery.state.gov, click on Entrant Status Check, and enter the unique confirmation number and personal information. Entrant Status Check will be the only way that applicants may check the status of their applications.  It will also provide instructions to the winners of the visa lottery how to proceed with the application process, and also notify them of their appointments for their immigrant visa interview.

Tips:

The DV program has very strict technical requirements for submission. Entries not following the official instructions and requirements will be rejected and disqualified. Furthermore, DHS is technologically capable of identifying fraudulent entries, illegal entries or multiple entries. Also, do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website glitches and delays. When in doubt, don't hesitate to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.

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

State Department Guidance On DV-2020 Applications

The U.S. Department of State provided some guidance regarding the Diversity Visa 2020 application process on 09/09/2020 after a D.C. federal court held that Diversity Visa 2020 winners should have their visa applications processed as soon as possible before September 30th.

The State Department stated that DV-2020 applications may be processed in embassies and consular posts according to the local health conditions and resources. However, if a local consular office is not able to process cases due to local health conditions and resource constraints, an applicant may request his/her case be transferred to another embassy or consulate by contacting that new post directly. 

The State Department will prioritize the processing of applications as follows:

• Individuals who were named plaintiffs in Gomez v. Trump and its companion cases;

• Applicants who had already been interviewed who seek reissuance or to overcome a prior refusal;

• Applicants who were scheduled for appointments in March, April, or May and whose appointments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide suspension of routine visa processing;

• For posts that have additional capacity to process applications and are not exhausted by the three categories above, applicants whose cases are pending with the Department’s Kentucky Consular Center.

Visas Can Be Issued; Entry Not Allowed Unless Exempted from Trump's Proclamation

Although DV-2020 applicants may be issued an immigrant visa under the court order, DV visa recipients are still subject to Presidential Trump's Proclamation 10014.  Hence, they would not be able to enter the U.S. until after the expiration date (12/31/2020) of the Proclamation, unless they meet one of the exceptions.  

If a DV-2020 applicant’s visa expires before the expiration date of 12/31/2020 of Proclamation 10014, they will be unable to enter on that visa.  More importantly, those applicants would not be issued a new visa after 09/30/2020 under the law. 

DV Applicants Present in the U.S. 

If you are a DV-2020 winner that were in the U.S. or held a valid immigrant visa, on April 23, 2020, you are exempt from PP 10014. Applicants who held DV visas on April 23 but were unable to travel and have since had their visas expired, may be reissued a DV visa before the September 30, 2020 deadline.

Travel Restrictions May Also Bar DV Applicants Entry

Further, DV applicants subject to President Trump's COVID Proclamation on travel restrictions (Brazil, Ireland, U.K., Schengen Zone countries, Iran, and China) may be interviewed and processed, but applicants who have been physically present in the affected region during the preceding 14-day period will not be issued an immigrant visa, unless excepted.

Reopening of U.S. Consulates / Aging-out, H-4, L-2, J-2 Visas Exemption

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in the US, it has become increasingly difficult for overseas applicants to apply for visas to enter the US.  Since March, the US embassies and consulates have been closed for business.  Then, President Trump issued two executive orders banning issuance of immigrant visas and also the H-1B, L-1 and J-1 visas from overseas.  It seems like the US has closed its doors to the world.  Recently, however, the Department of State (DOS) has made some announcements that are positive and encouraging to visa applicants. 

Gradual Resumption of U.S. Visa Services

First, DOS announced on July 14, 2020 that US Embassies and Consulates are beginning "a phased resumption of routine visa services."  It does not mean that all visa services will soon be resumed in all countries.  Instead, the reopening will occur on a "post-by-post basis," depending on local situation and health conditions.  All posts will continue to provide emergency and other mission-critical visa services.   Gradually, they will resume the routine visa services to the public.  

The State Department does not provide specific reopening dates for each Embassy and Consulate.  Instead, the public must check with their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate to obtain updated information.   It should be noted that President Trump's visa ban and travel restrictions are still in effect. Hence, resumption of visa services will only be limited to certain visa categories such as B-1 visitor visa, B-2 business visa, F-1 and M-1 student visa, etc., and other exempt categories such as spouses and children of US citizens.  However, due to the large number backlogged cases, one should expect longer waiting and processing times.

Exemption from Trump's Proclamation:  Aging-out Children and H-4, L-2 & J-2 Dependents

DV-2020 Applicants Excluded

The State Department also clarified on July 16, 2020, that the President's visa ban has certain exceptions.  In addition to humanitarian travel, public health response, and national security, children who are aging out may also request for exemption form the ban.  Specifically, if an immigrant visa applicant is going to age-out before or within two weeks of the expiration date of the visa ban, he or she may seek exemption.  

Further, if the H, L or J principal visa holder is exempt from the visa ban, their dependents are also exempt. So for example, if an H-1B principal is allowed to enter the US to perform a mission-critical assignment for the US government, her spouse and children will also be issued H-4 visas to enter.  

Importantly, dependents of H, L, J visa holders who are already present in the US will also be allowed to apply for dependent visas (H-4, L-2, and J-2) to enter.  This exception will allow many non-immigrant workers to be reunited with their family members. 

However, the State Department emphasized that Diversity Visa 2020 applicants are still subject to President Trump's visa ban, unless they had already been issued visas before the proclamation's effective date.  

Finally, DOS stated that valid visas will not be revoked on account of President Trump's proclamations.

Visa services are still very far from back to normal. However, these announcements represent a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. 

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