August 2026 Visa Bulletin Update: EB-3 Advances, India EB-2 Now Unavailable

The U.S. Department of State has published the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, and USCIS has confirmed it will apply the Final Action Dates chart for all employment-based (EB) adjustment of status filings this month. This distinction is critical: applicants must have a priority date earlier than the listed cutoffs to file their I-485 applications in August 2026. For EB-3 applicants, the bulletin brings modest but meaningful progress. The cutoff date for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico advances one month to September 1, 2024. China EB-3 moves forward one week to January 1, 2022. India EB-3 remains frozen at January 1, 2014, and the Philippines EB-3 holds at August 1, 2023, with the State Department warning of potential future retrogression for the Philippines category. A significant development this month is the India EB-2 category becoming "unavailable" after exhausting its annual visa limit. No further visa number requests will be processed until the next fiscal year begins in October 2026. India EB-1 and China EB-2 are also flagged as at risk of retrogression or unavailability in coming months. For EB-1, dates remain current for All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines. China EB-1 advances one month to July 1, 2023, while India EB-1 holds at October 15, 2022. EB-2 remains current for most countries except China (September 1, 2021) and the now-unavailable India category. EB-3 applicants from countries other than India should note the incremental forward movement and verify their priority dates against the Final Action Dates chart before submitting I-485 filings in August. Those from India facing the 2014 cutoff should consult an immigration attorney about alternative strategies given the prolonged backlog.