March 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-3 Dates Advance for Most Countries

The U.S. Department of State has released the March 2026 Visa Bulletin, and USCIS has confirmed it will use the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment of status applications this month. This distinction is important: the Dates for Filing chart allows applicants to submit their I-485 applications earlier than the Final Action Dates chart would permit, even before a visa number is immediately available. For EB-3 applicants in most countries (All Chargeability Areas, Mexico), the cutoff date advances three-and-a-half months to January 15, 2024, from the prior month's October 10, 2023 date. Philippines EB-3 also sees a three-month advancement to January 1, 2024. These are meaningful forward movements that open filing eligibility to a broader pool of applicants. EB-3 applicants from India remain unchanged at August 15, 2014, and China EB-3 stays at January 1, 2022—both categories continue to face multi-year backlogs due to per-country annual limits and high demand. Other Workers (unskilled EB-3) for All Chargeability Areas advances significantly to June 22, 2022, up from December 1, 2021. In the EB-2 category, All Chargeability Areas, Mexico, and the Philippines become current—a notable improvement. India EB-2 advances eleven months to November 1, 2014. EB-1 for China and India each advance four months to December 1, 2023.