May 2026 Visa Bulletin Alert: April 30 Filing Deadline as Chart B Suspended

The U.S. Department of State has released the May 2026 Visa Bulletin with a critical procedural change: USCIS will only accept employment-based adjustment of status applications based on Final Action Dates (Chart A) in May, eliminating the use of Dates for Filing (Chart B). This makes April 30, 2026, an urgent filing deadline for applicants who qualify under Chart B but are not yet current under Final Action Dates. For EB-3 applicants, the May 2026 Final Action Dates remain unchanged from the prior month. China-born applicants are cut off at June 15, 2021, India-born at November 15, 2013, Philippines at August 1, 2023, and all other countries at June 1, 2024. Applicants in the backlogged categories should verify their priority dates immediately against Chart A to determine May eligibility. EB-5 sees the most notable movement this bulletin cycle: China Unreserved advances approximately three weeks to September 22, 2016. However, the State Department has flagged rising EB-5 India demand as a potential trigger for retrogression or category unavailability. EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, Infrastructure) remain current for all countries and continue to offer a backlog-free pathway. The State Department attributes recent forward movement in priority dates partly to reduced immigrant visa issuance at consulates due to nationality-based travel restrictions and processing limitations. This dynamic also introduces retrogression risk: if demand increases or policies shift before September 30, 2026, cutoff dates across employment-based categories could move backward. Practice guidance emphasizes acting before April 30 for any Chart B-eligible applicants, reassessing filing eligibility for May, and closely monitoring bulletins through the remainder of FY 2026 for potential retrogression signals.