Visa Bulletin June 2026 EB-3 Slowdown: India Retrogresses, Philippines Next in Line

The U.S. Department of State has released the June 2026 Visa Bulletin, marking the first retrogression event of this fiscal year. India bears the brunt of high demand: EB-1 India retrogresses five months to December 15, 2022, while EB-2 India suffers a significant 10-month rollback to September 1, 2013. In a rare piece of good news for Indian nationals, EB-3 Professionals and Other Workers advance one month to December 15, 2013. For China, progress is modest but present. EB-3 Professionals advance five months to August 1, 2021, and EB-3 Other Workers gain two months to April 1, 2019. EB-1 and EB-2 China are paused with no movement this month, and the State Department has signaled that EB-2 China and EB-3 Philippines may face retrogression before the end of fiscal year 2026. Applicants from all other countries see no changes from May. EB-1 and EB-2 remain current, EB-3 Professionals holds at June 1, 2024, and EB-3 Other Workers remains at February 1, 2022. Critically, USCIS will again use Final Action Dates — not the more favorable Dates for Filing chart — for I-485 filings in June. A significant administrative note affects a wide range of nationalities: the State Department continues to pause all immigrant visa and I-485 adjustment adjudications for nationals of over 70 listed countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Nigeria, Pakistan, and others. Applicants from these countries should monitor official USCIS and DOS channels for updates. EB-3 applicants should review their priority dates carefully against Final Action Dates before filing or planning next steps. Those with pending I-485 applications from India or with Philippine chargeability may want to consult an immigration attorney given the anticipated retrogression forecast for the remainder of FY2026.