Visa Bulletin June 2026: Why India Is Retrogressing While ROW Stays Current

Most immigration blogs covering the June 2026 Visa Bulletin are leading with the headline that India EB-1 and EB-2 are retrogressing, but few are explaining why. The answer lies in Section D of the bulletin itself, which explicitly ties the FY 2026 priority dates to two Presidential Proclamations: 10949 (issued June 2025) and 10998 (issued December 2025). These two proclamations, when combined, place full restrictions on certain employment-based categories for nationals of high-backlog countries like India. The result is a bifurcated system where Rest of World (ROW) applicants see their dates advance to 'Current' status, while Indian nationals experience retrogression — meaning their priority dates move backward rather than forward. For EB-3 applicants specifically, this dynamic is critical to understand. If you are a ROW national, the June 2026 bulletin may represent a significant filing opportunity. Indian nationals, however, should recalibrate expectations and consult their attorneys before taking action based on headlines alone. The Reddit post highlights a broader information gap: most summaries of the bulletin stop at the retrogression news without contextualizing the Presidential Proclamation mechanism behind it. Section D is the key to understanding not just what is happening, but why — and whether it is likely to persist in future bulletins. Applicants and practitioners are advised to read Section D directly in the official June 2026 Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov, and to track whether future proclamations modify or extend the current restrictions heading into FY 2027.