May 2026 Visa Bulletin Released: What Employers Need to Know

The Department of State released the May 2026 Visa Bulletin and USCIS has confirmed that it will not accept employment-based Adjustment of Status applications under the Dates for Filing chart for May. Instead, USCIS will require applicants to rely on the more restrictive Final Action Dates chart. As a result practitioners should review eligibility immediately and aim to file any eligible Adjustment of Status applications by April 29, 2026, where possible, while the Dates for Filing chart may still be used for April filings. Overall the May Visa Bulletin reflects limited movement across most employment-based categories, with continued retrogression and high demand constraining forward progress.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED (EB) PRIORITY DATE SUMMARY FOR DATES FOR FILING

USCIS confirmed that it will honor the Final Action Dates chart for purposes of eligibility to file an Adjustment of Status application. The Final Action Dates are as follows:

EB-1, First Preference Category

• EB-1 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will remain current.
• EB-1 China and India will hold steady at April 1, 2023.

EB-2, Second Preference Category

• EB-2 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will remain current.
• EB-2 China will maintain a filing cutoff of September 1, 2021.
• EB-2 India will remain at July 15, 2014.

EB-3, Third Preference Category (Professional and Skilled Workers)

• EB-3 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and Mexico) will maintain a filing cutoff date of June 1, 2024.
• EB-3 China will remain at June 15, 2021.
• EB-3 India will hold steady at November 15, 2013.
• EB-3 Philippines will remain at August 1, 2023.

Other Workers

• Other Workers (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico and Philippines) will advance by three months to February 1, 2022.
• China and India will continue to remain at February 1, 2019 and November 15, 2013 respectively.

EB-5: Fifth Preference Category (Immigrant Investors)

• For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China will advance by three weeks to September 22, 2016 and India will hold steady at May 1, 2022. All other countries will remain current.
• The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.

Individuals with a priority date that is before the published cut-off date may file an Adjustment of Status application based on the dates outlined above.

WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS EXPECT?  

The Dept. of State has reiterated in the May 2026 Visa Bulletin, that reduced immigrant visa issuance for certain countries due to administration actions such as Presidential Proclamation 10949 and Presidential Proclamation 10998 has allowed for advancement of priority dates in some categories to allocate FY-2026 visa numbers. However, the Dept. of State cautions that as demand increases or policies change, retrogression or stagnation may occur later in the fiscal year to remain within annual limits.

With USCIS reverting to the Final Action Dates chart, many foreign nationals who were previously eligible to file under the Dates for Filing chart will no longer be eligible to submit Adjustment of Status applications in May.

Accordingly, employers and practitioners should act quickly to file any eligible cases before the end of April 2026, where possible, to take advantage of the more favorable Dates for Filing chart. Missing this window may result in significant delays in green card processing and work authorization benefits tied to pending Adjustment of Status applications.

Given the possibility of further retrogression occurring in the coming months, Employers should continue to proactively evaluate workforce immigration strategies, including maintaining nonimmigrant status and planning for extensions to avoid gaps in employment authorization.

For additional information, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.

Inez Macedonio