May 2026 Visa Bulletin: Dates Frozen, USCIS Switches to Final Action

The Department of State released the May 2026 Visa Bulletin on April 15, 2026. The headline: no forward movement in any employment-based category. Every India and China cutoff date stays exactly where it was in April — and USCIS made matters significantly worse by switching from the permissive Dates for Filing (DFF) chart back to the Final Action Dates (FAD) chart.

What USCIS announced for May

For the I-485 adjustment of status filings in May 2026, USCIS will use the Final Action Dates chart (Table A). In April, USCIS had permitted use of the Dates for Filing chart (Table B), which allows people to file I-485 before their priority date is final — a privilege that gave thousands of India-born EB applicants a window to file.

That window is closed for May.

Employment-Based Final Action Dates (May 2026)

Category	Worldwide	India	China	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	Current	Apr 1, 2023	Apr 1, 2023	Current	Current
EB-2	Current	Jul 15, 2014	Sep 1, 2021	Current	Current
EB-3 Skilled/Prof	Jun 1, 2024	Nov 15, 2013	Jun 15, 2021	Jun 1, 2024	Aug 1, 2023
EB-3 Other Workers	Feb 1, 2022	Nov 15, 2013	Feb 1, 2019	Feb 1, 2022	Nov 1, 2021
EB-4	Jul 15, 2022	Jul 15, 2022	Jul 15, 2022	Jul 15, 2022	Jul 15, 2022
EB-5 Unreserved	Current	May 1, 2022	Sep 22, 2016	Current	Current
EB-5 Rural Set-Aside	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current

Check current published dates on the Visa Bulletin Priority Date Tracker.

Why this matters: the April filing window is over

The April 2026 Visa Bulletin had moved EB-2 India forward by more than 300 days in one month — the largest single jump in years. That advance, combined with USCIS allowing the Dates for Filing chart, created an unusually large filing window for India-born EB-2 applicants with priority dates in late 2014.

In May, USCIS reverted to Final Action Dates. The EB-2 India Final Action Date is July 15, 2014 — unchanged from April. Applicants with priority dates after that date who filed in April based on the DFF window cannot file again in May.

Practical effect: If you have an India EB-2 or EB-3 priority date that became fiable under the April DFF chart but is later than the May FAD chart, your I-485 filing opportunity is paused until USCIS again allows the DFF chart or the FAD date advances.

EB-5 India: retrogression warning

Section E of the May 2026 bulletin includes an explicit warning: EB-5 Unreserved India may need to be retrogressed or made unavailable if demand and visa use continue at the current pace for the rest of FY2026. The current EB-5 Unreserved India date is May 1, 2022.

EB-5 Rural Set-Aside remains Current for all countries, including India and China. This continues to make rural set-aside the most time-efficient EB-5 path for backlogged nationals. See the EB-5 Rural guide for details.

Family-Based Final Action Dates (May 2026)

Category	Worldwide	India	Mexico	Philippines
F1 (adult sons/daughters of USC)	Sep 1, 2017	Sep 1, 2017	Aug 15, 2007	May 1, 2013
F2A (spouses/children of LPR)	Aug 1, 2024	Aug 1, 2024	Aug 1, 2023	Aug 1, 2024
F2B (unmarried adult sons/daughters of LPR)	May 22, 2017	May 22, 2017	Feb 15, 2009	Apr 8, 2013
F3 (married sons/daughters of USC)	Feb 15, 2012	Feb 15, 2012	May 1, 2001	Nov 22, 2005
F4 (siblings of USC)	Sep 15, 2008	Nov 1, 2006	Apr 8, 2001	Jul 15, 2007

No significant movement in family-based categories this month.

What to watch in June 2026

• Whether USCIS reinstates the Dates for Filing chart. June is historically when State releases the annual prediction memo for the rest of FY2026 visa use. If remaining numbers are ample, DFF may return.
• EB-5 India retrogression. The warning in Section E is real. If EB-5 Unreserved India gets retrogressed, applicants who have not yet filed I-485 (and don’t have a concurrent I-526E) could lose their filing window mid-year.
• EB-2 NIW backlog for India. After April’s large advance, any retrogression signal in the June bulletin would indicate the State Department over-allocated numbers in April and is correcting course.

Next steps

• Check your priority date against the Final Action Dates table using the Priority Date Tracker.
• Talk to your attorney about the implications of the DFF-to-FAD switch if you were planning to file I-485 in May based on April’s dates.
• EB-5 unreserved India holders: get I-485 ready to file immediately if your priority date is current, before any retrogression takes effect.

Visa Bulletin dates change monthly. This article reflects the May 2026 bulletin as published by the Department of State. Always verify current dates at travel.state.gov before filing.