March Bulletin Shows Leaps in Employment-Based Visas: Renewed Hopes for Indians

After the February letdown, the March bulletin showcases unprecedented and abrupt news of hope. The US State Department revealed a major leap in its EB-1 bulletin in March. More specifically, the March 2026 visa bulletin shows an advance in India’s employment-based EB-2 final action date and in EB-1A green card final action date.

Here, our EB-1A experts have presented an informed overview of what the March employment-based visa bulletin means for Indians.

The hopeful leap: February vs. March visa bulletin

State of EB-1A

The February bulletin showed little progress and a big freeze for almost all the employment-based categories. In the February EB-1 bulletin, the EB-1 final action date for India was February 1, 2023. However, it progressed exactly a month in the March visa bulletin, reaching March 1, 2023. A month’s progress is not a negligible advance when it comes to applicants from all over the globe.

Likewise, the dates for filing saw a more substantial leap in comparison with the previous month’s visa bulletin. While in February, the date for filing rests at August 1 of 2023, in the March EB-1 bulletin, the date jumps up nearly four months to December 1 of 2023.

State of EB-2

The same pattern of progress could also be discerned in the case of EB-2 India. While the February bulletin halted the EB-2 final action date at 15th July of 2013, the March bulletin once again shows considerable progress to 15th September of 2013 (exactly 3 months). The dates for the filing chart have also reflected the same march of progress. The date for filing has marched ahead almost a year to 1st November, 2014, in the March visa bulletin.

State of EB-3 & EB-4

However, for the EB-3 visa category, there has been neither a forward movement nor a retrogression. It stays stuck at 15th November of 2013. On the contrary, the EB-4 visa has moved from 1st January, 2021 to 15th July, 2021 for India.

In other words, while February was largely static, March heralded movement that few anticipated. At GCEB1, we previously forecasted that advancement like this can happen due to visa spillover. This kind of double-digit advancement does not occur every month and has understandably reignited hope among backlog-impacted professionals.

So what does this visa bulletin mean for EB-1A professionals?

If your EB-1A I-140 is already approved and your priority date is on or before 01MAR23

You may now be eligible for final action (consular visa or I-485 adjustment), depending on whether USCIS is using Final Action Dates. That is the immediate practical win: now, you can prepare to file I-485 (or respond to NVC instructions).

If your I-140 is approved, but your priority date is after 01MAR23

You will still be waiting for the final action date in this case. But the bulletin movement is a positive directional signal (small, but meaningful). Continue preparing your dossier so you can act quickly when your date becomes current.

If you haven’t filed I-140 yet (or are building an EB-1A case)

This bulletin is encouraging, but not a reason to rush a weak petition. EB-1A success depends on real adjudication merits, and you should rigorously prepare for it. Here is a small guide on what you need to know before filing your I-140.

At GCEB1, we dedicatedly mentor EB-1A aspirants to cultivate their best possible version in the EB-1A petition. For more personalized guidance, you can directly get in touch with us.

We wish you a safe and stress-free immigration journey.

Sources

• https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2026/visa-bulletin-for-march-2026.html
• https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2026/visa-bulletin-for-february-2026.html