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The Status of Employment-Based Visas for India in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin

The Status of Employment-Based Visas for India in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin

As the U.S. Department of State released the January 2026 Visa Bulletin, Indian professionals tracking their employment-based (EB) immigrant visa progress saw notable priority date movements in the Employment-Based categories. This month’s bulletin is crucial for immigrant workers from India because it determines when their green card applications (I-485 or consular processing) become current.

As always, we have discussed January’s EB-1 bulletin in detail.

Key priority date movement in January 2026

The January 2026 Visa Bulletin brought modest but meaningful changes for Indian applicants across employment-based categories:

EB-1: A four-month-long advance provides relief

The EB-1 category, reserved for extraordinary professionals, researchers, executives, and managers, showed the most positive shift for India. The cut-off date has advanced to 15 Aug 2023, roughly four months ahead of December.This is significant because EB-1 has historically been the fastest employment-based path to a green card for Indian applicants. The broader improvement suggests a reduction in wait times and improved visa availability.

EB-2 and EB-3: Continued backlogs

EB-2 (advanced degrees/professionals) saw no priority date movement for India, staying stuck at 1 Dec 2013.EB-3 Skilled/Professional Workers advanced only by one month, which is a modest but notable improvement in a long backlog.These slow movements reflect sustained high demand and limited per-country allocations, i.e., many Indian EB-2 applicants for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories would still remain stuck in extended queues.

EB-5 Investors: Significant jump

The EB-5 category, for immigrant investors, shows one of the largest priority date advancements: Priority date moved to 1 May 2024, indicating renewed visa number availability after years of backlog. While EB-5 is relevant to a smaller segment of applicants, this shift still signals positive visa flows and renewed hope for Indian investors.

What this means for Indian applicants

Faster progress for high-skill professionals

The EB-1 movement suggests that applicants in this category may see earlier adjustment of status or consular processing opportunities.

EB-2 and EB-3 still slow

These remain heavily backlogged: continuing a trend of constrained visa availability due to high application volumes from India.

Strategic planning matters

Applicants should review their priority dates regularly and stay prepared for filing when dates become current.

The January 2026 Visa Bulletin offers a mixed but optimistic outlook for Indian employment-based green card seekers. It is particularly hopeful for the extraordinary-ability applicants. Now is a great time to prepare in order to become EB-1A ready.

At GCEB1, we dedicatedly mentor extraordinary-ability applicants to strengthen their EB-1A profile. If you are feeling stuck in your quest for U.S. permanent residency, feel free to reach out to us. We wish you a stress-free immigration journey.

Sources & Further Readings

  1. U.S. Department of State.“Visa Bulletin for January 2026.” Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of State, January 2026.
  2. Boundless Immigration, Inc. “January 2026 Visa Bulletin – Latest Updates.”Boundless. December 2025
  3. American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). “Visa Bulletin for January 2026” December 2025.
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