January 2026 Visa Bulletin Released

 

The Department of State (DOS) has published its January 2026 Visa Bulletin. As in December, this month shows forward movement across all employment-based categories. In the family-based categories, only nationals from Mexico and the Philippines will see advancement. Fortunately, none of the categories will retrogress.

For employment-based final action dates, all categories will have forward movement ranging from one week to as much as one year.

For family-based final action dates, Mexico will advance in the F-1 and F-2B categories, while the Philippines moves forward in the F-1, F-2B, F-3, and F-4 categories.

In addition, USCIS will continue to honor the Dates for Filing Chart for both employment and family-based petitions in January (charts provided further below). Compared to last month, many employment and family-based categories see forward movement. These dates are also much further ahead than the Final Action Dates, so more beneficiaries of all immigrant visa petitions can get their applications filed and obtain interim employment and travel benefits until the government can actually approve their application.

Employment-Based Movement

In January, the EB-1 category remains open (“current”) worldwide, except for Chinese and Indian nationals. Nationals of China will see an advancement of one week, and EB-1 India jumps ahead by more than ten months!

The EB-2 category moves forward by two months for all nationals except for nationals of China, which will advance by three months.

The EB-3 category moves forward by one week for all nationals except nationals of China and India. Chinese nationals will see an advancement of one month, and Indian nationals will see forward movement of one month and three weeks.

For the EB-3 Other Workers category (for positions requiring less than two years of training), there is a one-month advancement for all nationals except nationals of China and India. Nationals of China will see a notable one-year advancement, and nationals of India will see a one-month and three week advancement.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

That said, USCIS will honor the Dates for Filing (further below), which are further ahead than Final Action Dates.

Family-based Movement

In January, nationals of Mexico will see a six-month advancement in both the F-1 and F-2B categories.

Nationals of the Philippines will see a five-week advancement in the F-1 category and a two-month and two-week advancement in the F-2B category. Additionally nationals of the Philippines will see a four-month advancement in the F-3 category, and a one-week advancement in the F-4 category.

All other final action dates remain the same.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

As mentioned previously, USCIS will honor the Dates for Filing chart (further below) for family-based immigrant visa categories.

By way of reminder, the categories are:

  • F-1 category: unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

  • F2-A category: spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents

  • F2-B category: unmarried adult children (over 21) of lawful permanent residents

  • F-3 category: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens

  • F-4 category: siblings of U.S. citizens

WHAT DATES IN THE VISA BULLETIN SHOULD YOU USE FOR FILING YOUR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION WITH USCIS?

If USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, then USCIS will state here that you may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, which usually has dates later than the Final Action Dates noted above. Otherwise, USCIS will indicate on its website that you must use the Application Final Action Dates chart (above) to determine when you may file your adjustment of status application in the United States.

For January 2026, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing (below) should be used for both family and employment-based categories.

 
 

If the priority date for your employment or family-based category is before the date listed above and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust your status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission (assuming you have no bars to admissibility) with USCIS in January.

The entire visa bulletin is available on the State Department’s website, which includes information on the diversity visa lottery and the EB-5 priority dates.

If you would like more information on how to understand the monthly visa bulletin, please check out our blog post on this topic and our podcast available here.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further. 

 
Nadia Yakoob