May 2026 Visa Bulletin Released

 

The Department of State (DOS) has published its May 2026 Visa Bulletin. In May, nearly all employment-based categories remain the same while most family-based categories will see forward movement. Fortunately, no categories will retrogress.

For employment-based final action dates, the only category that advances is the EB-3 Other Workers category for all nationals except for nationals of China, India, and the Philippines. It moves forward by three months.

For family-based final action dates, the F-1 category will move forward for all nationals except for nationals of the Philippines. The F-2A category will advance for all nationals. The F-3 category will move forward for all nationals except for nationals of Mexico. The F-4 category also will move forward for all nationals except for nationals of India and Mexico.

In May, USCIS will only honor the Dates for Filing Chart for family-based petitions (chart provided further below). Most family-based categories will progress in May. As these dates continue to fall ahead of the Final Action Dates, beneficiaries of family-based immigrant visa petitions who are in the United States lawfully can get their applications filed and obtain interim employment and travel benefits until the government can actually approve their application.

Employment-Based Movement

In May, the EB-1 category remains current worldwide, except for Chinese and Indian nationals, who will remain the same as last month.

The EB-2 category will remain current for all nationals except for nationals of China and India. Both EB-2 India and EB-2 China will remain the same.

The EB-3 and EB-4 categories will remain the same for all nationals.

The EB-3 Other Workers category (for positions requiring less than two years of training), will advance by three months for all nationals except for nationals of China, India, and the Philippines for whom it will stay the same as April 2026.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

As a reminder, USCIS will honor the Final Action Dates noted above in May. If the priority date for your employment-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 May.

Family-based Movement

In May, the F-1 category will advance by four months for all nationals except for nationals of Mexico and the Philippines. Nationals of Mexico will see a six-month advancement, while nationals of the Philippines will remain the same.

The F-2A category will advance by six months for all nationals.

The F-2B category will remain the same for all nationals.

The F-3 category will advance by one month and three weeks for all nationals, except for nationals of the Philippines and Mexico. F-3 Philippines will move forward by four months and three weeks. F-3 Mexico will remain the same.

The F-4 category will move forward by three months and one week for all nationals, except for nationals of India, Mexico and the Philippines. F-4 Philippines will advance by five months and two weeks. F-4 will remain the same for nationals of India and Mexico.

Here’s a chart for easy reference:

 
 

As mentioned above, USCIS will continue to honor the Dates for Filing chart (further below) for family-based immigrant visa categories in May.

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 May 2026, USCIS has confirmed the Dates for Filing (below) should be used for only family-based categories.

 
 

If the priority date for your 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 May.

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