← All articles

August 2026 Visa Bulletin Analysis: Priority Date Movements

6 min read
Listen to this article4 min listen

The August 2026 Visa Bulletin is out, and the headline is that EB-2 India, EB-5 Unreserved India are Unavailable this month. Below is the full comparison against July 2026, what Unavailable actually means for your case, and which chart USCIS is using for I-485 filings.

Final Action Dates (FAD): What Changed

CategoryCountryPrevious FADNew FADChange
EB-1ChinaJun 1, 2023Jul 1, 2023+1 months
EB-1IndiaOct 15, 2022Oct 15, 2022No change
EB-1MexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-1PhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-1Rest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-2ChinaSep 1, 2021Sep 1, 2021No change
EB-2IndiaUnavailableUnavailableUnavailable
EB-2MexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-2PhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-2Rest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-3ChinaDec 22, 2021Jan 1, 2022+1 months
EB-3IndiaJan 1, 2014Jan 1, 2014No change
EB-3MexicoAug 1, 2024Sep 1, 2024+1 months
EB-3PhilippinesAug 1, 2023Aug 1, 2023No change
EB-3Rest of WorldAug 1, 2024Sep 1, 2024+1 months
EB-5 UnreservedChinaDec 1, 2016Dec 1, 2016No change
EB-5 UnreservedIndiaUnavailableUnavailableUnavailable
EB-5 UnreservedMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 UnreservedPhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 UnreservedRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralChinaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralIndiaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralPhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentChinaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentIndiaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentPhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureChinaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureIndiaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructurePhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change

Dates for Filing (DFF): What Changed

CategoryCountryPrevious DFFNew DFFChange
EB-1ChinaDec 1, 2023Dec 1, 2023No change
EB-1IndiaDec 1, 2023Dec 1, 2023No change
EB-1MexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-1PhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-1Rest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-2ChinaJan 1, 2022Jan 1, 2022No change
EB-2IndiaJan 15, 2015Jan 15, 2015No change
EB-2MexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-2PhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-2Rest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-3ChinaJan 1, 2022Jan 8, 2022No change
EB-3IndiaJan 15, 2015Jan 15, 2015No change
EB-3MexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-3PhilippinesJan 1, 2024Jan 1, 2024No change
EB-3Rest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 UnreservedChinaMar 1, 2017Mar 1, 2017No change
EB-5 UnreservedIndiaMay 1, 2024May 1, 2024No change
EB-5 UnreservedMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 UnreservedPhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 UnreservedRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralChinaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralIndiaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralPhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 RuralRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentChinaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentIndiaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentPhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 High UnemploymentRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureChinaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureIndiaCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureMexicoCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructurePhilippinesCurrentCurrentNo change
EB-5 InfrastructureRest of WorldCurrentCurrentNo change

Key Takeaways

  • EB-2 India, EB-5 Unreserved India are now Unavailable for the rest of the fiscal year. The annual per-country limit has been reached, so no numbers are being issued and no I-485 can be approved in these categories right now. A cutoff date is expected to be re-announced when the new fiscal year begins in October.
  • EB-1 China saw the largest Final Action Date advance at +1 months.
  • No retrogressions were observed in Final Action Dates this month.
  • Final Action Dates remained unchanged for 31 of 15 category-country combinations.

Which Chart Can You File Under?

For August 2026, USCIS designated the Final Action Dates chart for adjustment of status. This is important: being current under the Dates for Filing chart does not let you file this month. You can file Form I-485 only if your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date for your category. Confirm at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo before filing.

What "Unavailable" Means

A category is marked Unavailable ("U") when the annual or per-country visa limit for the fiscal year has been reached. No visa numbers are being issued, so no green card can be approved in that category right now, and adjustment applications cannot be filed under it. This is temporary: the visa supply resets at the start of the next government fiscal year on October 1, and the State Department typically re-announces a cutoff date at that point. If you are in one of these categories, your place in line is unchanged. Your priority date is preserved, and the wait simply pauses until numbers are authorized again.

EB-5 Set-Aside Categories Stay Current

All three EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) remain Current for every country this month. An investor in a qualifying set-aside project can file Form I-526E now, and if living in the United States in valid status can file Form I-485 at the same time. These queues were created by the 2022 reform law and are filling, so the set-aside route is time-sensitive.

What to Watch in the Coming Months

  • EB-1 India could become Unavailable in the coming weeks if India's per-country limit in that category is reached before the fiscal year ends on September 30.
  • Worldwide EB-2 could see its Final Action Date retrogress, or the category could become Unavailable, in the coming months to keep issuance within the annual limit.
  • More broadly, the State Department cautioned that further retrogression may be necessary across categories before the fiscal year ends, and any category could become Unavailable if its annual, category, or per-country limit is reached.

What This Means for You

Use our Priority Date Estimator to see how these changes affect your specific timeline based on your category and country of chargeability. You can also view the full historical data on our Visa Bulletin Tracker page to understand long-term trends.

Data sourced from the U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov). All dates shown are estimates based on historical trends and are not guarantees. This is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney for case-specific guidance.

Check your green card timeline

Get an estimated green card timeline based on your country, EB category, and priority date.

Open Priority Date Estimator
Questions? Ask here