The April 2026 Visa Bulletin reflects forward movement in both family‑based and employment‑based immigrant visa categories.
Factors Driving Advancement
Section D of the Department of State (DOS)’s bulletin indicates that advances across categories are linked to decreased immigrant visa issuance rates for nationals of certain countries impacted by Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998, as well as related updates to immigrant visa processing. This reduced demand has made additional visa numbers available for redistribution across other categories.
Family‑Based Immigration Updates
The April bulletin introduces broad advancement in both the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing charts.
Notable highlights include:
- F2A becomes current for all chargeability areas in the Dates for Filing chart, allowing immediate filing regardless of country of birth.
- F1 advances by approximately six months worldwide in both filing and final action charts.
- F2B, F3, and F4 categories show advances of three to six months for most countries.
- Mexico and the Philippines continue to experience slower movement due to longstanding backlogs, though modest forward progression is still noted.
In the Final Action chart, movement remains positive but slightly more conservative, with F1 advancing by six months and F4 advancing by five months across most chargeability areas.
Employment‑Based Immigration Updates
Employment‑based categories show notable advancement, which DOS attributes to lower visa demand from the countries subject to administration‑imposed restrictions.
EB‑2
- Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines become current in the Final Action chart.
- India advances by nearly 10 months in Final Action and by about 2.5 months in Dates for Filing.
EB‑3 Skilled Workers and Professionals
- Worldwide and Mexico advance eight months in the Final Action chart.
- Both become current in the Dates for Filing chart.
Other Employment‑Based Categories
- EB‑1 China and India advance by one month.
- EB‑4 and Certain Religious Workers categories move forward by a full year for all countries.
- EB‑3 Other Workers (China) advances by about two months.
- EB‑5 Unreserved (China) shows minor forward movement.
Takeaways
While these changes present opportunities for earlier filing and case progression, DOS signals that the possibility of future retrogression remains. Stakeholders should continue to monitor future visa bulletins as the fiscal year progresses.
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