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March 2026 Visa Bulletin – Significant EB-2 Advancement
The U.S. Department of State (DOS)’s March 2026 Visa Bulletin reflects broad advancement across employment-based immigrant categories, with especially notable movement in EB-2, where all countries will become current except India and China.
USCIS confirmed that it will apply the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment of status (AOS) filings in March.
Key Developments
- Major improvements in EB-2 for most countries
- Dates for Filing: All countries except India and China are current in the EB-2 Dates for Filing category. EB-2 India’s Date for Filing advances by 11 months to November 1, 2014, and EB-2 China’s Date for Filing remains at January 1, 2022.
- Final Action Dates: EB-2 for all countries except India and China advance by six and a half months to October 15, 2024; China remains at September 1, 2021, and India advances to September 15, 2013.
- USCIS will honor Dates for Filing chart for March 2026
- For categories with current Dates for Filing, eligible applicants may file adjustment of status applications even where Final Action Dates are not yet current.
- The State Department caution on future retrogression
- The DOS attributes much of the advancement to reduced immigrant visa issuance at consulates due to the “pause” on issuance of immigrant visas for 75 countries but warns that if demand increases or current restrictive consular policies change, some cutoff dates may need to retrogress later in FY 2026.
The remaining employment-based filing and final action dates advance as follows:
- EB-1
- Dates for Filing: EB-1 India and China advance by four months to December 1, 2023; all other countries remain current.
- Final Action Dates: EB-1 India and China advance to March 1, 2023; all other countries remain current.
- EB-3 Professional and Skilled Workers
- Dates for Filing: China remains at January 1, 2022; India remains at August 15, 2014. The Philippines advances to January 1, 2024; all other countries advance to January 15, 2024.
- Final Action Dates: China remains at May 1, 2021, and India remains at November 15, 2013. The Philippines advances to August 1, 2023; all other countries move to October 1, 2023.
- EB-3 Other Workers
- Dates for Filing: China advances to October 1, 2019; India remains at August 15, 2014; all other countries advance to June 22, 2022.
- Final Action Dates: China remains at December 8, 2018; India remains at November 15, 2013; all other countries advance to November 1, 2021.
- EB-4
- Dates for Filing: All countries advance to January 1, 2023.
- Final Action Dates: All countries advance to July 15, 2021.
- EB-5
- Dates for Filing (Unreserved): China advances to October 1, 2016; India remains at May 1, 2024; all other countries remain current.
- Final Action Dates (Unreserved): China remains at August 15, 2016; India remains at May 1, 2022; all other countries remain current.
- EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) remain current for all countries in both charts.
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Premium Processing Fees Increase
Effective March 1, 2026, USCIS will increase fees for Premium Processing to reflect inflation from June 2023 through June 2025. For most cases, the fee increases from $2,805 to $2,965.
The following classifications differ:
- H-2B, R-1 (Form I-129): The fee increases from $1,685 to $1,780.
- F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, M-1, M-2 (Form I-539): The fee increases from $1,965 to $2,075.
- Form I-765 (OPT and STEM-OPT Classifications): The fee increases from $1,685 to $1,780.
For more information, see our T&R news alert here.
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H-1B Cap Registration Starts March 4, 2026
The registration period for the 2027 H-1B cap lottery will open at noon (ET) on March 4, 2026, and will close at noon (ET) on March 19, 2026. The cap registration fee remains unchanged from last year at $215 per registration. USCIS plans to notify registrants of their selection by March 31, 2026.
While the administration has changed the lottery to a weighted selection based on salary, they have not yet released the information that will be needed for registration. We anticipate that this will only be released on March 4th and may require attorneys to go back to employers for additional information.
What else to expect:
- Unique beneficiary focus: Selection will remain based on unique beneficiaries. If an individual submits multiple registrations, they will not be able to be selected.
- Weighted selection favoring higher-paid workers: The H-1B lottery will shift to a weighted system that prioritizes allocating H-1B numbers to higher-paid foreign workers. For more information on the new weighted selection system, see our T&R news alert here.
- New $100,000 H-1B fee: For H-1B petitions submitted for new beneficiaries outside of the United States, there will be a surcharge of $100,000. For more information and guidance on the new fee, see our T&R news alert here.
- Chances of selection could increase: As a result of the changes affecting the new H-1B cap season, we are seeing a decrease in the number of registrations – about one-third of the typical amount – which could signal a greater chance of selection in this year’s lottery.
If you still wish to be placed into the H-1B lottery or have employees to be placed into the H-1B lottery, please contact T&R immediately!
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Immigrant Visa Processing Suspended for 75 Countries
On January 21, 2026, the Department of State indefinitely suspended processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, targeting family-based and employment-based immigration. An official statement is available on the DOS website.
The pause applies only to immigrant visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad and does not affect applications to adjust status (Form I-485) filed in the United States or nonimmigrant visas (e.g. B-1/B-2, H-1B, L-1, F-1, etc.).
Dual nationals are exempt from the suspension if they apply with a passport from a non-restricted country.
For more information on the suspension plus a complete list of the countries impacted, please see our T&R news alert here.
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