EB-1 India Is on the Same Cliff EB-2 Already Fell Off. What to Do Before September 30.

Where EB-1 India stands right now

The June 2026 Visa Bulletin moved EB-1 India backward by approximately three and a half months — from April 1, 2023 to December 15, 2022 on the Final Action Dates chart. That is the number that controls whether an EB-1 India green card can be approved or a new I-485 can be filed. If your EB-1 India priority date falls after December 14, 2022, you are not current. No I-485 in EB-1 can be approved for you this month.

What made the June bulletin unusual is not just the size of the retrogression. It is the language that came with it. The State Department explicitly stated — in the bulletin's own notes — that further retrogression in EB-1 India, or a full unavailability designation, may be required before September 30, 2026. That phrasing is not standard boilerplate. DOS flags potential future action in most bulletins, but EB-1 — the priority worker category — rarely sees the same alarm language as EB-2. This month it did.

EB-2 India already fell off this same cliff. On May 22, 2026, the State Department confirmed that every EB-2 immigrant visa available to India-born applicants for FY2026 had been issued. EB-2 India is now listed as unavailable through September 30. EB-1 India is still active as of June, but the June bulletin is tracking the same pattern EB-2 was on in April — a steep retrogression followed by a formal warning — before in-flight approvals consumed the remaining numbers in under three weeks.

Why there is no safety net if EB-1 goes unavailable

When EB-2 India went unavailable in late May, a different window opened. EB-3 India — the third employment preference category — had not run out of visa numbers. Its June 2026 Final Action Date of December 15, 2013 sat more than three months ahead of EB-2 India's last published cutoff. Applicants with employer-sponsored PERM labor certifications could file a new EB-3 I-140 using the same PERM, retain the original priority date from the EB-2 petition, and get into the EB-3 filing window. That combination made the EB-2 to EB-3 downgrade a viable strategy for applicants who had PERM-based petitions.

EB-1 has no equivalent path. The three EB-1 sub-categories — extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers — do not connect to EB-3 through any PERM-based mechanism. EB-3 skilled worker and professional filings require a certified PERM labor certification for a specific job. None of the EB-1 sub-categories involve PERM. An EB-1A self-petition is not PERM-based. An EB-1B outstanding researcher petition is not PERM-based. An EB-1C multinational executive petition is not PERM-based.

If EB-1 India goes unavailable before October, EB-1 holders waiting for green cards are waiting for October, full stop. There is no other employment-based category to access in the interim. The downgrade path that cushioned the blow for some EB-2 India applicants simply does not exist for EB-1.

EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C: three sub-categories, one cutoff, different problems

All three EB-1 sub-categories share the same Final Action Date cutoff on the visa bulletin. If EB-1 India retrogresses further or goes unavailable, it hits all three identically. But the practical meaning of a freeze differs considerably across the three.

EB-1A — extraordinary ability — is a self-petition. The alien files their own I-140 without any employer requirement. An EB-1A holder on H-1B with a pending I-485 is in the cleanest position of the three: their case does not depend on maintaining a relationship with any particular employer. If EB-1 India goes unavailable, the I-485 stays on file, EAD and Advance Parole remain valid and renewable, and the case waits for October numbers to reset. The main risk for EB-1A holders is administrative — EAD expiration timing and whether H-1B status has been maintained as a backup if it is still needed.

EB-1B — outstanding professors and researchers — requires an employer or research institution sponsor, but no PERM. The petitioning institution files the I-140. For academics at universities and research labs, the employer relationship tends to be stable. The specific concern for EB-1B holders is portability. AC21 portability allows a job change after 180 days of I-485 pending — but the same-or-similar standard is applied more narrowly for research positions than for most EB-2 or EB-3 categories. If a postdoctoral appointment or research contract is ending this summer and a move to a different institution is contemplated, attorney guidance is essential before anything changes.

EB-1C — multinational executives and managers — requires the most structured employer relationship of the three. The petitioning company must demonstrate a qualifying corporate link between a U.S. entity and a foreign parent, subsidiary, or affiliate, and the beneficiary must fill an executive or manager role as defined under the INA. For large multinationals with India-born employees who have been in the EB-1C queue for years, the June retrogression is the first time their priority date has become a live, near-term operational concern. If EB-1 India goes unavailable in July, companies that had been anticipating imminent approvals for executive-level employees are looking at an October reset at minimum — and any corporate restructuring that disrupts the qualifying relationship in the meantime requires immediate attorney review.

If your I-485 is already pending

A pending I-485 is not canceled or denied when a visa category goes unavailable. When EB-2 India went unavailable in May, no pending adjustment of status applications were rejected. USCIS cannot approve the green card itself while the category is unavailable — that is the freeze — but it continues processing the underlying file. Background checks run. Security vetting continues. USCIS field offices may keep scheduled interviews even when the category is unavailable, though an approval cannot issue until a visa number is available.

EAD and Advance Parole remain valid and renewable while the I-485 is pending, regardless of whether the visa category is current or unavailable. Work authorization is tied to the pending application, not to whether an approval can be issued today. The freeze applies to the final green card approval only.

The thing requiring immediate attention is EAD expiration timing. If your EAD expires before November 2026 — meaning it would lapse in the window between now and the October fiscal year reset — file your I-765 renewal immediately. USCIS processing times at most offices have been running two to four months. You do not want your employment authorization to gap during the period when October numbers are expected to restart approvals. Advance Parole renewal follows the same logic if you have international travel planned for the fall.

If you have not filed I-485 yet

Filing an I-485 adjustment of status requires the Final Action Date to be current for your category and country of birth. There is no Chart B relief for employment-based categories right now. USCIS eliminated the Dates for Filing chart for all employment-based preference categories in May 2026, and there is no visible path for it to return before October.

For EB-1 India, the current Final Action Date is December 15, 2022. If your priority date falls on December 14, 2022 or earlier, you are currently eligible to file I-485. If you have an approved EB-1 I-140 with a current priority date and you have not yet filed, there is a real argument for moving quickly rather than waiting for the July bulletin to potentially push the date further back. An I-485 you file before any future retrogression takes effect locks in your place in the queue, starts the clock on EAD issuance, and protects your case from a later date change.

If your priority date falls after December 15, 2022, you are not current under the June chart and the situation does not change based on what happens in July.

What the July bulletin is likely to show

The July 2026 Visa Bulletin is expected to be published around June 20. Based on the State Department's own warning language in the June bulletin and the trajectory of India's FY2026 EB-1 number consumption, the July bulletin is likely to show one of three outcomes for EB-1 India: additional retrogression to a date before December 15, 2022; a hold at December 15, 2022 accompanied by continued warning language; or a full unavailability designation similar to what happened to EB-2 India on May 22.

The one outcome that is not plausible is meaningful forward movement. The June bulletin is explicit that the driver is number consumption against the annual per-country cap, and nothing resets that counter before September 30.

Watch the July bulletin on the morning it drops. If EB-1 India goes unavailable, any cases in late adjudication stages cannot be approved until October numbers flow. If the date retrogresses further, the current filing window for applicants with pre-December-2022 priority dates may narrow or close entirely before they can act.

What to actually do right now

If your I-485 is pending and your EAD expires before November 2026, file Form I-765 renewal now. Do not wait for the July bulletin. Processing times have been running two to four months at most offices, and a lapse in employment authorization coverage at the moment October numbers begin to flow would be a bad outcome after years of waiting.

If you are an EB-1C multinational executive and your company is contemplating any structural changes — a merger, acquisition, domestic reorganization, change in reporting structure, or title change — involve immigration counsel before anything happens. EB-1C is more sensitive to employer-side changes than either EB-1A or EB-1B. A restructuring that breaks the qualifying corporate relationship between the U.S. entity and the foreign affiliate could require filing a new petition at exactly the moment the EB-1 India date is under pressure.

If you have an EB-1B outstanding researcher case and your research appointment or postdoctoral position is ending this summer, confirm now whether a move to a different institution or a new position would require a new I-140 petition. If your I-485 has been pending for more than 180 days, AC21 portability is available — but the same-or-similar analysis for research roles is more fact-specific than for most other employment-based categories.

If you have an approved EB-1A I-140 with a priority date before December 15, 2022 and you have not yet filed I-485, consider filing this week. The category is current for you today. If the July bulletin moves the date backward, an I-485 filed before the new cutoff takes effect is protected. Once received, your position is established and your EAD clock begins.

If you are an employer with multiple India-born EB-1C employees in the queue, audit the priority dates now. Which employees hold dates before December 15, 2022? Those individuals have a current I-485 filing opportunity today that may not exist in three weeks. Companies that planned around imminent approvals need to recalibrate around October as the realistic earliest date for any green card to issue.

This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. EB-1 India priority date strategy depends on sub-category, employer relationship, underlying immigration status, pending filings, and individual case facts. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before making any filing decisions, employment changes, or travel plans tied to pending immigration matters.