The July Bulletin Is Out. EB-1 India Fell Again, and EB-3 Has the Only Window Open.

What the July bulletin actually shows

The July 2026 Visa Bulletin released this week, and USCIS confirmed — for the third straight month — that it will use only Final Action Dates for employment-based adjustment of status filings. No Chart B, no early filing window. The date that controls everything is the Final Action Date.

EB-1 India: October 15, 2022. That is a two-month drop from December 15, 2022 in the June bulletin. The July bulletin carries the same warning DOS put in the June bulletin: further retrogression, or a full unavailability designation, may be required before September 30. EB-1 China advanced two months to June 1, 2023. EB-1 Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines remain Current.

EB-2 India: Unavailable. No change since May 22, 2026. EB-2 China holds at September 1, 2021. EB-2 Rest of World remains Current. EB-3 India: January 1, 2014 — a two-week advance from December 15, 2013. EB-3 China: December 22, 2021, a nearly five-month jump from August 1, 2021. EB-3 Rest of World and Mexico: August 1, 2024, two months ahead of June. EB-5 India Unreserved: Unavailable — India has exhausted its pro-rated FY2026 allocation. EB-5 Set-Aside categories — Rural, High Unemployment Area, and Infrastructure — remain Current for every country worldwide, including India.

EB-1 India: two more months gone, same warning still there

The June 2026 bulletin warned explicitly that EB-1 India might retrogress further or go unavailable before September 30. The July bulletin confirms that was not empty language.

October 15, 2022 is the Final Action Date. If your EB-1 India priority date is October 14, 2022 or earlier, you are current today. If it falls on October 15, 2022 or after — including December 14, 2022, which was current in June — you are not current in July.

The two-month retrogression in July follows a 3.5-month retrogression in June. Both reflect the same dynamic: India's annual EB-1 allocation is being consumed faster than the remaining FY2026 supply allows. The July bulletin warning language is nearly identical to June's, which means DOS still sees unresolved demand pressure. A retrogression followed by the same warning in the next month means the underlying problem has not been addressed — it has bought a few more weeks of headroom. If consumption continues at the same pace, August may show another move backward.

The most immediate impact falls on people with EB-1 India priority dates between October 15, 2022 and December 14, 2022. They were current in June. They are not current in July. Any intended I-485 filing that did not happen in June cannot happen now until October resets the counter. Applicants with priority dates before October 15, 2022 remain current today and should not assume that status holds through August.

EB-2 India: frozen until October, with one thing to do right now

Nothing changed for EB-2 India in July. The category has been Unavailable since May 22, when India exhausted its full FY2026 EB-2 allocation. It will show Unavailable in August and September. The fiscal year ends September 30. FY2027 numbers reset October 1.

A pending I-485 is not canceled when a category goes unavailable. USCIS continues processing the underlying file — background checks, security vetting — but cannot approve the final green card while no visa number exists. EAD and Advance Parole remain valid and renewable throughout. Work authorization is tied to the pending I-485, not to whether the category is current. The freeze applies only to the final green card approval.

If your EAD expires before November 2026, file your Form I-765 renewal immediately. Processing times have been running two to four months at most USCIS offices. You do not want work authorization to lapse at the moment October numbers flow and your case moves toward final adjudication. Advance Parole renewal follows the same logic if you have fall travel planned.

EB-3 India: the only category moving forward

EB-3 India moved from December 15, 2013 to January 1, 2014 in the July bulletin. Roughly two weeks of forward progress. Small, but notable because it is the only India employment-based category moving in a positive direction right now.

For applicants considering the EB-2-to-EB-3 downgrade, this advance keeps the window open. The gap that makes the strategy possible: EB-2 India is Unavailable while EB-3 India is at January 1, 2014. If your priority date predates January 1, 2014, you are current under EB-3 Final Action even though you cannot file under EB-2. The mechanism: file a new EB-3 I-140 petition with your current employer using the same certified PERM labor certification that supported your EB-2 petition. When the EB-3 I-140 is approved, you file I-485 using the priority date from the original EB-2 petition — priority date retention applies.

Two limits on this strategy. First, it only works if your EB-2 petition is PERM-based. NIW self-petitions do not carry over to EB-3 because EB-3 requires a certified labor certification and NIW specifically waives that requirement. Second, the EB-2-to-EB-3 gap narrows month by month as EB-3 advances. The window exists in July. Whether it is still as useful in August depends on where each category sits when the August bulletin drops around July 20.

EB-5 India: the unreserved pool is gone, but the set-asides are not

India's EB-5 Unreserved category is now Unavailable. The pro-rated FY2026 limit for India in the unreserved pool has been reached. The same dynamic that closed EB-2 India in May is at work again: growing Indian-origin demand for a category capped by a 7 percent per-country ceiling.

For pending cases in the unreserved category, the freeze operates the same way as EB-2 India. The I-526 petition and investment are unaffected. USCIS continues processing the underlying file. The freeze applies only to the final green card or immigrant visa issuance, which requires an available visa number. FY2027 numbers reset October 1.

What is getting less attention: EB-5 Set-Aside categories remain Current for every country, including India. Rural (20 percent of the annual EB-5 total), High Unemployment Area (10 percent), and Infrastructure (2 percent) have their own dedicated allocations structured outside the per-country numerical cap. They did not exhaust when the unreserved pool hit its limit. For an investor who has not yet committed to a project, Current availability in set-aside categories is a material fact today. The minimum investment is identical across project types — $800,000 for targeted employment areas, $1,050,000 for non-TEA projects. The distinction is geographic: where the project is located, not the scale of the investment or the legal path to a green card.

China: EB-3 took a five-month step in one bulletin

China EB-3 advanced from August 1, 2021 to December 22, 2021 in the July bulletin — nearly five months of forward movement in a single cycle. For a category that had been advancing modestly, that is a significant shift.

EB-1 China also advanced two months to June 1, 2023. EB-2 China held at September 1, 2021, suggesting some number pressure in that range. The EB-3 China jump reflects a demand-supply balance that gave DOS room to advance the date significantly without risking exhausting the FY2026 allocation before September 30.

For Chinese-born applicants with EB-3 priority dates that were not current in June but may be current under December 22, 2021: the five-month advance could open a filing window that did not exist 30 days ago. Check your priority date against the July Final Action Date and confirm with counsel whether you can file I-485 now.

Chart B is absent for the third straight month

USCIS confirmed, for the third time in a row, that employment-based adjustment of status filings in July will use Final Action Dates only. The Dates for Filing chart — which, when USCIS elects to use it, allows applicants to file I-485 before the Final Action Date is reached and access EAD and Advance Parole early — is not being used for employment-based categories.

May, June, and July: Final Action Dates only. Three months straight without Chart B is not a temporary suspension — it is a policy choice being reaffirmed with each bulletin. There is no public signal from USCIS about restoring Chart B before October.

The most likely moment for Chart B to return is the October FY2027 reset, when USCIS has to decide how it wants to manage the new fiscal year's filing window. For applicants where the Final Action Date is already current — rest-of-world EB-2 and EB-3, China EB-3 now — Chart B's absence matters less. For applicants whose priority dates sit behind the Final Action Date, there is no early entry into the queue. They wait.

What to actually do before September 30

If your EB-1 India priority date is before October 15, 2022 and you have not yet filed I-485: you are current today. The August bulletin may push the date behind yours. File this week if you are positioned to do so. Do not wait for the August bulletin around July 20 — if the date drops again, the window will have closed.

If your EB-1 India priority date falls between October 15, 2022 and December 14, 2022: you were current in June and are not current in July. Your most direct option is to wait for October, when FY2027 numbers reset and the EB-1 India date is expected to advance. If the category goes Unavailable in August, October becomes the earliest realistic date for any EB-1 India green card to issue.

If your I-485 is pending in any India employment-based category: check your EAD expiration. If it expires before November or December 2026, file Form I-765 renewal immediately. Also check Advance Parole if fall travel is planned.

If you have an EB-2 India priority date between September 2, 2013 and January 1, 2014 and your I-485 is not yet filed: the EB-3 downgrade window is open if your EB-2 was PERM-based. Talk to your employer's immigration attorney this week about filing a second EB-3 I-140. The window exists in July and may be narrower in August.

If you are an EB-5 investor with Indian citizenship and have not committed to a project: ask specifically about set-aside categories — Rural, High Unemployment Area, Infrastructure. Those remain Current. Unreserved does not. Watch the August bulletin around July 20: EB-1 India is the most dynamic number between now and September 30. This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before making any filing decisions based on the July 2026 Visa Bulletin.