June 2026 Filing Window
No Chart B Again in June. EB-2 India Is Back at 2013. Here's What the Pattern Means.
USCIS confirmed this week that employment-based I-485 applicants must use Final Action Dates for June 2026 — the second consecutive month without Chart B. Combined with the EB-2 India retrogression to September 2013 and EB-1 India pulling back to December 2022, the filing window is significantly narrower than it was sixty days ago. Here is what the pattern is telling you and what to do.
What USCIS confirmed this week for June filings
When the June 2026 Visa Bulletin dropped on May 13, the headlines went immediately to the numbers: EB-2 India retrogressed from July 2014 to September 2013, EB-1 India fell from April 2023 to December 2022. Both were significant and both deserved coverage.
What generated less attention in those first few days was USCIS's corresponding decision about which chart governs June adjustment of status filings. USCIS published its "When to File" guidance this week, and for employment-based categories the answer is the same as May: Final Action Dates only. Chart B — the Dates for Filing chart — remains closed for EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and all other employment-based preference categories for June 2026.
Family-sponsored cases get different treatment. USCIS continued to authorize the Dates for Filing chart for family categories in June. The asymmetry between employment-based and family-sponsored has now held for two consecutive months.
The June numbers, by category
Since the chart decision forces employment-based filers to look at Chart A, here is where the June 2026 Final Action Dates land for the categories that matter most: EB-2 India at September 1, 2013 — a ten-month retreat from May's July 15, 2014. EB-1 India at December 15, 2022, down from April 1, 2023. EB-1 China held flat at April 1, 2023. EB-2 China held flat at September 1, 2021. EB-3 India advanced modestly to December 15, 2013. EB-3 worldwide (countries other than India, China, and Philippines) at June 1, 2024. EB-1 and EB-2 worldwide: Current, meaning no cutoff for applicants from countries other than India and China.
If your EB-2 India priority date is before September 1, 2013, you are current under the June Final Action Dates and can file I-485 — or have it approved if your case is already pending. If your priority date falls between September 1, 2013 and July 15, 2014, you were current in May but are not current in June. That filing window closed when the retrogressed date posted.
EB-3 worldwide sitting at June 1, 2024 is worth pausing on. For EB-3 applicants born outside India, China, and the Philippines, any priority date before June 2024 is current for filing I-485 under the June Final Action Dates chart. That is a relatively accessible window compared to the India and China backlogs.
Two months without Chart B is not a routine switch
When USCIS announced the switch to Final Action Dates for May, the agency's position was clear: the Chart B window that had been open from November 2025 through April 2026 drove a surge in employment-based I-485 filings, and USCIS needed to slow the intake pace to avoid exhausting FY2026 visa numbers before September 30.
The June decision confirms that May was not a one-time correction. USCIS is deliberately managing the volume of employment-based I-485 filings in the second half of FY2026. Chart B accelerates filing demand; with a large portion of the year's per-country allocations already consumed, reopening it now would risk letting more applicants queue up against numbers that may not materialize before the fiscal year closes.
None of this is formal policy with advance notice. USCIS makes the chart designation monthly, and it is not published weeks ahead of time. But two identical decisions in a row — alongside two months of commentary warning about demand pressure on India categories — is a pattern, not a coincidence.
What history says about when Chart B comes back
USCIS has pulled Chart B mid-year for employment-based cases in prior fiscal years. The track record once it closes in the spring or summer is consistent: the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based categories rarely reopens in the same fiscal year after closing past April.
The structural reason is the annual cap. Per-country visa numbers for EB-2 and EB-3 reset on October 1. The second half of any fiscal year — April through September — is when annual allocations are under the most stress. Opening Chart B in July or August would allow applicants to file I-485 applications against numbers that may not be available before September 30, which creates a backlog of prematurely filed cases with no visa numbers to match them.
October is the realistic reset point. FY2027 numbers become available on October 1, 2026. The October 2026 Visa Bulletin — published in mid-September — is typically where the annual cycle restarts and where Chart B authorization for employment-based categories is reconsidered with a fresh year's numbers in play. The July and August bulletins are worth watching for movement in the dates themselves, but the employment-based Chart B question historically does not reset until October.
Your pending I-485 is not affected by the chart switch
The chart decision for June applies only to new filings — I-485 applications submitted on or after June 1. It has no effect on applications already in the pipeline with USCIS.
If you filed I-485 during the Chart B window that ran from November 2025 through April 30, 2026, your case is pending. USCIS accepted your filing as complete at the time of submission. The switch to Final Action Dates does not retroactively invalidate a case properly filed under the rules in effect at that time. What changes is when your I-485 can actually be approved: USCIS can only issue a final approval once the Final Action Date in your category reaches your priority date.
For EB-2 India applicants with a priority date between September 2013 and January 2015 who filed under Chart B in that window: the June retrogression means the Final Action Date has moved away from your position. Your I-485 remains active and pending. Approval is deferred until the date advances to reach your priority date again. The EAD and Advance Parole tied to your pending I-485 continue on their own renewal schedules and are not impacted by where the bulletin dates sit.
Family cases still have a different window in June
While employment-based filers are locked to Final Action Dates, family-sponsored applicants can use the Dates for Filing chart in June. USCIS has maintained this asymmetry for two months straight.
F2A — spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents — is the category with the most immediate opportunity in the family queue. USCIS authorized Chart B for family-sponsored cases in June, which means qualifying F2A beneficiaries who are inside the United States may be able to file I-485 even if the Final Action Date has not yet reached their priority date. F1, F3, and F4 all have their own Dates for Filing chart numbers worth checking against your specific priority date and chargeability country.
The caveat is the same one that applies to every Chart B authorization: USCIS can end the Dates for Filing window for family categories in any future month without advance notice. A pending I-485 is protected once submitted. A case not yet filed is exposed to that risk. If your priority date qualifies under the June Dates for Filing chart for a family category, filing now rather than waiting is the lower-risk choice.
What to watch between now and October 1
The July 2026 Visa Bulletin will be released in mid-June. Three things to watch when it lands: whether EB-2 India moves forward or retrogresses further from September 2013; whether EB-1 India or EB-2 India gets listed as unavailable before the fiscal year ends; and whether USCIS authorizes Chart B for employment-based filings in July, which would break the current two-month pattern.
The DOS commentary in the June bulletin issued an explicit warning that further retrogression in EB-1 India and EB-2 India is possible, and that the categories may need to be made unavailable before September 30. That is not standard hedging language. It is the State Department signaling directly that it is watching India's per-country numbers closely and may act again before FY2026 closes. For EB-2 China and EB-1 China, DOS separately flagged that China's number usage could require action later in the fiscal year. China held flat in June, but it carries no structural guarantee.
October 1, 2026 resets the annual visa numbers. Dates that retrogressed during the summer frequently advance again in October when FY2027 numbers become available. The October 2026 Visa Bulletin — the first one of the new fiscal year, typically appearing in mid-September — is the most important publication on the calendar for EB-2 India applicants currently sitting outside the Final Action Date window.
What to actually do right now, depending on where you are
If your EB-2 India or EB-1 India priority date is current under the June Final Action Dates — before September 1, 2013 for EB-2, before December 15, 2022 for EB-1 — confirm your I-485 package is ready to file if it hasn't been submitted yet. Current means approvable. An unfiled application when your date is current is the most avoidable mistake in this process.
If your priority date was current under Chart B during the April window and you filed before April 30: your case is pending and waiting for the Final Action Date to advance back to your position. Check that your EAD and Advance Parole renewals are on schedule and that your underlying H-1B or other nonimmigrant status is maintained. A pending I-485 does not replace your obligation to keep valid nonimmigrant status while you wait.
If your priority date was in the April Chart B window and you did not file by April 30, and you are not current under the June Final Action Dates: the path to filing I-485 inside the United States is closed for now. Consular processing abroad follows only Final Action Dates, so that path is also closed at the current cutoffs. The most realistic next opportunity is the October 2026 bulletin. If your H-1B extension timeline is approaching, do not wait until September to assess your options — work through the timing with your attorney now. This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before making any filing decisions.