The U.S. Department of State’s March 2026 Visa Bulletin, released on 4 February, delivered a rare dose of good news for Indian green-card applicants. Final-action dates for Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) for India jumped 122 days to 1 March 2023, while EB-2 advanced 60 days to 15 September 2013. Although the shifts still leave Indian professionals facing multi-year backlogs, mobility experts say the movement will trigger thousands of adjustment-of-status filings in March and April. Employers sponsoring H-1B talent should prepare updated Form I-485 supplement letters and medicals. The bulletin attributes the advance to lower-than-expected demand from other oversubscribed nationalities and faster consular processing following the 2024-25 post-pandemic backlog-reduction drive. For Indian assignees on L-1 or H-1B visas nearing their six-year maximum stay, earlier priority dates can mean uninterrupted U.S. work authorisation through the I-485 “compelling circumstances” EAD pathway. HR teams should alert employees whose priority dates have become current and budget for related legal fees. Observers caution that retrogression later in FY 2026 is possible if demand spikes; continuous monitoring of the bulletin remains essential.
Source: U.S. Department of State
