The U.S. Department of State’s August 2026 Visa Bulletin shows forward movement in most categories under the Final Action Dates chart compared to July 2026.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has confirmed it will continue accepting employment-based adjustment of status filings using the Final Action Dates chart throughout August 2026.
USCIS has confirmed it will not use the Dates for Filing chart for August 2026, meaning applicants must rely solely on the Final Action Dates chart to determine eligibility.
The bulletin brings modest but meaningful progress for many applicants seeking to complete the final stage of the permanent residency process in the United States.
Under the EB-1 category, final action dates for China-mainland born applicants advance by one month, while dates for India-born applicants remain unchanged, with all other countries remaining current.
The EB-2 category carries a significant development, as visas are now unavailable for the remainder of the fiscal year for India-born applicants, meaning those cases will not be processed until October 2026.
All countries under the EB-3 category have advanced with the exception of India and the Philippines, which see no forward movement this month.
Both the EB-4 category and the EB-4 Certain Religious Workers subcategory have advanced from September 15, 2022, to October 15, 2022, representing a one-month gain.
The EB-5 investor visa category shows no movement whatsoever in this month’s bulletin, remaining static compared to the July 2026 figures.
Evan D. Anderson of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart published analysis noting that the India EB-2 visa unavailability stems from visas running out during July, pushing affected applicants to wait for the new fiscal year.
With the new fiscal year beginning in October 2026, India-born EB-2 applicants will need to wait before USCIS resumes processing their adjustment of status applications.
The incremental advancement across multiple categories means a broader pool of applicants will now become eligible to take the final step toward securing permanent residency in the United States.