The U.S. State Department has announced that the employment-based visa pool for Fiscal Year 2026 will be approximately 186,000, which is 46,000 above the statutory floor of 140,000. This increase is attributed to the spillover of unused family-preference visas from FY2025 due to consular backlogs and visa issuance restrictions.
Key Details:
- The new EB visa allocation of ~186,000 was confirmed in the May 2026 Annual Numerical Limits document.
- Each employment-based category (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3) will receive about 53,000 visas, compared to the usual 40,000.
- India’s EB-2 category exhausted its per-country allocation on May 22, 2026, leading to a retrogression of over 10 months in the June 2026 visa bulletin.
- USCIS has switched to Final Action Dates for I-485 filing eligibility, closing the previous Dates for Filing window.
The changes will significantly impact applicants, especially those from India and China, as backlogs continue without legislative reform. Need help with your immigration case? Visit QuickFiling.us for professional immigration services.
Source: Haven