January 2026 EB-3 India Final Action Date Moves Forward

(INDIA) EB-3 India applicants got a real, measurable break in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin: the Final Action Date for EB-3 India moved forward to 15NOV13, from 22SEP13 in December 2025. That’s a forward move of 54 days (about 7 weeks and 5 days), based only on the dates shown in the two bulletins.

For people stuck just past the September 2013 cut-off, this shift can be the difference between staying in limbo and finally seeing a case move to approval or visa issuance—if everything else in the file is ready.

Where this change appears and what it means

This change appears in the January 2026 Visa Bulletin (Visa Bulletin Number 10, Volume XI) on the Employment-Based Final Action Dates chart. It affects applicants chargeable to India, which generally means people born in India for visa quota purposes.

A forward move in the Final Action Date does not mean every EB-3 India case is approved at once. It means that, for January 2026, immigrant visa numbers are available for final approval only if:

• the applicant’s priority date is earlier than the published cut-off date, and
• the case is otherwise complete and documentarily ready.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the size of the move matters because India’s employment-based categories are heavily oversubscribed. Even a relatively small calendar shift can clear a meaningful slice of long-waiting cases near the front of the line.

Key takeaway: a 54-day forward move can turn a multi-year wait into an actionable approval window for applicants whose priority dates sit just past the previous cut-off.

Month-to-month comparison (December 2025 → January 2026)

The direct comparison in the two bulletins is simple and important:

• December 2025 (Final Action Dates — Employment-Based): EB-3 India: 22SEP13
• January 2026 (Final Action Dates — Employment-Based): EB-3 India: 15NOV13

Table: EB-3 India Final Action Date — month-to-month

In plain terms, if your EB-3 India priority date falls after 22SEP13 and on/before 15NOV13, January 2026 is the first month in this comparison where you fall inside the final action cut-off rather than outside it. That can open the door to final steps such as:

• an adjustment approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or
• an immigrant visa issuance through a U.S. consulate,

depending on which path you are on and whether your case is documentarily ready.

For families, this is often the hardest part: people can follow all rules, maintain status, and renew work permits, but still be blocked for years by a single published date. A 54-day move doesn’t erase the backlog, but it can change the day-to-day reality for those close to the edge of the cut-off.

What the bulletin terms mean: “Final Action Date,” “C,” and “U”

Both the December 2025 and January 2026 bulletins use the same basic rules for reading the charts:

• A listed cut-off date means the category is oversubscribed for that country or region, and immigrant numbers are authorized only for applicants with a priority date earlier than the cut-off date.
• “C” (Current) means numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants in that category.
• “U” (Unauthorized) means numbers are not authorized for issuance.

For EB-3 India, the bulletin is in the oversubscribed zone, so the cut-off date acts as the gate. When the Final Action Date moves forward, it:

• does not change your priority date, and
• does not guarantee instant approval.

It does change whether the government can legally issue a visa number to you for that month, assuming the case is ready.

Note on filing vs. final action: the bulletin also states that, unless USCIS says otherwise on its website, people filing adjustment of status must use the Final Action Dates chart to decide when they can file. USCIS can sometimes allow use of the Dates for Filing chart if there are more visas available than known applicants, but that is a USCIS decision made outside the bulletin text. Readers can verify the monthly USCIS chart choice on the official USCIS Visa Bulletin page: https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo

A second key detail: Dates for Filing stayed at 01JAN22

Just as important as what moved is what did not move. The Dates for Filing chart for EB-3 India remained unchanged from December 2025 to January 2026:

• December 2025 (Dates for Filing — Employment-Based): EB-3 India: 01JAN22
• January 2026 (Dates for Filing — Employment-Based): EB-3 India: 01JAN22

Table: EB-3 India Dates for Filing — month-to-month

This creates a split message: the government allowed more older cases to reach final action, but it did not move the “filing” gate forward for new document intake in the EB-3 India line during these two months.

Bulletin framework recap:

• Final Action Dates control when a visa number may be issued or an adjustment may be approved (the last legal step under annual limits).
• Dates for Filing indicate when applicants may start or continue the paperwork process with the National Visa Center for consular cases and, if USCIS permits, possibly file adjustment of status earlier than final action.

So, in January 2026, EB-3 India gained final action space without any new movement in the filing cut-off. Applicants with later priority dates may still gather documents and prepare, but this bulletin did not widen the filing pipeline date for EB-3 India.

Broader January 2026 pattern: forward movement across employment categories

The EB-3 India move sits inside a wider set of forward movements across employment-based categories in the January 2026 bulletin data. That broader pattern suggests a general month-to-month shift rather than an isolated India-only adjustment.

EB-1 Final Action Dates (Dec 2025 → Jan 2026)

• EB-1 India: 15MAR22 → 01FEB23
• EB-1 China: 22JAN23 → 01FEB23
• EB-1 All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed: C → C

EB-2 Final Action Dates (Dec 2025 → Jan 2026)

• EB-2 India: 15MAY13 → 15JUL13
• EB-2 China: 01JUN21 → 01SEP21
• EB-2 All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed: 01FEB24 → 01APR24
• Mexico and the Philippines remain aligned with the “All Chargeability” date in both months for EB-2 (01FEB24 → 01APR24)

EB-3 Final Action Dates (Dec 2025 → Jan 2026)

• EB-3 India: 22SEP13 → 15NOV13
• EB-3 China: 01APR21 → 01MAY21
• EB-3 All Chargeability Areas: 15APR23 → 22APR23
• Mexico and the Philippines align with “All Chargeability” in both months (15APR23 → 22APR23)

This context matters when reading the EB-3 India movement: the bulletin data shows forward motion across several lines, supporting the idea that January brought a broader reset in cut-offs.

“Other Workers” moved in lockstep with EB-3 India

Within EB-3, there is a separate “Other Workers” line. For India, that line moved exactly the same as EB-3 India on the Final Action Dates chart:

• Other Workers India (Final Action): 22SEP13 (Dec 2025) → 15NOV13 (Jan 2026)

That means the same 54-day advance applies to the India cut-off under the “Other Workers” row.

The January 2026 bulletin also includes a NACARA-related explanation affecting the annual limit for Employment Third Preference Other Workers, noting that the reduction for FY 2026 “will be limited to approximately 150,” and describing how the annual 10,000 EW numbers can be reduced due to NACARA. That passage does not change the EB-3 India cut-off dates stated above, but it serves as a reminder that “Other Workers” is managed with extra statutory limits, even in months when the India cut-off dates match the EB-3 line.

Why the bulletin’s “demand received” dates matter

Both bulletins show the timing used for demand snapshots that drive allocation decisions:

• December 2025 bulletin: allocations were made for demand received by November 3rd.
• January 2026 bulletin: allocations were made for demand received by December 2nd.

The bulletins also state that, “to the extent possible,” numbers are made available in chronological order based on reported demand. From the information provided, you cannot say exactly why EB-3 India advanced 54 days, because that would require additional data on:

• how many cases were ready,
• how many visas were used, and
• how much demand arrived in the reporting window.

What you can say is that the January 2026 bulletin used a more recent demand snapshot than December’s. The Visa Bulletin is not a promise carved in stone: it is a monthly publication shaped by how many cases are ready, how many numbers remain, and how much demand arrives. The same bulletin language also warns that cut-off dates can move backward (retrogress) if needed during the monthly allocation process.

Immediate planning impact for EB-3 India cases (January 2026)

For EB-3 India readers tracking month by month, the practical impact is concentrated in one narrow but meaningful band of dates. Compared to December 2025, January 2026 newly brings into the final action range those with priority dates:

• After 22SEP13 and on/before 15NOV13 (EB-3 India Final Action Dates comparison)

If you fall in that band, January 2026 is the time to:

1. Double-check that every part of the case is ready (documents, evidence of eligibility, and any outstanding requests).
2. Confirm whether USCIS is using the Final Action Dates or the Dates for Filing chart for adjustment applicants in that month (see https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo).
3. Prepare for possible next steps: interview scheduling (consular cases) or USCIS approval notices (adjustment cases).

Important warnings:

• A visa number being available does not fix missing documents, unresolved eligibility issues, or pending administrative checks.
• USCIS’s monthly decision on which chart to use (Final Action vs. Dates for Filing) can affect the timing for adjustment of status filings.

Even for those not yet close to 15NOV13, the January 2026 move gives a clearer signal of momentum than a one-week shift would. In a system where dates can freeze for long stretches, a 54-day advance is often large enough to alter forecasts, job decisions, and family timelines—especially for workers planning travel, school enrollment for children, or a spouse’s work arrangements while waiting for the last step to open.