The EB-1 India priority date on the June 2026 Visa Bulletin is December 15, 2022 under the Final Action Dates chart, and December 1, 2023 under the Dates for Filing chart.1U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for June 2026 The Final Action Date moved backward by roughly 16 months from the previous month, a sharp retrogression the State Department attributed to high demand and number usage by Indian nationals exceeding the pro-rated fiscal year limits.2U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin June 2026 (PDF) The bulletin also warns that further retrogressions, or making EB-1 India temporarily unavailable, may be necessary before the fiscal year ends in September.
Which Chart Applies to You
Two charts govern EB-1 India applicants each month, and they do different things. The Final Action Date is when a visa number is actually available and your green card can be issued. If your priority date is on or before December 15, 2022, you are eligible for final adjudication.
The Dates for Filing chart tells you when you can submit Form I-485 for adjustment of status even though a visa number is not yet available. For June 2026, that date is December 1, 2023. Filing under this earlier chart lets you lock in benefits like work authorization and travel documents while you continue to wait for a visa number.
USCIS decides each month which chart adjustment applicants must use. When it determines enough visa numbers are available, it opens the Dates for Filing chart; otherwise applicants must rely on Final Action Dates.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin Check the USCIS page every month before you file anything, because the answer changes.
How the Date Has Moved Recently
The EB-1 India date has been volatile. From January 2025 through March 2025 it sat frozen at February 1, 2022. It barely moved through the rest of 2025, advancing only about two weeks across the whole calendar year. Then in January 2026 it jumped nearly 11 months forward to February 1, 2023, and kept advancing to April 1, 2023 by the May 2026 bulletin.
That progress was erased in a single month. The June 2026 bulletin pulled the date back to December 15, 2022, roughly 16 months of retrogression.1U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for June 2026 Long stretches of stagnation, a sudden leap forward, then a hard pullback. That pattern is the defining feature of the EB-1 India queue, and it is why filing under the Dates for Filing chart as soon as you become eligible matters so much. Once your I-485 is pending, benefits attached to it survive whatever the Final Action Date does next.
Why India Faces a Backlog at All
Federal law caps nationals of any single country at 7% of the employment-based green cards available in a fiscal year.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1152 – Numerical Limitations on Individual Foreign States EB-1 itself receives roughly 28.6% of all employment-based visas under 8 U.S.C. ยง 1153.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas India produces far more qualified EB-1 applicants than the 7% ceiling can absorb, so demand outstrips supply year after year. Countries with lower demand never hit the cap, which is why EB-1 remains current for most of the world while Indian applicants wait.
Retrogression happens when the government sees it is on pace to exceed the annual limit and pulls the cutoff back to slow issuance. That is exactly what the June 2026 bulletin reflects.
Cross-Chargeability Through a Spouse
If your spouse was born in a country with no EB-1 backlog, or a shorter one, you may be able to bypass the India queue entirely. Federal law allows an applicant to be charged to a spouse’s country of birth instead of their own, specifically to keep families together.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1152 – Numerical Limitations on Individual Foreign States The spouse’s country must have a visa number available, and the spouse must be accompanying or following to join the principal applicant.
An Indian-born applicant married to someone born in France, for example, could potentially use France’s chargeability, where EB-1 is typically current. Children can be charged to either parent’s country of birth, but a child’s birthplace cannot be used to benefit the parents. Chargeability follows country of birth, not citizenship, so an Indian citizen born in the UAE is charged to the UAE. If your family situation might qualify, this is worth raising with an immigration attorney before you assume you are stuck in the Indian queue.
What to Do While You Wait
The wait is long, but a pending I-485 comes with protections that a mere approved I-140 does not. Three of them matter most.
File Early Under Dates for Filing
When USCIS opens the Dates for Filing chart for EB-1 India, file. A pending I-485 lets you request an Employment Authorization Document on Form I-765 and advance parole on Form I-131. If you file both concurrently, USCIS may issue a combination card. An EAD lets you work for any employer, start a business, or change jobs without needing new visa sponsorship. After approval the card is typically produced within about two weeks and mailed by USPS Priority Mail.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
Travel is more delicate. Leaving the country while your I-485 is pending without an approved advance parole document will likely cause USCIS to treat the application as abandoned. Applicants maintaining valid H-1B, H-4, L-1, or L-2 status can generally travel on those visas; everyone else should wait for the advance parole in hand. Even with advance parole, Customs and Border Protection makes the final admissibility call at the port of entry.
Use Portability After 180 Days
INA Section 204(j) lets you change employers or jobs once your I-485 has been pending for at least 180 days, provided the new position is in the same or a similar occupational classification.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part E Chapter 5 – Job Portability After Adjustment Filing You document the new offer on Supplement J. USCIS evaluates “same or similar” by looking at actual duties rather than titles, and large salary differences can raise questions about whether the two roles really match.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485 Supplement J, Confirmation of Valid Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j)
The 180-day clock runs from the receipt date of your I-485. If your I-140 has been approved and has been pending for 180 days, portability protection is strong even if the original employer later withdraws the I-140. If the I-140 is still pending at the 180-day mark, porting is riskier, so working with the sponsoring employer until both milestones clear is the safer path.
Watch the CSPA Clock for Children
Children of EB-1 applicants can age out of dependent status when they turn 21. The Child Status Protection Act offsets some of the wait.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) You take the child’s age on the date a visa becomes available under the Final Action Dates chart, then subtract the number of days the I-140 petition was pending before approval. If the resulting CSPA age is under 21, the child still qualifies as a dependent. The child must also remain unmarried.
Because the EB-1 India backlog can stretch three or more years, families with teenagers should run this calculation early. Longer I-140 processing actually helps, since more pending days get subtracted. Premium processing on the I-140 shortens that deduction, so if a child is near the cutoff, faster adjudication of the underlying petition may not serve the family’s interests. Run the numbers first.