After years of limited progress, Indian professionals facing prolonged US Green Card backlogs have received an unexpected opportunity following two significant moves by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A sharply advanced January 2026 visa bulletin, combined with new filing flexibility, has widened eligibility for thousands of employment-based applicants.
The January 2026 bulletin delivered notable forward movement across multiple employment-based categories, with the strongest gains recorded in EB-1 and EB-5 for Indian nationals. This followed incremental progress already introduced in the December 2025 bulletin. Shortly after, USCIS announced that applicants may file permanent residency applications using either the Final Action Dates chart or the Dates for Filing chart, significantly expanding eligibility.
Immigration experts say the dual developments have created a rare filing window, particularly for applicants whose priority dates are not yet current under Final Action Dates. However, they caution that such opportunities are often temporary and may be followed by retrogression later in the year.
The bulletin shows EB-1 advancing by nearly one year and EB-5 by close to two years for Indian applicants. EB-2 and EB-3 categories also saw forward movement, offering partial relief to nationals from heavily backlogged countries, including India and China.
Michael Valverde told The American Bazaar that the scale of advancement was unexpected and may reflect USCIS efforts to prevent visa numbers from going unused amid processing delays and higher denial rates. Legal experts are urging eligible applicants to act swiftly, as the filing window remains open only through January 31.
Applicants must ensure all documentation is ready, including medical examinations, which USCIS now requires to be filed concurrently with Form I-485. Sangeetha Mugunthan of Somireddy Law Group PLLC emphasized the importance of careful preparation, particularly for EB-1A cases, urging applicants to clearly document their professional achievements and areas of expertise.
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