June 2026 Visa Bulletin - Employment-Based Retrogression Risks for India, China, and the Philippines

The June Visa Bulletin indicates potential and existing extensions of wait time for employment-based immigrant visa for several countries and regions. The U.S. Department of State warns that the demand and visa number use have risen enough that additional controls may be needed before the end of Fiscal Year 2026. This means applicants in the affected categories and regions may face retrogression, where the U.S. Department of State essentially moves the final action dates backward. In practical terms, such actions tend to delay visa issuance and thus resulting in a longer wait time before the corresponding visa become available again in Fiscal Year 2027.

Source: Visa Bulletin For June 2026

For India, the affected categories are EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 (unreserved). The June bulletin states that high demand and increased number use have already made it necessary to retrogress the final action dates for EB-1 and EB-2. This is a significant development because EB-1 and EB-2 are generally higher-priority employment-based categories, yet India’s demand for EB-1 and EB-2 visas remains so substantial that higher-priority categories are nevertheless affected. According to the June bulletin, India EB-1 and EB-2 categories have already sustained considerable retrogression. Moreover, the bulletin also warns that sufficient demand may also result in retrogression of India EB-5 (unreserved) as soon as July.

For the Philippines, the indicated category is EB-3, where the Department of State issued a similar warning. The June bulletin explains that increased demand and number used by applicants chargeable to the Philippines may result in retrogression and even unavailability in the EB-3 category.

For China, the indicated category is EB-2. No retrogression has occurred as of June, but future “corrective actions” may be required due to sufficient demand and increased number of visa use. The U.S. Department of State is currently monitoring the EB-2 category for China to determine whether EB-2 usage is approaching the maximum number allocated under the Fiscal Year 2026 annual limit. If demand for EB-2 continues at the current pace, the final action date for EB-2 could be moved backward as the U.S. Department of State takes intervening measures accordingly.

Overall, the June bulletin reflects that the U.S. Department of State are either taking or considering taking measures toward the issuance of employment-based visa in order to maintain issuance within the annual statutory limits. The stated reasoning for taking such corrective measures (or future measures) can all be attributed to sufficient demand under the corresponding visa categories. U.S. Department of State has already taken corrective measures against EB-1 and EB-2 categories for India, resulting in significant retrogression under these two categories compared to the final actions dates of which presented in the May bulletin. Further warnings were given to the India EB-5 (unreserved) category as potential corrective measures were to be expected to occur as soon as July. On the other hand, while China EB-2 and the Philippines EB-3 are under close observation by the U.S. Department of State, retrogressions are yet to occur pursuant to the June bulletin.

Therefore, it is still uncertain whether China EB-2 and the Philippines EB-3 will suffer corrective measures and retrogressions before the conclusion of Fiscal Year 2026, as such announcements are generally preemptive. A certain degree of anticipation exists within such announcement. There is established records of the U.S. Department of State announcing potential corrective measures in past bulletins but never took such corrective measures down the line as demands of the indicated visa categories do not remain linear. If future demand and usage of the affected visa categories do not keep pace with its current level, indicating that corrective measures are no longer necessary, the indicated categories are not likely to experience retrogression within Fiscal Year 2026. As such, Globevisa will keep monitoring the situation and provide updates accordingly.