April 2026 Visa Bulletin Analysis: EB-5 Priority Dates and Movement

Summary#

This is a historical analysis of the April 2026 bulletin. It is not the latest bulletin. In the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, China's unreserved Final Action Date is December 1, 2016 and India's is December 1, 2023. All reserved categories remain Current. See the visa bulletin page for current dates.

The Department of State released the April 2026 Visa Bulletin in March 2026, covering visa availability for the month of April 2026. This analysis examines EB-5 priority date movement across all categories and chargeability areas, identifies notable changes from March 2026, and provides context for investors with pending petitions.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for April 2026, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Blue trust tier (official government publication).

Multiple EB-5 reserved categories remain current for all chargeability areas, providing immediate visa availability for rural and high unemployment area investors. The unreserved category moved forward for China and was unchanged for India, while investors from Vietnam, South Korea, and all other countries remain current with no wait.

Key Facts: April 2026 EB-5 Visa Bulletin

• China's unreserved Final Action Date advanced to September 1, 2016, a gain of 17 days from August 15, 2016 in the March 2026 bulletin.
• India's unreserved Final Action Date stayed at May 1, 2022, unchanged from March.
• All three reserved categories (rural, high unemployment area, infrastructure) remain current for every chargeability area worldwide.
• Investors from Vietnam, South Korea, and all other countries outside China and India are current in both unreserved and reserved categories with no backlog.
• April 2026 began the second half of FY2026.

Final Action Dates: EB-5 Category#

The Final Action Date chart determines when an immigrant visa can actually be issued or when adjustment of status can be approved. If your priority date falls before the posted Final Action Date, a visa number is available for your case.

Reserved Categories#

Rural (20% set aside): Current for all chargeability areas. Investors with approved I-526E petitions in the rural category can proceed immediately to adjustment of status or consular processing regardless of country of birth. The rural set aside receives approximately 2,000 visa numbers per fiscal year (20% of the roughly 10,000 annual EB-5 allocation). Demand remains well below this ceiling, and there is no indication the rural category will retrogress during FY2026.

For investors from China and India, the rural category represents the fastest structural path to a green card under the EB-5 program. Because rural visas are drawn from a separate pool, they bypass the per country limits that constrain the unreserved category. An Indian investor in a rural project, for example, is not subject to the same multi year wait that Indian investors in unreserved projects face. This distinction is one of the most consequential features of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.

High Unemployment Area (10% set aside): Current for all chargeability areas. This category continues to show no backlog, reflecting sufficient visa number availability relative to demand. The HUA set aside receives approximately 1,000 visa numbers annually. Like rural, utilization has not approached the supply ceiling. HUA designated projects are concentrated in urban areas that meet the statutory unemployment threshold of 150% of the national average, offering a geographically different option than rural projects while providing the same visa availability advantage.

Infrastructure (2% set aside): Current for all chargeability areas. The infrastructure category receives approximately 200 visas per year. This is the least utilized of the three reserved categories, primarily because few projects have been designated as infrastructure under the RIA's criteria. The category will remain current indefinitely at current demand levels. Investors considering infrastructure projects should evaluate the limited project inventory and ensure the designation is confirmed by USCIS before filing.

Unreserved Category#

The unreserved category (68% of annual EB-5 visa allocation, approximately 6,800 visas per year) shows the following Final Action Dates for April 2026:

All chargeability areas except India and China: Current. Investors from most countries face no wait in the unreserved category.

China (mainland born): September 1, 2016. Chinese investors in the unreserved category continue to face a multi year backlog that stretches back to the surge of I-526 filings from 2014 through 2017. The date advanced 17 days from March after holding at August 15, 2016 in the February and March bulletins.

India: May 1, 2022. India's unreserved priority date continues to lag, reflecting the per country cap of approximately 7% of employment based visas. Indian investors in the unreserved category face the longest projected wait times of any chargeability area going forward, though the backlog itself is younger than China's. Indian investors in rural or HUA designated projects are not subject to this backlog and can proceed immediately.

Country by Country Breakdown#

China (Mainland Born)#

China's EB-5 backlog is the oldest and most well established in the program. The unreserved Final Action Date of September 1, 2016 means that only investors whose I-526 petition was filed (or deemed filed) before that date can currently have their visa issued or their adjustment of status approved in the unreserved category.

The origin of this backlog dates to the period between 2013 and 2016, when Chinese nationals accounted for approximately 80% to 85% of all EB-5 petition filings. That concentrated demand created a queue that the Visa Office has been working through for years. As the Visa Office processes older cases and some applicants withdraw or abandon their petitions, the cutoff date advances.

For April 2026, the date moved 17 days from the March bulletin. By the November 2026 bulletin it had reached December 1, 2016.

Chinese investors who have not yet filed should carefully evaluate whether a rural or HUA designated project offers a materially faster path. Filing in the unreserved category today would place a new Chinese investor at the end of a queue that extends beyond 2024 filing dates. A rural project, by contrast, provides current availability immediately upon I-526E approval. See our China country page for historical tracking and detailed backlog analysis.

India#

India's EB-5 backlog presents a structurally different challenge than China's. The unreserved Final Action Date of May 1, 2022 reflects a relatively recent backlog, but the growth trajectory is steeper, and the binding constraint is more rigid.

The core issue is the per country limit. Under the per country limit, Indian nationals generally can use no more than about 7% of the EB-5 visa numbers available each year. Indian nationals have become the fastest growing source country for EB-5 filings since 2020, driven in large part by the long waits in the employment based EB-2 and EB-3 categories for Indian technology workers. Many of these applicants view EB-5 as a faster alternative to the decades long EB-2/EB-3 backlog.

The result is a collision: surging demand meeting a fixed supply cap. India's cutoff date has moved unevenly. It jumped from July 1, 2021 to May 1, 2022 in January 2026, held there through June 2026, became Unavailable from July through September 2026, and returned at December 1, 2023 in the October 2026 bulletin.

For Indian investors already in the unreserved queue, the wait time projection is multi year. As of the November 2026 bulletin, India's unreserved Final Action Date is December 1, 2023, so investors with later priority dates are still waiting.

The strategic implication is clear: Indian investors who have not yet filed, or who are early in the process, should give serious consideration to rural and HUA projects. The reserved categories eliminate the per country cap constraint entirely. See our India country page for current data and wait time projections.

Vietnam#

Vietnam is not subject to a separate cutoff date for the EB-5 unreserved category. Vietnamese investors fall under the "all chargeability areas except China and India" designation, which is current for April 2026. This means Vietnamese investors face no visa availability delay in either the unreserved or reserved categories.

Vietnam has been a growing source country for EB-5 over the past several years, driven by rising wealth, strong interest in U.S. education for children, and an active network of migration agents. Despite this growth, Vietnamese demand has not approached the level where the Visa Office would need to impose a separate cutoff date.

The risk to monitor: if Vietnamese filing volumes continue to accelerate, the State Department could eventually establish a separate cutoff date for Vietnam, similar to what occurred with India. For now, this remains a theoretical concern, not an immediate one. Vietnamese investors benefit from filing while the category remains current.

South Korea#

South Korea, like Vietnam, is current in all EB-5 categories for April 2026. South Korean investors face no visa availability wait.

South Korea has historically been a consistent but moderate source country for EB-5. Filing volumes have remained steady without the sharp surges seen from China or India. The combination of stable demand and sufficient visa number supply means South Korean investors can focus their planning entirely on I-526E adjudication timelines and project selection rather than visa bulletin timing.

South Korean investors who are considering EB-5 can file in either the unreserved or reserved categories without a visa availability penalty. The choice between project types should be driven by investment merit and risk profile, not by visa timeline considerations.

Rest of World#

All other chargeability areas remain current for April 2026 in both unreserved and reserved categories. This includes investors from Taiwan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, the Middle East, Africa, and all other countries and territories not specifically subject to a separate cutoff.

Rest of world demand collectively remains well below the available visa number supply. For these investors, the binding constraint on their EB-5 timeline is USCIS processing speed on the I-526E. USCIS publishes two metrics there: the median for cases completed in FY2026 Q3 was 13.6 months, and the Check Case Processing Times tool (published June 23, 2026) shows 80% of cases completing within 34.5 to 36.5 months. See our processing times dashboard for current USCIS data.

Comparison to March 2026#

China: March vs. April#

The March 2026 Visa Bulletin set China's unreserved Final Action Date at August 15, 2016. The April bulletin advanced this to September 1, 2016, a gain of 17 days.

Over the six bulletins from November 2025 to April 2026, China's date moved from December 8, 2015 to September 1, 2016, with most of that gain in the December 2025 bulletin.

India: March vs. April#

India's unreserved Final Action Date was May 1, 2022 in both the March and April 2026 bulletins. It had been at that date since January 2026.

India's per country cap is the binding constraint. Even when demand is known, the cap limits how many visas can be issued to Indian nationals each fiscal year.

Reserved Categories: No Change#

All three reserved categories (rural, HUA, infrastructure) remained current from March to April. This is consistent with every bulletin since the RIA took effect. The reserved categories have a separate visa number pool that has not been exhausted, and there is no evidence of demand approaching the supply ceiling in any of the three categories.

Dates for Filing: March vs. April#

The EB-5 Dates for Filing chart did not change from March to April. China's filing date stayed at October 1, 2016 and India's at May 1, 2024. USCIS has continued to authorize the use of Chart B (Dates for Filing) for I-485 filings, allowing applicants to submit adjustment of status applications earlier than the Final Action Date. Investors should verify each month whether USCIS will accept the Filing Date or the Final Action Date for I-485 submissions by checking the USCIS website in the first week of each month.

Dates for Filing#

The Dates for Filing chart indicates when an applicant can submit an I-485 adjustment of status application or a DS-260 immigrant visa application.

For EB-5, USCIS has historically authorized the use of the Dates for Filing chart, allowing applicants to file their adjustment of status applications earlier than the Final Action Date. This is a meaningful advantage: it enables applicants to obtain work authorization (EAD) and advance parole while waiting for their Final Action Date to become current.

Investors should verify each month whether USCIS will accept the Filing Date or the Final Action Date for I-485 submissions. USCIS typically posts this determination on its website within the first few days of each month. Immigration attorneys routinely track this announcement as it directly affects client filing strategy.

What Happened After April 2026#

The bulletins that followed moved as follows:

• May 2026: China advanced to September 22, 2016. India stayed at May 1, 2022.
• July 2026: China advanced 70 days, to the cutoff that still applies in November 2026. India became Unavailable for the rest of FY2026.
• October 2026: India returned at December 1, 2023. China's Dates for Filing moved to March 1, 2021.
• November 2026: China December 1, 2016, India December 1, 2023. All reserved categories Current.

See the visa bulletin page for the latest dates.

Historical Context#

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 restructured the visa allocation system by creating reserved categories with dedicated visa pools. Since implementation, these reserved categories have consistently remained current, providing a reliable pathway for investors willing to invest in rural or high unemployment area projects.

The unreserved category continues to function similarly to the pre RIA system, where per country limits create backlogs for high demand countries. The difference now is that investors have a structural alternative: choosing a reserved category project to avoid the unreserved backlog entirely.

This structural alternative has changed the calculus for many investors from China and India. Before the RIA, the only option was to wait in the unreserved queue. Now, investors can choose a rural or HUA project and bypass the backlog entirely. The trade off is that rural and HUA projects may be located in areas the investor would not otherwise choose, and project selection requires its own due diligence.

For complete historical priority date data, see our visa bulletin dashboard, which tracks movement across all categories and chargeability areas over time.

Methodology#

This analysis is based on the official Visa Bulletin published by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State. All priority dates and category designations are sourced directly from the bulletin. Movement descriptions compare the April 2026 bulletin against the March 2026 bulletin.

Month over month date comparisons are calculated based on the published Final Action Dates from consecutive bulletins. When we state that a date advanced by a certain number of days, this reflects the difference between the posted cutoff dates, not the elapsed calendar time between bulletin publications.

EB5Status does not predict future visa bulletin movement with certainty. Forward projections in this article are identified as editorial analysis and require assumptions about filing volumes, adjudication rates, and policy decisions that are outside our data. We report what the data shows, provide context for interpretation, and identify the observable factors that may influence future movement.

For questions about how visa bulletin dates affect your specific situation, consult a qualified immigration attorney. See our glossary for definitions of terms used in this analysis, including priority date, chargeability, retrogression, and adjustment of status.

Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the current EB-5 Final Action Date for China in April 2026?

The unreserved Final Action Date for China (mainland born) is September 1, 2016 in the April 2026 Visa Bulletin. This means Chinese investors with an I-526 or I-526E priority date before September 1, 2016 can proceed to visa issuance or adjustment of status approval in the unreserved category. Chinese investors in the reserved categories (rural, HUA, infrastructure) are current regardless of priority date.

How long will Indian EB-5 investors wait in the unreserved category?

Because of the 7% per country cap, Indian investors filing in the unreserved category today could face a wait of several years before their priority date becomes current. The exact duration depends on filing volume trends and whether Congress modifies the per country cap. Indian investors seeking faster visa availability should evaluate rural and HUA designated projects, which are current for all chargeability areas.

Are reserved EB-5 categories (rural, HUA, infrastructure) still current?

Yes. All three reserved categories remain current for every chargeability area in the April 2026 bulletin. They have been current since the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act took effect, and demand has not approached the supply ceiling in any category. They were still Current in the November 2026 bulletin.

What is the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing?

Final Action Dates (Chart A) determine when a visa can be issued or an adjustment of status application can be approved. Dates for Filing (Chart B) determine when you can submit your I-485 application or DS-260 to get in line. USCIS announces each month whether it will honor Chart A or Chart B for I-485 domestic filings. Filing under Chart B allows applicants to obtain work authorization and advance parole while waiting for their Final Action Date to become current.

Should I choose a rural project just to avoid the backlog?

Visa availability is one factor in project selection, but it should not be the only factor. A rural project provides current visa availability, which is a significant advantage for investors from China and India. However, investors should also evaluate the project's business fundamentals, regional center track record, job creation methodology, and exit strategy. Choosing a poorly structured project to save time on the visa queue is a false economy. Consult an immigration attorney and conduct thorough due diligence before selecting any project.

Will Vietnam get its own cutoff date?

Not in the April 2026 bulletin. Vietnamese investors remain current in all EB-5 categories. However, Vietnam's growing filing volume is a trend worth monitoring. If Vietnamese demand reaches a level where it begins to consume a disproportionate share of the "rest of world" visa number pool, the State Department could establish a separate cutoff date. This is a medium term risk, not an immediate one.

Sources#

• U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Visa Bulletin for April 2026. Published March 2026.
• U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Visa Bulletins for May through November 2026.
• U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Visa Bulletin for March 2026. Published February 2026.
• EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-103, Division BB).
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. uscis.gov/eb-5.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Processing Times for I-526E. egov.uscis.gov/processing-times.

Related Resources#

For more context on the visa bulletin and EB-5 processing:

• Visa Bulletin Dashboard: Full historical tracking and interactive charts
• Processing Times: Current USCIS adjudication timelines by form and category
• EB-5 Visa Bulletin Explained: Comprehensive guide to reading and interpreting the bulletin
• How the EB-5 Program Works: Program fundamentals and investor journey overview
• May 2026 Visa Bulletin Analysis: What the following bulletin showed
• FAQ: Answers to common questions about priority dates, backlogs, and visa availability

Disclaimer#

This analysis is for informational purposes only. EB5Status is not a law firm, regional center, or immigration consultancy. This is not legal advice or investment advice. Priority date movement does not guarantee visa availability for any specific applicant. Consult a qualified immigration attorney for guidance on your specific case. Processing time estimates are based on published USCIS data and may not reflect your individual timeline.