The U.S. State Department has released the January 2026 Visa Bulletin, which explains the availability of immigrant visas in family-sponsored, employment-based, and diversity categories. This update includes final action dates, filing dates, and ongoing backlogs for countries with high demand. It helps applicants know when they can apply for visas or changes in status.
Family-Sponsored Visa Categories Continue to Face Backlogs
The January 2026 Visa Bulletin shows ongoing backlogs in most family-sponsored preference categories. This is especially true for applicants from Mexico, India, China, and the Philippines. The demand continues to exceed the yearly limit, leaving many categories oversubscribed.
The worldwide cap for family-sponsored preference visas is set at 226,000 for the fiscal year. Final action dates indicate that only applicants with priority dates before the published cutoffs can receive immigrant visas or adjustment approvals in January.
In the F2A category for spouses and children of permanent residents, availability is mixed. Some cases are exempt from per-country limits, but others are subject to specific caps. Other family-based categories, like siblings and married adult children of U.S. citizens, continue to experience long wait times.
Employment-Based Categories Show Modest Movement
The employment-based visa categories show limited movement in the January bulletin. Outcomes vary by preference category and country of chargeability. The worldwide annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas remains at least 140,000 for the fiscal year 2026.
EB-1 priority worker visas are current for most countries, but applicants from China and India still face cutoffs. The EB-2 and EB-3 categories remain heavily backlogged for India and China, while applicants from other regions usually have shorter wait times.
The bulletin also confirms that EB-5 set-aside categories for rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure investments are current for all chargeability areas, providing an alternative pathway for eligible investors.
Diversity Visa Numbers Remain Time-Sensitive
The Diversity Visa category is available in January 2026, with regional cutoffs set for all geographic areas. Approximately 52,000 diversity visas are available for the fiscal year. This reflects reductions mandated by NACARA and recent defense authorization legislation.
The State Department emphasized that diversity visa numbers are limited to each fiscal year. DV-2026 applicants must complete processing and receive visas by September 30, 2026, as any unused numbers do not carry over to future years.
Special Immigrant and Religious Worker Categories Near Expiration
The bulletin notes the upcoming expiration of the Employment Fourth Preference which is the Certain Religious Workers category, scheduled for January 30, 2026. If there is no legislative action, this category will be unavailable after that date. This will affect both overseas visa issuance and adjustment-of-status cases.
Additional guidance addresses special immigrant visas for U.S. government employees. Recent legislation may affect certain applicants and their eligible family members applying from abroad.
A Look Ahead
The January 2026 Visa Bulletin highlights the ongoing effects of per-country caps, legal limits, and continued demand on immigrant visa availability. Applicants should review each monthly bulletin closely to understand their filing eligibility and track priority date changes.
ImmigrationQuestion.com will continue to monitor visa bulletin developments, priority date changes, and related policy updates.
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