Visa Bulletin: sudden 'current' moves
The April 2026 Visa Bulletin moved many family- and employment-based categories to “current,” creating immediate filing windows for eligible applicants — notably EB-2 is now current for Brazilian and Colombian nationals, allowing some with approved I-140s to file Form I-485 right away. This reallocation follows executive-order pauses for certain countries and reshuffles quota availability across nationalities. ( )
USCIS posted on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page that for April 2026 it is designating the Visa Bulletin “Dates for Filing” chart for both family‑sponsored and employment‑based categories and updated that page on March 2, 2026 (uscis.gov). (uscis.gov) The Department of State’s April 2026 Visa Bulletin makes EB‑2 “Final Action” cutoffs current for all chargeability areas except China and India and record‑notes a roughly ten‑month forward jump in EB‑2 India this cycle. (fragomen.com). (fragomen.com) The State Department announced an indefinite pause on issuing immigrant visas effective January 21, 2026 for nationals of 75 designated countries; the agency’s public notice lists Brazil and Colombia among those 75 countries. (travel.state.gov). (travel.state.gov) U.S. consular guidance and embassy posts state that immigrant‑visa interviews for nationals of paused countries will continue to be scheduled and conducted but that posts are instructed not to issue immigrant visas during the pause. (br.usembassy.gov). (br.usembassy.gov) The Visa Bulletin reiterates statutory allocation rules — the per‑country limit is 7% (25,620 visas) of the family‑plus‑employment worldwide total and DOS says allocations were made using demand reported through March 4, 2026 while warning that retrogression could be necessary if demand materializes. (travel.state.gov). (travel.state.gov) Multiple immigration‑practice analyses trace April’s sudden “current” movements to reduced visa consumption by nationalities hit by the January pause and other administration screening actions, a redistribution of unused employment numbers that widened filing windows in non‑paused chargeability areas. ( ). (tilimmigration.com)
