On December 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of State released the Visa Bulletin for January 2026, offering incremental forward movement of a few weeks in several family- and employment-based categories while keeping many others stalled.
Highlights include the F-2A family category remaining “current” worldwide, whereas EB-3 for India advances by just one week to January 22, 2012. The Diversity Visa (DV-2026) cut-off numbers increased modestly, with Africa jumping from 35,000 to 45,000. Importantly, the bulletin warns that the special-immigrant Religious Worker (SR) program will expire on January 30, 2026 absent congressional reauthorization, rendering the category “unavailable.”
![January 2026 Visa Bulletin Released: Modest Movement but Religious-Worker Sunset Looms]()
Organizations and individual applicants looking for hands-on guidance navigating these shifting categories can turn to VisaHQ, an online visa consultancy that streamlines U.S. visa and immigration paperwork. Through its dedicated U.S. portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/), VisaHQ offers real-time eligibility checks, document checklists, and filing support that can reduce errors and speed processing—particularly beneficial for employers racing to file SR applications before the January 30, 2026 sunset date.
For employers initiating green-card sponsorship and law firms preparing adjustment filings, the bulletin sets the filing-chart dates that USCIS will announce shortly. Companies should prioritize filing adjustment-of-status applications for SR beneficiaries this month to ensure admission before the sunset. HR should also communicate expectations to Indian and Chinese employees facing long waits despite the bulletin’s modest advances.
The bulletin’s data provide early indicators of immigrant-visa demand heading into FY 2026, useful for workforce-planning models that factor in onboarding timelines and global relocation schedules.
Highlights include the F-2A family category remaining “current” worldwide, whereas EB-3 for India advances by just one week to January 22, 2012. The Diversity Visa (DV-2026) cut-off numbers increased modestly, with Africa jumping from 35,000 to 45,000. Importantly, the bulletin warns that the special-immigrant Religious Worker (SR) program will expire on January 30, 2026 absent congressional reauthorization, rendering the category “unavailable.”
Organizations and individual applicants looking for hands-on guidance navigating these shifting categories can turn to VisaHQ, an online visa consultancy that streamlines U.S. visa and immigration paperwork. Through its dedicated U.S. portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/), VisaHQ offers real-time eligibility checks, document checklists, and filing support that can reduce errors and speed processing—particularly beneficial for employers racing to file SR applications before the January 30, 2026 sunset date.
For employers initiating green-card sponsorship and law firms preparing adjustment filings, the bulletin sets the filing-chart dates that USCIS will announce shortly. Companies should prioritize filing adjustment-of-status applications for SR beneficiaries this month to ensure admission before the sunset. HR should also communicate expectations to Indian and Chinese employees facing long waits despite the bulletin’s modest advances.
The bulletin’s data provide early indicators of immigrant-visa demand heading into FY 2026, useful for workforce-planning models that factor in onboarding timelines and global relocation schedules.
