u/GreenCardClock

USCIS dropped a policy memo today saying adjustment of status (filing for your green card from inside the US) will only be granted in "extraordinary circumstances," with consular processing abroad as the default. They haven't defined what counts as "extraordinary" or said how it affects pending I-485s, so I'm not going to guess until there's more detail.

Not legal advice.

USCIS dropped a policy memo today saying adjustment of status (filing for your green card from inside the US) will only be granted in "extraordinary circumstances," with consular processing abroad as the default. They haven't defined what counts as "extraordinary" or said how it affects pending I-485s, so we not going to guess until there's more detail.

Not legal advice.

USCIS dropped a policy memo today saying adjustment of status (filing for your green card from inside the US) will only be granted in "extraordinary circumstances," with consular processing abroad as the default. They haven't defined what counts as "extraordinary" or said how it affects pending I-485s, so we not going to guess until there's more detail.

Not legal advice.

USCIS dropped a policy memo today saying adjustment of status (filing for your green card from inside the US) will only be granted in "extraordinary circumstances," with consular processing abroad as the default. They haven't defined what counts as "extraordinary" or said how it affects pending I-485s, so we not going to guess until there's more detail.

Not legal advice.

USCIS dropped a policy memo today saying adjustment of status (filing for your green card from inside the US) will only be granted in "extraordinary circumstances," with consular processing abroad as the default. They haven't defined what counts as "extraordinary" or said how it affects pending I-485s, so I'm not going to guess until there's more detail.

Not legal advice.

USCIS released the FY2027 numbers. Registrations came in at 211,600, down from 343,981 for FY2026.

The longer trend is the real story: about 759K in FY2024, then 470K, then 344K, now 212K. Roughly 72% below the FY2024 peak.

With the cap fixed at 85,000, a smaller pool generally means a higher selection rate for the people who did register.

Not legal advice, just sharing the data.

USCIS released the FY2027 numbers. Registrations came in at 211,600, down from 343,981 for FY2026.

The longer trend is the real story: about 759K in FY2024, then 470K, then 344K, now 212K. Roughly 72% below the FY2024 peak.

Not legal advice, just sharing the data.

The June visa bulletin moves EB-2 India's final action date back from July 15, 2014 to September 1, 2013. If your PD is between roughly Sep 2013 and Jul 2014, you're current in May but not June.

Click To Check Our Priority Date Estimator: Already Filed Section

Our community timelines are showing more EB-2 India approvals than usual this month, right before the cutoff. If you're in that window, make sure your file is complete (medicals especially).

Anyone else seeing approvals land this week?

(Not legal advice.)

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Visa Bulletin

June 2026 Visa bulletin is out and dates retrogressed for India.

Visa Bulletin

visa-bulletin

Visa Bulletin — Current vs Previous Month | GreenCardClock
A flat month is not bad news. It usually means DOS is still testing how much demand shows up before advancing further. With the consular slowdown from Proclamation 10949 and 10998 still in effect, numbers are continuing to shift toward AOS-heavy countries.

Not legal advice.

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Third in our analysis series. EB-1 is a completely different picture from EB-2 and EB-3.

Full analysis: greencardclock.com/blog/eb1-india-row-analysis-spillover-2026

EB-1 India pending inventory by PD year:

2016-2021: 3,319

2022: 13,446 (massive spike)

2023 Jan-Apr: 4,104

2023 May+: 15 (near zero)

2024: 0

Same cliff pattern as EB-2 and EB-3 after the current FAD. But the cause is different. EB-1 has no PERM bottleneck. The 2022 spike is from the EB-1A filing wave when dates were current.

EB-1 ROW has 18,309 pending cases with 2025 PDs. That is the opposite of EB-2/EB-3 ROW where 2025 is zero. EB-1A self petitions bypass PERM entirely so new demand keeps entering.

For EB-2 India applicants wondering about vertical spillover: EB-1 demand likely consumes most of its 40K allocation. The EB-2 India movement is driven by horizontal spillover from ROW, not vertical from EB-1.

EB-1A approval rates: 75% (FY2022) to 60.7% (FY2024). Recovering to 67% in FY2025 Q3. Retrogression risk flagged for Jul-Aug 2026 by multiple attorney firms.

Source: USCIS inventory, I-140 stats, DOS bulletins. Not legal advice.

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Looked at the latest USCIS I-485 inventory data (January 2026, published March 2026) and noticed something interesting about EB-2 ROW. Full data breakdown with tables here: greencardclock.com/blog/perm-delays-eb2-row-spillover-india-2026

Pending EB-2 ROW cases by PD year:

2023: 16,527

2024 Jan-Jun: 12,197

2024 Jul-Oct: 637

2025: 0

The cliff after mid-2024 lines up perfectly with DOL PERM processing times. They're currently working on November 2024 filings (17 month lag). Almost nobody with a 2025 PERM has been approved yet so they can't file I-485.

EB-2 ROW went Current in April 2026. For EB-2 India, the pending inventory between the current FAD (Jul 2014) and Nov 2014 is about 7,604 cases. After Nov 2014 there are zero pending cases.

Source: USCIS inventory reports, DOL FLAG. Not legal advice.

USCIS confirmed the FY 2027 H-1B selection process is complete. Both regular and master's cap reached.

If you were selected, check your account on my.uscis.gov. Filing opens April 1. You get at least 90 days to file.

Make sure you use the new I-129 form (02/27/26 edition) and that your petition matches your registration details exactly. How to create uscis account check h1b lottery

Also heads up, certain H-1B petitions now require an additional $100,000 payment under the Presidential Proclamation effective Sept 21, 2025.

Source: USCIS (March 31, 2026). Not legal advice.

USCIS published a detailed update yesterday (March 30) on its screening and vetting changes. Which seems like a big update on the USCIS benefits pause.

USCIS says their review found prior vetting was "wholly inadequate" and that people were naturalized who shouldn't have been. Three policy memos now place holds on asylum cases, diversity visa adjustments, and benefit applications from nationals of 39 countries.

Some holds have been lifted as of this update:

• Asylum applications from non high-risk countries
• Certain petitions filed by US citizens
• Intercountry adoptions
• Certain rescheduled oath ceremonies
• Refugee registrations for South African nationals
• Certain SIV petitions and EADs
• Cases vetted through Operation PARRIS

What's still on hold: benefit applications from nationals of the 39 designated countries. No timeline for lifting those.

Other changes already in effect: EAD validity cut from 5 years to 18 months, expanded social media and financial vetting, biometric system connectivity for criminal matches, and State Department consular database checks required before final adjudication.

Still being built: a layered vetting plan using classified and unclassified info, and new adjudicator guidance for country specific risks including FTOs.

If you have a pending case, worth checking if your application type falls under the lifted holds or is still paused.

Source: USCIS (March 30, 2026). Not legal advice.