In the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, only one employment-based visa category moved forward: EB-4, the Special Immigrant category, which advanced two months to December 15, 2022, for all countries. Religious workers—both ministers and non-ministers serving in religious organizations—form one subset of EB-4, along with several other groups including Iraqi and Afghan translators, certain juveniles, and armed services members.
All other employment-based categories (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and EB-5) either remained frozen or faced retrogression warnings as the fiscal year approached its September 30 deadline. The movement signals the State Department deployed unused visa allocations late in the fiscal year rather than letting them expire, but the EB-4 category itself remains small and narrow. A two-month advance is substantial within the visa bulletin system, where movement often stalls for years, but EB-4's total allocation—fewer than 10,000 visas annually for all special immigrant categories combined—limits how many people can benefit.
Table of Contents
- What EB-4 Is and Who Qualifies
- Why Only EB-4 Moved
- What the Advance Means for Religious Workers
- The Bottleneck: EB-4's Small Allocation
- Next Steps If You May Qualify
- Frequently Asked Questions
What EB-4 Is and Who Qualifies
EB-4 is designated the "Special Immigrant" category under employment-based immigration law and covers multiple distinct groups beyond religious workers. Religious workers include both ministers serving as full-time clergy in nonprofit religious organizations and non-ministers in religious vocations—such as monks, nuns, and religious counselors in paid positions. Outside that group, EB-4 also covers certain Iraqi and Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. military, former U.S. armed services members, and certain special immigrant juveniles.
Each of these groups has different sponsorship pathways and requirements. A religious organization seeking to sponsor a worker must demonstrate the person's role, the organization's legitimacy, and financial ability to support them. A translator's case depends on military service records and employer recommendation. Because EB-4 combines these disparate groups into one visa pool, a two-month advance helps some applicants but does not apply uniformly across all special immigrant types.
Why Only EB-4 Moved
The september 2026 advance in the EB-4 category reflects a specific fiscal reality: the State Department found available allocations to deploy before the September 30 fiscal year deadline, a pattern that typically signals unused visa numbers. All other employment-based categories showed no forward movement or faced warnings of potential unavailability, with EB-1 particularly vulnerable to retrogression and EB-2 india remaining completely unavailable.
This disparity does not mean EB-4 is suddenly easier to navigate or that visa numbers have become abundant. It reflects the relatively low demand for EB-4 slots compared to the higher-preference categories (EB-1 and EB-2) that most employment-based applicants target. When the State Department has leftover allocation in a low-demand category near the fiscal year close, it can advance the priority date to use those visas; the advance itself proves the slots were underused.
What the Advance Means for Religious Workers
If your priority date—the official place in line assigned when your visa sponsorship application is filed—falls before December 15, 2022, you may now be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) or consular processing, depending on whether you are inside or outside the United States. This is the practical benefit of the advance: it opens a window for applicants who have been waiting, sometimes years, for their priority date to become "current." For religious workers applying now, the timeline to a green card typically spans 12 to 24 months from sponsorship application to approval, assuming no complications.
The December 2022 effective date is not recent—it reflects cases filed years ago that were stuck waiting. Newly filed EB-4 religious worker cases will receive an assignment date based on when they are filed, which will fall far behind the current December 2022 cutoff and therefore may take considerably longer to become current.
The Bottleneck: EB-4's Small Allocation
EB-4 is capped at fewer than 10,000 visas annually for all special immigrant categories combined, with a maximum of 5,000 reserved specifically for non-minister religious workers under temporary statutory provisions. Compare this to EB-1 (Extraordinary Ability) and EB-2 (Professionals with Advanced Degrees), which are far more commonly sought and face the multi-year delays now visible in the visa bulletin.
Because EB-4's pool is small, movement in the priority date does not automatically translate into rapid approvals across the entire category. The two-month advance is meaningful for applicants already in the pipeline with priority dates between October 2022 and December 2022, but it does not signal a surge in available slots. If you are considering EB-4 sponsorship as a religious worker or special immigrant, expect realistic timelines based on the category's total allocation and the date your application is filed, not on the September 2026 movement alone.
Next Steps If You May Qualify
If you work in a religious vocation or fall into another EB-4 special immigrant category, consult with an immigration attorney or accredited representative to confirm your eligibility and the current timeline. Check whether your organization's sponsorship application has already been filed (if so, your priority date determines your current position). Ask specifically about the December 2022 effective date and whether your case falls before or after it—that detail determines whether you can apply now or will continue waiting.
Do not rely on a single visa bulletin report to plan your case; the State Department updates the bulletin monthly, and priority dates can move forward or retrogress. Keep a copy of your priority date notice and monitor the State Department's monthly bulletin announcements to track movement in your category over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the EB-4 advance apply to all religious workers?
The advance applies to cases where the priority date—assigned when sponsorship is filed—falls before December 15, 2022. New applications filed after the advance still receive a current priority date far behind that cutoff and will wait years to become current.
Can I apply for a green card if my priority date is current?
If your priority date has reached the effective date (December 15, 2022 as of September 2026) and you are outside the United States, you may apply through consular processing. If you are inside the United States and your employer has already sponsored you, you may apply for adjustment of status.
How long does EB-4 processing take from start to green card?
Timeline varies, but expect 12 to 24 months from the time sponsorship is filed to final approval, assuming no delays or requests for additional evidence.