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- BIST10011,333+2.81%
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- INTEREST36.00%-1.00
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- November 5, 202622°
November visa bulletin advances EB-2 three months, USCIS keeps early filing chart
The second bulletin of fiscal 2027 took effect Nov. 1, moving worldwide EB-2 to April 1, 2025 and EB-3 to June 15, 2024. USCIS says every family and employment green card applicant in the U.S. can use the more generous Dates for Filing chart this month.
Green card applicants already living in the United States can use the more generous of the State Department's two cutoff charts this month. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says applicants in all family-sponsored and all employment-based preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart to decide whether they can submit Form I-485 in November.
The November 2026 Visa Bulletin, released Oct. 22 and in effect since Nov. 1, is the second bulletin of fiscal year 2027. Each month it lists two sets of dates. Final Action Dates show when a green card can actually be approved; Dates for Filing show when applicants may get in line by sending in their paperwork. In both cases, an applicant's priority date, usually the day the petition or labor certification was filed, has to be earlier than the listed cutoff.
Worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 move, India and China mostly wait
On the Final Action chart, the employment-based second preference for most countries, including Mexico and the Philippines, advanced three months to April 1, 2025. EB-3 professionals and skilled workers from most countries gained a month and now sit at June 15, 2024, while EB-3 "other workers" jumped five months to June 1, 2022. EB-1 remains current for every country except China and India.
The most backlogged countries saw little relief. India's EB-2 cutoff stayed at Nov. 1, 2013 and China's at Oct. 1, 2021. India's EB-3 date crept forward to Jan. 22, 2014 and China's to Jan. 22, 2022. China's EB-1 gained one month to Aug. 1, 2023, while India's held at Feb. 1, 2023.
| Category (chart) | Most countries | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 (final action) | Current | Aug. 1, 2023 | Feb. 1, 2023 | Current | Current |
| EB-2 (final action) | Apr. 1, 2025 | Oct. 1, 2021 | Nov. 1, 2013 | Apr. 1, 2025 | Apr. 1, 2025 |
| EB-2 (filing) | Mar. 15, 2026 | Jan. 1, 2023 | Jan. 15, 2015 | Mar. 15, 2026 | Mar. 15, 2026 |
| EB-3 (final action) | June 15, 2024 | Jan. 22, 2022 | Jan. 22, 2014 | June 15, 2024 | Aug. 15, 2023 |
| EB-3 (filing) | Aug. 1, 2024 | Apr. 1, 2024 | Jan. 15, 2015 | Aug. 1, 2024 | Jan. 1, 2024 |
| F1 (final action) | Jan. 22, 2021 | Jan. 22, 2021 | Jan. 22, 2021 | Sept. 22, 2008 | Nov. 1, 2013 |
| F4 (final action) | Oct. 22, 2012 | Oct. 22, 2012 | Dec. 15, 2006 | Apr. 22, 2001 | May 15, 2008 |
Family categories gain a full year
Some family lines made bigger leaps. The Final Action Date for unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (F1) moved a year to Jan. 22, 2021 for most countries, and brothers and sisters of adult citizens (F4) also advanced a year, to Oct. 22, 2012. India's F4 date did not budge from Dec. 15, 2006. For spouses and minor children of green card holders (F2A), the filing chart remains current, so they can file no matter when their petition was submitted.
What applicants should do now
Law firm Fragomen noted that the employment-based filing chart is unchanged from October almost across the board; the only shift is EB-3 other workers, which moved to July 1, 2022 for most countries. Workers whose priority dates fall before those cutoffs can file Form I-485 now and, with it, request work and travel permits while they wait.
Filing early is not the same as approval. USCIS can only issue the green card once the priority date is also earlier than the Final Action Date, which for Indian EB-2 applicants still trails the filing cutoff by more than a year. Because the agency picks the chart month by month, anyone close to a cutoff should check the USCIS chart page again before mailing a package.
Photos: U.S. Department of State/Linda D. Epstein; USCIS (via Wikimedia Commons)
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