Applicants from India saw no movement in the U.S. employment-based second-preference cutoff for November, while the U.S. Department of State advanced dates for several other groups, underscoring different visa timelines across chargeability areas.
The bulletin kept India's EB-2 final action date at Nov. 1, 2013, matching October. It advanced the date to April 1, 2025, from Jan. 1, 2025, for the column labeled “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed,” as well as for Mexico and the Philippines. China's date held at Oct. 1, 2021. A cutoff change does not guarantee a visa for any individual applicant.
For Indian applicants in the employment-based third preference (EB-3) category, the date for skilled workers and professionals moved from Jan. 1 to Jan. 22, 2014. The separate Other Workers cutoff made the same move, from Jan. 1 to Jan. 22, 2014.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selected the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment-of-status applications in November. India's filing cutoff remained Jan. 15, 2015, for both EB-2 and EB-3. Applicants may file if their priority date predates the applicable filing cutoff; a visa number can be issued only when the case falls before the relevant final action date.
EB-2 is for people in professions requiring advanced degrees or applicants who qualify based on exceptional ability. EB-3 includes skilled workers, professionals and other workers.
A July notice had separately said high demand and visa use exhausted India's prorated EB-2 allocation for fiscal 2026, leaving the category unavailable for the remainder of that fiscal year. The department said a date advance in fiscal 2027 could depend on demand and the new annual limit. The July notice did not give the specific reason India's date stayed unchanged in November.
For high-skilled Indian EB-2 applicants who filed a labor-certification application or employment-based immigrant petition in January 2026 or later, NFAP estimated a possible wait of 179 years. NFAP said it included estimated dependents but excluded further government processing, and cautioned that the projection does not establish an individual applicant's wait.
