Compiled from reports by indica News, Murthy Law Firm and Deccan Chronicle. See the original articles linked below.
This article reports news and is not legal advice.
The U.S. Department of State has published its November 2026 Visa Bulletin, and several employment-based and family-based cutoff dates have moved forward while others have not changed, according to Murthy Law Firm. The firm's summary is dated October 22, 2026.
EB-2 and EB-3
indica News reported that India's EB-2 final action date stayed at November 1, 2013, for a second month in a row. Deccan Chronicle gave the same account. Both outlets said that for most other countries the EB-2 date advanced three months to April 1, 2025. Murthy Law Firm reported that China remained at October 1, 2021.
In the EB-3 category for professionals and skilled workers, Murthy Law Firm said India moved to January 22, 2014, and China to January 22, 2022. Most other countries advanced to June 15, 2024, while the Philippines stayed at August 15, 2023, the firm reported. Deccan Chronicle also said India's EB-3 date moved forward three weeks. According to Murthy Law Firm, EB-3 other workers advanced to June 1, 2022 for most countries and to January 22, 2014 for India, while China stayed at October 1, 2019 and the Philippines at January 1, 2022.
EB-1, EB-4 and EB-5
Murthy Law Firm reported that EB-1 for China advanced to August 1, 2023, India stayed at February 1, 2023, and other countries remained current. The firm said EB-4 held at December 15, 2022 for all countries. For EB-5, it reported the unreserved cutoff stayed at December 1, 2016 for China and December 1, 2023 for India, with other countries current. indica News and Deccan Chronicle likewise reported that India's EB-1 and EB-5 unreserved dates did not change.
Filing charts
indica News and Deccan Chronicle reported that USCIS directed employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart for November. Both said that chart lists January 15, 2015 for Indian EB-2 and EB-3 applicants. Murthy Law Firm wrote that USCIS, rather than the State Department, decides which chart applies each month. It said that as of October 22 USCIS still showed October as the current month and described the November selection as coming soon. The outlets therefore differ on whether USCIS had confirmed the chart at the time of their reports.
Family categories
According to Murthy Law Firm, the FB2A date advanced to October 22, 2026 for most countries and April 22, 2026 for Mexico. It said FB2B moved to August 22, 2020 for most countries, with Mexico staying at May 15, 2010 and the Philippines at October 1, 2013. indica News and Deccan Chronicle reported that for India the F1, F2B and F3 categories improved while F4 stayed at December 15, 2006.
Related developments
indica News and Deccan Chronicle both reported that a Department of Homeland Security proposed rule on the premium processing timeframe reached the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on October 13 and is under review, with its text not yet published. They also said a separate H-1B reform proposal has been under review since August 24. According to both outlets, Representative Josh Gottheimer has renewed calls to end per-country limits on employment-based green cards, citing a projected 179-year wait for Indian applicants.
Sources
- Indian Green Card Applicants See No EB-2 Progress In November Visa Bulletin (indica News, 2026-10-22)
- November 2026 Visa Bulletin (Murthy Law Firm, 2026-10-22)
- US Green Card Bulletin: India's EB-2 Date Stalls for Second Month (Deccan Chronicle, 2026-10-23)
This article was compiled with AI assistance from the reports listed above and reviewed by GMA before publishing.