US Green Card Bulletin: India’s EB-2 Date Stalls for Second Month

The November 2026 Visa Bulletin keeps India’s EB-2 final action date at November 1, 2013, while most other countries see a three-month advance.

Update: 2026-10-23 06:47 GMT

Indian green card applicants face continued EB-2 delays as the US reviews proposed changes to premium processing deadlines and H-1B visa rules.

Indian professionals awaiting employment-based green cards under the EB-2 category saw no progress for the second consecutive month, as the US State Department’s November 2026 Visa Bulletin retained India’s final action date at November 1, 2013. In contrast, the date for most other countries advanced by three months to April 1, 2025.

India’s EB-3 final action date moved forward by three weeks to January 22, 2014, including the EB-3 Other Workers category. For most other countries, the EB-3 date advanced to June 15, 2024. India’s EB-1 date remained unchanged at February 1, 2023, while the EB-5 unreserved category stayed at December 1, 2023.

The dates for filing for Indian applicants under both EB-2 and EB-3 remained at January 15, 2015. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart in November. This allows eligible Indian EB-2 applicants in the US with priority dates before January 15, 2015, to submit adjustment applications, although green cards can be approved only when their priority dates are earlier than the final action date.

Meanwhile, a proposal to amend premium processing deadlines is under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Submitted by the Department of Homeland Security on October 13, the proposed rule could affect processing timelines, but its text has not been made public. The scope and direction of any changes remain unclear.

A separate proposal to reform the H-1B visa programme has been under OIRA review since August 24 and is classified as economically significant. Indian family-sponsored applicants saw improvements in the F1, F2B and F3 categories, while the F4 category remained unchanged at December 15, 2006.

The developments come amid renewed calls to abolish employment-based green card per-country limits. New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer recently highlighted the long waits faced by Indian applicants, citing a projected wait of 179 years.