Current EB-2 Priority Date India: October 2026 Visa Bulletin and Green Card Updates

As of October 2026, the current EB-2 priority date India is November 1, 2013 for final action and January 15, 2015 for filing. Only applicants with earlier priority dates qualify under each chart, and USCIS has directed employment-based adjustment filers to use the Dates for Filing chart this month.

If you are an H-1B worker or a family member tracking your green card, those two dates can mean very different things for your case. Below, we explain what the October 2026 numbers say, how to compare them with your own priority date, why the EB-2 backlog for Indian nationals exists, and what to do next. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

What Is the Current EB-2 Priority Date for India?

(October 2026 Visa Bulletin, in effect October 1–31, 2026):

• EB-2 India Final Action Date: November 1, 2013 (01NOV13)
• EB-2 India Dates for Filing: January 15, 2015 (15JAN15)
• Which chart USCIS is using for employment-based adjustment of status filings in October 2026: Dates for Filing
• Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for October 2026 (Number 19, Volume XI); USCIS monthly chart determination

Two details matter here. First, “earlier than” is the test. A priority date has to be earlier than the cutoff, not on it. Second, the two dates answer different questions. The Final Action Date relates to when a green card can actually be approved. The Dates for Filing relates to when you may submit your application.

These cutoffs apply to the employment-based second preference (EB-2) category, which covers professionals with advanced degrees and people with exceptional ability, including many who qualify through a national interest waiver. They apply to applicants chargeable to India, which generally means born in India (with some exceptions your attorney can explain).

EB-2 India Visa Bulletin October 2026: Latest Updates

The State Department released the October 2026 bulletin in late September 2026. It is the first bulletin of Fiscal Year 2027, which began October 1, 2026, when a new annual allotment of immigrant visa numbers becomes available.

Here is what the bulletin shows for EB-2 India:

• Final Action Date: 01NOV13. Several immigration law firm summaries report that EB-2 India had been listed as unavailable at the end of Fiscal Year 2026, so this is the category reopening with a date.
• Dates for Filing: 15JAN15. That leaves a gap of about 14 months between the two charts.
• For comparison: The bulletin lists EB-2 for most other countries at January 1, 2025 for final action and March 15, 2026 for filing. The State Department explained that some Rest of World employment-based categories retrogressed to keep visa use within quarterly and annual limits for FY 2027.

In plain terms, October brought good news for Indian EB-2 applicants whose cases had been stalled, but it did not make the category anywhere near current. The bulletin also says the situation is being monitored and adjusted as needed, which is a reminder that October’s dates are not a promise about November.

EB-2 India Final Action Date vs. Dates for Filing

Every bulletin contains two employment-based charts. Here is how they differ.

	Final Action Dates	Dates for Filing
Plain-English meaning	When a visa number is available and a green card can be approved	When you may submit your application, even though approval may be years away
EB-2 India, October 2026	November 1, 2013	January 15, 2015
Used for	Final approval of adjustment of status (Form I-485) or immigrant visa issuance	Filing Form I-485 (if USCIS allows) or submitting documents to the National Visa Center
Who decides if you can use it	Default chart	USCIS announces monthly whether adjustment applicants may use it

By default, the bulletin directs adjustment-of-status applicants to the Final Action Dates chart. When USCIS determines enough visas are available, it announces that applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart instead. USCIS makes this decision every month, and it can differ between family-sponsored and employment-based categories. For October 2026, USCIS determined that employment-based applicants use Dates for Filing, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s posting of the announcement. Always confirm on the USCIS Visa Bulletin page before filing.

Filing early does not mean approval. A pending I-485 generally cannot be approved until the Final Action Date reaches your priority date.

How to Check Whether Your EB-2 India Priority Date Is Current

Your priority date is your place in line. For most EB-2 cases that require PERM labor certification, it is the date the PERM application was filed with the Department of Labor. For cases without PERM, such as many national interest waiver petitions, it is generally the date USCIS received the Form I-140. It is printed on your I-140 approval notice (Form I-797).

To check it:

1. Find your priority date on your I-140 approval notice.
2. Open the current Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov and locate the employment-based charts.
3. Find the row for 2nd preference and the column for INDIA.
4. Compare your date with the Final Action Date (for approval) and the Dates for Filing (for filing).
5. Check uscis.gov/visabulletininfo to see which chart USCIS is accepting this month for adjustment filings.

Hypothetical examples only (not real cases):

• Applicant A has a priority date of March 10, 2013. Because that is earlier than November 1, 2013, it is earlier than both cutoffs. A visa number may be available, subject to the rest of the case being ready for approval.
• Applicant B has a priority date of June 5, 2014. That is later than the Final Action Date but earlier than January 15, 2015. Applicant B could potentially file under the Dates for Filing chart in October 2026 if USCIS permits it and all other eligibility requirements are met, but approval would have to wait.
• Applicant C has a priority date of March 1, 2015. That is later than both cutoffs, so the priority date is not current under either chart this month.

Why Is There a Long EB-2 Green Card Backlog in India?

The backlog comes from a mismatch between supply and demand, written into law long before today’s demand existed.

• Annual limits. The bulletin notes that the worldwide employment-based limit is at least 140,000 visas per year, split across five preference categories. EB-2 receives 28.6% of that level, plus any numbers left unused by EB-1.
• Per-country limits. The law caps preference immigrants from any single country at 7% of the total family and employment preference limits, which the bulletin states as 25,620. India is one of the oversubscribed countries the bulletin names, along with China, Mexico, and the Philippines.
• Family members count. Spouses and children who immigrate with the principal applicant generally draw from the same pool, so each approved case uses more than one number.
• High demand. Many Indian nationals are in the U.S. in H-1B and other work statuses and qualify for EB-2 or EB-3, so demand regularly exceeds the numbers available to India.

The result is a queue ordered by priority date. Your date has to come up before a visa number can be assigned. Changing the system would take action from Congress, not the State Department, which only applies the law as written.

EB-2 India Green Card Wait Time: What Applicants Should Know

No single, reliable EB-2 India green card wait time applies to everyone, and we would be cautious about anyone who quotes one. The wait depends on factors that change over time and that differ from case to case:

• Your priority date. An earlier date moves up sooner.
• Visa Bulletin movement. Cutoffs can advance, stay flat, retrogress, or even become unavailable, as EB-2 India’s recent history shows.
• Annual and quarterly visa usage. How quickly numbers are used affects what the State Department can release.
• Changes in law or policy. Legislation or agency practices could change the picture.
• Case-specific steps. I-140 approval, the I-485 stage, security checks, and USCIS processing times are separate from the bulletin.

Historical bulletin movement is useful context, but it is not a forecast. Past advancement does not guarantee future advancement. If you are doing long-term planning around your H-1B extensions or career moves, treat any multi-year estimate as an educated guess and review it regularly with a qualified attorney.

EB-2 Priority Date Movement and Predictions

Three terms come up constantly:

• Advancement: the cutoff moves to a later date, so more applicants qualify.
• Stagnation: the cutoff does not change from one month to the next.
• Retrogression: the cutoff moves to an earlier date, so fewer applicants qualify. A category can also be listed as unavailable (“U”) if the annual limit is reached.

Official information and projections are different things. The monthly bulletin is the official record of the current cutoff. The State Department sometimes includes notes about possible future movement, but those are not guarantees. Third-party predictions, including from law firms and online trackers, are estimates based on assumptions about demand and visa usage.

October 2026 itself shows why caution is warranted. The same bulletin that reopened EB-2 India retrogressed EB-2 for most other countries. We do not publish predictions here, because no one can promise where the EB-2 India cutoff will be next month or next year.

What Should You Do If Your EB-2 Priority Date Is Not Current?

Not being current can feel discouraging, especially if you have waited for years. These general steps may help, though the right approach depends on your facts:

1. Check each monthly bulletin. The State Department usually publishes it mid-month for the following month, and USCIS updates its chart guidance on its own page.
2. Keep your records organized. Save your I-140 approval notice, PERM documents, receipt notices, pay records, passport and I-94 history, and copies of every filing.
3. Maintain your status. Track your H-1B or other nonimmigrant validity dates, and understand how employment changes could affect a pending case.
4. Know your options. Depending on your circumstances, there may be questions about filing under Dates for Filing, using other categories such as EB-3, or other strategies. These are case-specific.
5. Get a case-specific review. An attorney can look at your priority date, category, chargeability, and timeline together.

At Orange Law, attorney Karan Joshi and the team can walk through your situation and explain what the current bulletin means for you. A consultation is not required to read the bulletin, but it can help to talk through your options before making a filing or job decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The current EB-2 priority date for India changes with every bulletin, so the official State Department Visa Bulletin and USCIS’s monthly chart guidance are the only sources to rely on. For October 2026, the Final Action Date is November 1, 2013 and the Dates for Filing is January 15, 2015. What those dates mean for you depends on your priority date and where you are in the process.

If you would like help making sense of your EB-2 India timeline, Orange Law and attorney Karan Joshi are available for a case-specific immigration consultation. Whether or not you reach out, keep checking the bulletin each month and keep your records current.