November 2026 Visa Bulletin:
EB-2 India Frozen, EB-3 India Moves 21 Days
The U.S. Department of State has published the November 2026 Visa Bulletin. These are the official published dates, not projections — every number below is pulled from the State Department's November chart and compared line by line against October so you can see exactly what moved, what froze, and which employment category is now the faster route for Indian applicants.
Contents
1. What Actually Moved vs October 2. Final Action Dates — Full Table 3. EB-2 vs EB-3 India: The Inversion 4. Dates for Filing — Full Table 5. Final Action vs Filing Dates 6. What This Means If You Need Sponsorship 7. Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat Actually Moved vs October 2026
Nine of the fourteen employment lines did not move at all. Here is the complete comparison — every row is October → November:
| Category & country | October 2026 | November 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-2 Rest of World | 01 Jan 2025 | 01 Apr 2025 | +3 months |
| Other Workers Rest of World | 01 Jan 2022 | 01 Jun 2022 | +5 months |
| EB-1 China | 01 Jul 2023 | 01 Aug 2023 | +1 month |
| EB-3 Rest of World | 15 May 2024 | 15 Jun 2024 | +1 month |
| EB-3 India | 01 Jan 2014 | 22 Jan 2014 | +21 days |
| Other Workers India | 01 Jan 2014 | 22 Jan 2014 | +21 days |
| EB-3 China | 08 Jan 2022 | 22 Jan 2022 | +14 days |
| EB-2 India | 01 Nov 2013 | 01 Nov 2013 | No change |
| EB-1 India | 01 Feb 2023 | 01 Feb 2023 | No change |
| EB-2 China | 01 Oct 2021 | 01 Oct 2021 | No change |
The pattern is unusual and worth stating plainly: the movement went to Rest of World, not to the oversubscribed countries. Rest of World EB-2 gained three months and Rest of World Other Workers gained five — while India EB-2 gained nothing for the second consecutive month.
Final Action Dates — Full Table (November 2026)
Final Action Dates are the dates that decide when a green card number can actually be issued. If your priority date is earlier than the date in your category and country column, a visa number is available to you. "C" means current — open to everyone. "U" means unauthorised — no numbers available.
| Employment category | All areas | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | 01 Aug 2023 | 01 Feb 2023 | C | C |
| EB-2 | 01 Apr 2025 | 01 Oct 2021 | 01 Nov 2013 | 01 Apr 2025 | 01 Apr 2025 |
| EB-3 | 15 Jun 2024 | 22 Jan 2022 | 22 Jan 2014 | 15 Jun 2024 | 15 Aug 2023 |
| Other Workers | 01 Jun 2022 | 01 Oct 2019 | 22 Jan 2014 | 01 Jun 2022 | 01 Jan 2022 |
| EB-4 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 | 15 Dec 2022 |
| EB-5 Unreserved | C | 01 Dec 2016 | 01 Dec 2023 | C | C |
| EB-5 Rural (20%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| EB-5 High Unemployment (10%) | C | C | C | C | C |
| EB-5 Infrastructure (2%) | C | C | C | C | C |
One number deserves to be said out loud: India EB-2 sitting at 01 November 2013 means the State Department is currently issuing green cards to Indian EB-2 applicants who filed roughly thirteen years ago. That is not a projection or an estimate — it is the published cut-off.
On H-1B and Waiting on a Priority Date?
If your green card queue is measured in years, the employer matters more than the job title. Browse agencies that place candidates with employers who actually sponsor.
Browse the Directory →EB-2 vs EB-3 India: The Inversion Is Back
This is the part almost no bulletin summary explains, and it is the single most consequential line in the November chart for Indian applicants.
| India category | Final Action Date | vs the other |
|---|---|---|
| EB-2 India | 01 November 2013 | — |
| EB-3 India | 22 January 2014 | 82 days ahead |
EB-3 India is now ahead of EB-2 India. That means an Indian applicant holding an approved EB-2 petition whose priority date falls between 1 November 2013 and 22 January 2014 would be able to move sooner in the EB-3 line than in the EB-2 line. This situation — known as downgrading — is exactly what people mean when they ask "should I downgrade from EB-2 to EB-3".
Two cautions before anyone acts on that, because the difference is small and it can reverse:
- 82 days is a thin margin. A single month of EB-2 movement erases it. In the last two bulletins EB-2 India has moved zero days, which is what created the gap — not EB-3 racing ahead.
- Downgrading is a legal decision, not a queue trick. It involves a new or amended petition and interacts with your existing priority date. Speak to an immigration attorney before filing anything; the bulletin does not tell you whether it is right for your case.
Dates for Filing — Full Table (November 2026)
The Dates for Filing chart is the one used to decide whether you may submit an adjustment-of-status application (Form I-485) or start document collection at the National Visa Center. It is always later than the Final Action Date, and it moves more slowly.
| Employment category | All areas | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | 01 Jul 2024 | 01 Jul 2024 | C | C |
| EB-2 | 15 Mar 2026 | 01 Jan 2023 | 15 Jan 2015 | 15 Mar 2026 | 15 Mar 2026 |
| EB-3 | 01 Aug 2024 | 01 Apr 2024 | 15 Jan 2015 | 01 Aug 2024 | 01 Jan 2024 |
| Other Workers | 01 Jul 2022 | 01 Oct 2020 | 15 Jan 2015 | 01 Jul 2022 | 01 Jun 2022 |
| EB-4 | 01 Jan 2025 | 01 Jan 2025 | 01 Jan 2025 | 01 Jan 2025 | 01 Jan 2025 |
| EB-5 Unreserved | C | 01 Mar 2021 | 01 May 2024 | C | C |
On the filing chart there is only one change from October: Other Workers Rest of World and Mexico moved from 01 June 2022 to 01 July 2022 — one month. Every other line, including all India lines, is identical to October. India EB-2 filing remains at 15 January 2015.
Final Action vs Filing Dates — Why It Matters
Nearly every "visa bulletin not moving" complaint comes from confusing these two charts:
- Dates for Filing — earlier date. Reaching it means you may assemble documents and submit your application. It does not mean a visa number exists.
- Final Action Dates — later date. Reaching it means a number can be allocated and the case approved.
- USCIS decides which chart applies each month. For adjustment-of-status filings inside the United States, USCIS separately announces whether to use the Final Action chart or the Filing chart. The State Department bulletin does not make that call. Check the USCIS adjustment-of-status page for the month before you file — using the wrong chart gets an application rejected.
What This Means If You Need Sponsorship
Read the November numbers as a map of which doors are still open, because they are not equally open:
- EB-1 India at 01 February 2023 is the shortest Indian employment queue in the table — about three years and nine months behind. If you can genuinely qualify for EB-1 (extraordinary ability, outstanding researcher, or multinational manager), that is the single largest time saving available.
- EB-2 India at November 2013 is, for practical purposes, a decade-plus commitment. If an employer promises "we'll sponsor your green card", the honest follow-up question is which category and what your priority date would be.
- Rest of World EB-2 at 01 April 2025 is close to current. Nationality, not merit, is doing most of the work in this chart — which is why the same job at the same employer can mean a two-year wait or a thirteen-year wait.
- Employment-based sponsorship still starts with the employer. The bulletin decides timing; it does not create eligibility. Our software developer visa sponsorship guide and best tech companies hiring in the USA cover who actually sponsors.
- If you are not in the US queue yet, H-1B remains the usual on-ramp — see what changed in the H-1B 2027 weighted lottery.
None of this is legal advice. The bulletin is a published schedule; what it means for your specific case depends on your petition, your priority date and your current status.