Indian professionals seeking EB-2 Green Cards faced another freeze as the US State Department’s November 2026 Visa Bulletin kept India’s final action date at November 1, 2013. While most other nations saw progress, many Indian applicants got stuck. Meanwhile, the EB-3 category moved ahead by three weeks to January 22, 2014.
Indian professionals seeking employment-based Green Cards in the EB-2 category experienced stagnation for the second consecutive month, as the US State Department's November 2026 Visa Bulletin kept India's final action date frozen at November 1, 2013.
Meanwhile, most other nations enjoyed a three-month jump forward to April 1, 2025.
India EB-3 advances three weeks; EB-2 Green Card date remains frozen
India's EB-3 final action date did move ahead by three weeks to January 22, 2014, including the EB-3 Other Workers category as well. For the majority of other countries, the EB-3 date progressed to June 15, 2024. India's EB-1 date held steady at February 1, 2023, while the EB-5 unreserved category remained at December 1, 2023.
Indian applicants in both the EB-2 and EB-3 categories saw their filing dates stay the same at January 15, 2015. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), those seeking employment-based adjustment of status need to reference the Dates for Filing chart released in November. This gives qualified Indian EB-2 applicants currently residing in the US who have priority dates before January 15, 2015, the opportunity to file adjustment applications, though their green cards can only be granted once their priority dates fall before the final action date.
OIRA reviews premium processing changes as Indian Green Card backlogs persist
As of now, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is looking over a proposal to update premium processing deadlines. The Department of Homeland Security submitted this proposed rule on October 13, and it could potentially change how quickly applications get processed. However, the actual details of the proposal haven't been shared with the public yet.
Meanwhile, there's another proposal focused on making changes to the H-1B visa program that's been sitting with OIRA since August 24. This one is considered economically significant, which means it could have a real impact.
On the bright side, Indian applicants sponsoring family members have seen some positive movement in the F1, F2B, and F3 visa categories. Unfortunately, the F4 category hasn't budged and is still stuck at the December 15, 2006 date.
These updates are happening as there's growing momentum behind efforts to do away with the per-country caps that currently restrict employment-based green cards.
New Jersey's Democratic representative Josh Gottheimer brought attention to the frustrating delays experienced by applicants from India, pointing out that some face an estimated wait time stretching to 179 years. "Imagine waiting 179 years for a green card. That's the projected wait for Indian green card applicants," Gottheimer wrote on X.