Green Card Priority Date India: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and Family Dates

The green card priority date for India in October 2026 is Nov 1, 2013 for EB-2, Jan 1, 2014 for EB-3 and Feb 1, 2023 for EB-1 on the Final Action chart. In other words, an Indian-born applicant in EB-2 or EB-3 can be approved this month only if the priority date is from late 2013 or early 2014 or earlier. For applicants born in most other countries, EB-2 is Jan 1, 2025 and EB-1 is current.

India has its own column in the Visa Bulletin because demand from Indian-born applicants is far above the 7% share of preference visas that any one country can receive in a year. This page brings every India row together: the current Final Action and Dates for Filing dates, how each has moved since 2014, how long real priority dates have waited, and what Indian applicants can do in the meantime. Figures come from our archive of 275 monthly bulletins.

India priority dates in October 2026

"Behind" is the gap between October 2026 and the Final Action cutoff. The last column shows the date for applicants born in most other countries for comparison.

Category	Final Action (India)	Dates for Filing (India)	Behind	Final Action (most other countries)
EB-1	Feb 1, 2023	Jul 1, 2024	3.7 years	Current
EB-2	Nov 1, 2013	Jan 15, 2015	12.9 years	Jan 1, 2025
EB-3	Jan 1, 2014	Jan 15, 2015	12.7 years	May 15, 2024
EB-3 Other Workers	Jan 1, 2014	Jan 15, 2015	12.7 years	Jan 1, 2022
EB-4	Dec 15, 2022	Jan 1, 2025	3.8 years	Dec 15, 2022
EB-5 Unreserved	Dec 1, 2023	May 1, 2024	2.8 years	Current
EB-5 Rural	Current	Current	–	Current
F1	Jan 22, 2020	Feb 1, 2020	6.7 years	Jan 22, 2020
F2A	Sep 22, 2026	Current	under 1 month	Sep 22, 2026
F2B	Aug 22, 2019	Sep 1, 2019	7.1 years	Aug 22, 2019
F3	Oct 22, 2014	Nov 1, 2014	11.9 years	Oct 22, 2014
F4	Dec 15, 2006	Feb 1, 2007	19.8 years	Oct 22, 2011

For October 2026 USCIS accepts the Dates for Filing chart for Form I-485, so Indian applicants in the United States can file if their priority date is earlier than the Dates for Filing column, even though approval depends on the Final Action column. The month's changes are explained in Visa Bulletin October 2026.

What changed for India in October 2026

• EB-2 India reopened at Nov 1, 2013 after being Unavailable in September 2026.
• EB-1 India moved from Oct 15, 2022 to Feb 1, 2023, a gain of about three and a half months.
• EB-3 India held at Jan 1, 2014.
• EB-5 Unreserved India reopened at Dec 1, 2023; the EB-5 set-asides stay current.
• F4 India (brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens) moved from Nov 1, 2006 to Dec 15, 2006.

India priority dates since 2014

Final Action cutoff in the October bulletin of each year (the first bulletin of each fiscal year):

October of	EB-1	EB-2	EB-3	EB-5 Unreserved	F4
2014	Current	May 1, 2009	Nov 15, 2003	–	Jan 22, 2002
2015	Current	May 1, 2005	Mar 8, 2004	–	Feb 8, 2003
2016	Current	Jan 15, 2007	Mar 1, 2005	–	Dec 1, 2002
2017	Current	Sep 15, 2008	Oct 15, 2006	–	Oct 1, 2003
2018	Jun 1, 2016	Mar 26, 2009	Jan 1, 2009	–	May 1, 2004
2019	Jan 1, 2015	May 12, 2009	Jan 1, 2009	–	Oct 1, 2004
2020	Jun 1, 2018	Sep 1, 2009	Jan 15, 2010	–	Mar 8, 2005
2021	Current	Sep 1, 2011	Jan 1, 2014	–	Sep 15, 2005
2022	Current	Apr 1, 2012	Apr 1, 2012	Nov 8, 2019	Sep 15, 2005
2023	Jan 1, 2017	Jan 1, 2012	May 1, 2012	Dec 15, 2018	Oct 8, 2005
2024	Feb 1, 2022	Jul 15, 2012	Nov 1, 2012	Jan 1, 2022	Mar 1, 2006
2025	Feb 15, 2022	Apr 1, 2013	Aug 22, 2013	Feb 1, 2021	Nov 1, 2006
2026	Feb 1, 2023	Nov 1, 2013	Jan 1, 2014	Dec 1, 2023	Dec 15, 2006

Over the ten years from October 2016 to October 2026 the India cutoffs moved, on average, this many months of priority dates per calendar year:

Category	October 2016	October 2026	Average move per year
EB-1	Current	Feb 1, 2023	–
EB-2	Jan 15, 2007	Nov 1, 2013	8.2 months
EB-3	Mar 1, 2005	Jan 1, 2014	10.6 months
F4	Dec 1, 2002	Dec 15, 2006	4.8 months

A pace below twelve months a year means the line got longer during the decade. The month-by-month history is on our EB-2 India page, and every other India row is in the Visa Bulletin tracker.

EB-2 India: jumps and setbacks

EB-2 India does not move steadily. It reached Dec 1, 2014 in September 2022, fell back to Apr 1, 2012 the next month, and was at Jan 1, 2011 by September 2023. It was Unavailable in 3 monthly bulletins since October 2015, typically at the end of a fiscal year when India's share of numbers had been used. October 2026 restarts the year at Nov 1, 2013.

Because of these swings, an approval date can come and go. If your priority date is close to the cutoff, file and prepare documents when the Dates for Filing chart allows it, so the case is ready when the Final Action date passes you.

EB-2 vs EB-3 India: when downgrading has made sense

Many Indian professionals qualify for both EB-2 and EB-3. Since October 2015 the EB-3 India Final Action date was later (more favorable) than the EB-2 India date in 61 of the monthly bulletins. In those months some applicants filed a second I-140 in EB-3 with the same PERM, kept their original priority date under 8 CFR 204.5(e) and used whichever category was further ahead. In October 2026 the two are close: EB-2 Nov 1, 2013 and EB-3 Jan 1, 2014.

A downgrade costs a new I-140 filing and only helps if the EB-3 date stays ahead long enough for your case to be approved. Discuss it with your employer's attorney using the current bulletin.

How long Indian priority dates have actually waited

The first bulletin in which each sample priority date was earlier than the India Final Action date:

Category	Priority date	First current (Final Action)	Wait
EB-2	Jan 1, 2010	March 2012	2.2 years
EB-2	Jan 1, 2012	December 2021	9.9 years
EB-2	Jan 1, 2014	June 2022	8.4 years
EB-3	Jan 1, 2010	October 2020	10.7 years
EB-3	Jan 1, 2012	July 2021	9.5 years
EB-3	Jan 1, 2014	not yet (October 2026)	12.7+ years so far
EB-1	Jan 1, 2020	March 2021	1.2 years
EB-1	Jan 1, 2023	January 2026	3.0 years
F4	Jan 1, 2005	May 2020	15.3 years

Some of these rows moved back again after the first current month, so this is the earliest an approval was possible, not a promise. For projections, see Visa Bulletin predictions; for the full green card timeline, see how long it takes to get a green card.

When an approval window opens and closes again

The table above shows that an EB-2 India priority date of Jan 1, 2014 first became current in June 2022. It did not stay current: by October 2022 the EB-2 India Final Action date had fallen back to Apr 1, 2012, and in October 2026 it is Nov 1, 2013, still before that 2014 date. Applicants whose cases were ready in mid-2022 could be approved; those whose files were not complete had to wait for the date to come back.

The practical lesson for Indian applicants is to be ready before the window opens: medical exam, civil documents, an up-to-date employment verification letter and a filed I-485 when the Dates for Filing chart allows it. An officer can approve the case only in a month when the priority date is current on the Final Action chart.

How much earlier you can file than you can be approved

For India the Dates for Filing chart in October 2026 is well ahead of the Final Action chart, and USCIS accepts it this month:

Category	Final Action	Dates for Filing	Filing window ahead by
EB-1	Feb 1, 2023	Jul 1, 2024	17 months
EB-2	Nov 1, 2013	Jan 15, 2015	14 months
EB-3	Jan 1, 2014	Jan 15, 2015	12 months
EB-5 Unreserved	Dec 1, 2023	May 1, 2024	5 months
F4	Dec 15, 2006	Feb 1, 2007	2 months

Indian EB-2 and EB-3 applicants in the United States can therefore file Form I-485 this month with a priority date up to January 14, 2015, about a year earlier than the date that allows approval.

Filing early does not shorten the wait for the green card itself, but a pending Form I-485 lets you apply for an employment authorization document and advance parole while the case waits. USCIS announces at the start of every month which chart it accepts, so check its filing charts page before you plan around the earlier date.

What to watch in the next bulletins

• Whether EB-2 India holds. It reopened in October 2026 after a month of being Unavailable; early fiscal-year dates are sometimes adjusted once demand becomes clear.
• EB-1 India. It moved about three and a half months in October; further movement would bring more Indian EB-1 applicants within reach.
• The worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 dates. They retrogressed in October 2026; numbers left unused in the worldwide pool late in the year can sometimes help oversubscribed countries.
• The November 2026 bulletin. We update every India row the day it is published.

Why India's wait is so long

Each year at least 140,000 employment-based and 226,000 family preference visas are available, and the law limits any single country to 7% of the combined preference total. Indian-born applicants file a very large share of employment petitions, especially in EB-2 and EB-3, so most of them compete for India's limited share rather than the worldwide pool. Spouses and children count against the same numbers. A full explanation, with every country's line, is in green card backlog.

Chargeability follows country of birth, not citizenship. An applicant born in India who holds Canadian or British citizenship still uses the India column. The main exception is cross-chargeability: in some cases a person can be charged to a spouse's country of birth if the spouse immigrates at the same time.

Options for Indian applicants while waiting

• Consider EB-1. EB-1 India is Feb 1, 2023, years ahead of EB-2 and EB-3. Researchers, executives and people with extraordinary ability may qualify; see EB-1 requirements.
• Keep the earliest priority date. An approved I-140 keeps its priority date for later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petitions, even with a new employer, unless revoked for fraud, misrepresentation, an invalidated labor certification or material error. See what a priority date is.
• Use Dates for Filing months. When USCIS accepts the Dates for Filing chart, filing Form I-485 early can bring a work permit and advance parole while the case waits.
• Protect H-1B and H-4 status. An approved I-140 allows H-1B extensions beyond six years and makes an H-4 spouse eligible for a work permit; see H-4 EAD processing time.
• Check a spouse's country of birth. If your spouse was born outside India, cross-chargeability may let both of you use that country's date.
• Look at a national interest waiver. An EB-2 NIW does not need PERM, but for Indian-born applicants it uses the same EB-2 India date; see EB-2 NIW.

Family-based green cards for India

Indian applicants in family categories use the worldwide dates in F1, F2A, F2B and F3. Only F4 has a separate India date: Dec 15, 2006 on the Final Action chart and Feb 1, 2007 on the Dates for Filing chart, compared with Oct 22, 2011 for most countries. Spouses, parents and minor children of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives with no annual limit; their wait is only processing time, covered in I-130 processing time.