October 2026 Visa Bulletin for EB-2 NIW: India, China and Rest of World

Sources: DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF. DOS information checked September 29, 2026. USCIS October filing-chart selection verified October 8, 2026.

What changed for EB-2 from September to October?

Sources: DOS September and DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF. Calculations by PetitionMatcher: October cutoff minus September cutoff in calendar days. Current and Unavailable are statuses, so transitions involving them have no numeric day difference.

Rest of World means All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed. Mexico and the Philippines have separate official columns; both also use January 1, 2025 for EB-2 Final Action and March 15, 2026 for Filing in October. DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF

Did EB-2 India advance in October 2026?

EB-2 India reopens at November 1, 2013 for Final Action. September was Unavailable, so this is a reopening, not a numeric September-to-October advance. The Filing cutoff stays January 15, 2015: zero days of movement. September DOS · DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF

Is reopening the same as recovering the earlier cutoff?

No. October's Final Action cutoff is 256 days earlier than May's July 15, 2014 cutoff, and 61 days later than June's September 1, 2013 cutoff. July through September showed Unavailable. Monthly chart history should not be confused with later operational notices: DOS also announced India EB-2 exhaustion on May 22, 2026. May bulletin · June bulletin · DOS exhaustion notice

The earlier July bulletin's conditional expectation about restoring at least May's cutoff was not the October result. Treat that earlier statement as a demand-dependent outlook, not a guarantee. July DOS explanation · DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF

Did EB-2 China advance in October 2026?

Yes, on both charts. China, mainland born, advances from September 1 to October 1, 2021 under Final Action: 30 days. Its Filing cutoff advances from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023: 365 days. A priority date during 2022 may be before the Filing cutoff while remaining after the Final Action cutoff; an I-485 filing still depends on USCIS authorizing that chart and the other filing requirements. September DOS · DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF

Is EB-2 Rest of World Current in October 2026?

No, on neither chart. ROW changes from Current to January 1, 2025 for Final Action and March 15, 2026 for Filing. This is retrogression through the introduction of dated cutoffs, not a measurable number of days backward from Current. Mexico and the Philippines have the same October EB-2 dates. September DOS · DOS October bulletin · Official October PDF

For a ROW priority date during most of 2025, the October Final Action date condition is not met. Such a date may fall before the Filing cutoff, which USCIS selected for October employment-based adjustment filings. Other adjustment eligibility requirements still apply. The bulletin does not promise when Final Action will reach that date.

Which Visa Bulletin chart should adjustment applicants use?

USCIS selected Dates for Filing for October 2026 for all employment-based preference categories, including EB-2 NIW. We verified the official USCIS October filing charts on October 8, 2026. Check the current USCIS filing-chart instructions before filing an I-485. Your priority date must be earlier than the applicable cutoff, and other adjustment eligibility requirements still apply.

Permission to file is not permission for final approval. USCIS selected Dates for Filing for October, but Final Action still governs visa availability for approving a green card. The Department of State publishes both charts; that publication does not itself authorize adjustment applicants to use Dates for Filing. Use Chart B only if USCIS permits it for your category and month; otherwise its instructions direct applicants to Final Action Dates. Final approval still requires visa availability. For consular processing, follow the National Visa Center's instructions; USCIS's adjustment chart choice is a different step. DOS instructions · USCIS guidance

What do Final Action Dates, Dates for Filing and Current mean?

Sources: DOS chart definitions, USCIS priority dates and USCIS EB-2 guidance. Chargeability normally follows country of birth; exceptions require individual review. Rest of World here means the official All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed column. Mexico and the Philippines have separate columns; both match ROW for EB-2 in October.

Can I file if my priority date is before March 15, 2026?

For EB-2 ROW, Mexico or the Philippines, that date is the October Dates for Filing cutoff. It is not an unconditional I-485 filing deadline or authorization. USCIS selected Dates for Filing for October employment-based adjustment cases, so a priority date earlier than March 15, 2026 meets this chart's filing-date condition. Final approval still requires visa availability under the January 1, 2025 Final Action cutoff. Other eligibility requirements apply. DOS October charts · USCIS filing rules

These examples test only the date condition. They do not establish filing eligibility or approval. The same strictly-earlier rule applies to India and China. Being one day after a cutoff does not imply a one-day wait. DOS chart instructions

Which priority dates newly enter the October filing window?

USCIS's October selection is verified, but its September selection has not been checked here. This article therefore does not claim an actual September-to-October I-485 filing-window comparison. Comparing DOS Filing charts alone would overstate what has been established. China's Chart B date interval expands to include January 1 through December 31, 2022, but that is not automatically a newly authorized I-485 interval. DOS September · DOS October · USCIS monthly selections

What if I already filed I-485 and my priority date is no longer current?

A pending I-485 and a new I-485 filing are different situations. Dates for Filing does not determine when an already-filed green card application can receive final approval. Final approval requires visa availability under Final Action Dates, even if USCIS accepted the application when the category was Current. A later retrogression is not itself a denial or an instruction to refile. USCIS visa availability · USCIS retrogression guidance

For example, an EB-2 ROW priority date of December 1, 2025 is after October's January 1, 2025 Final Action cutoff. An already-filed I-485 does not meet that visa-availability date condition merely because December 1, 2025 is before the March 15, 2026 Filing cutoff. This example uses the priority date, not the I-140 approval date or I-485 receipt date. DOS October charts

Employment authorization and advance parole are separate requests; the bulletin does not announce their approval or processing timeline. Check the applicable USCIS guidance and your case notices rather than treating the green-card cutoff as an EAD or travel-permission decision. USCIS Form I-765 · USCIS Form I-131

Does NIW approval mean a green card is immediately available?

No. Approval of an NIW I-140 and immigrant-visa availability are separate requirements. NIW uses the EB-2 row; the waiver does not remove EB-2 numerical limits. Permanent residence also requires the applicable adjustment or immigrant-visa process and eligibility for final approval. Premium processing of an I-140 does not create a visa number. USCIS EB-2 guidance · USCIS visa availability

Why did some dates retrogress at the start of a new fiscal year?

October 1, 2026 begins fiscal year 2027. A new allocation does not require every category to advance or become Current. DOS says October's advances reflect the FY2027 allocation, while some Rest of World employment cutoffs retrogress to keep issuance within quarterly and annual limits. It will monitor demand and adjust dates as needed. DOS October, section B

The bulletin does not give a month when EB-2 ROW will become Current again. It also does not quantify the final FY2027 spillover or promise when any spillover will translate into later cutoffs. The October table alone cannot establish that spillover is zero, unused or guaranteed to move a particular country next month. DOS October allocation rules and explanation Its statutory employment-based minimum of 140,000 is not a confirmed final FY2027 allocation or a count reserved for NIW applicants. Cutoff movement also does not reveal how quickly USCIS will decide an individual petition or I-485.

How did EB-2 move during 2026?

The table records published monthly chart entries. Each cell is Final Action / Filing; C means Current and U means Unavailable. Follow the linked month for its source.

Has October passed the furthest FY2026 position?

The full fiscal-year comparison covers October 2025 through September 2026, not only calendar 2026. India's furthest dated Final Action cutoff was July 15, 2014; October 2026 is 256 days earlier. China's furthest was September 1, 2021; October is 30 days later. ROW became Current in FY2026, so its October dated cutoff is a retreat from that status, not a new high. For Filing, India matches FY2026's January 15, 2015 position; China advances 365 days beyond January 1, 2022; ROW loses Current status.

Sources: the linked 2026 chart history, October 2025, November 2025 and December 2025. Current and Unavailable have no numerical maximum.

Is the gap between the two charts an estimated wait?

No. The chart gap is simply the calendar-day distance between two published cutoffs. It does not measure processing time, the size of the queue or the time an applicant will wait.

Source: DOS October; date arithmetic by PetitionMatcher.

What should NIW applicants watch next?

USCIS selected Dates for Filing for October employment-based adjustment filings. Recheck current USCIS instructions before filing, then monitor DOS availability notices and the November bulletin. India applicants should distinguish reopening from recovery of the May position; China applicants should distinguish a wider Filing window from Final Action eligibility; ROW applicants should check which of the two new cutoffs applies to their next step. There is no supported date here for ROW to become Current again. DOS October explanation · USCIS chart selection

Read the complete October 2026 Visa Bulletin summary for every family and employment category. Our earlier India prediction and China/ROW prediction remain historical forecasts, separate from this confirmed analysis.

Download the comparison data

Download the October 2025 to October 2026 EB-2 chart history (CSV) or all September-to-October category comparisons (CSV). These are published cutoff histories, not processing-time or case-outcome data.