Indian EB-2 green card queue stays frozen in 2013 as US premium processing rule goes to White House review

Washington: Indian professionals waiting for employment-based green cards in the advanced-degree category saw no movement for a second straight month, as the US State Department’s November 2026 Visa Bulletin kept the EB-2 final action date for India at November 1, 2013, while advancing the date for most other countries by three months.

At the same time, a Department of Homeland Security proposal to change the deadlines for paid premium processing, used heavily by H-1B employers, is under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

According to reginfo.gov, OIRA received the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed rule, titled “Amending the Premium Processing Timeframe” (RIN 1615-AD25), on October 13. It is listed as pending review, with no legal deadline, and is not designated economically significant. The text of the proposal has not been made public, and the listing does not say which visa categories would be affected or whether deadlines would be lengthened or shortened.

A separate USCIS proposed rule, “Reforming the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program” (RIN 1615-AD00), has been pending at OIRA since August 24 and is designated economically significant, the listing shows.

In the November bulletin, the EB-2 final action date for applicants from all chargeability areas except those listed separately moved from January 1, 2025 in October to April 1, 2025. Mexico and the Philippines moved in step with the rest of the world, while China-born applicants stayed at October 1, 2021.

The EB-3 final action date for India moved by three weeks to January 22, 2014. The EB-3 “Other Workers” date for India moved to the same date. For most other countries, EB-3 advanced to June 15, 2024.

The EB-1 date for India stayed at February 1, 2023, and the EB-5 unreserved date for Indian investors held at December 1, 2023.

India’s employment-based dates for filing were January 15, 2015 for both EB-2 and EB-3, the bulletin shows.

USCIS says on its website that, for November, adjustment-of-status applicants in employment-based categories “must use the Dates for Filing chart”. That means Indian EB-2 applicants in the US with priority dates before January 15, 2015 can file adjustment applications, though green cards can be approved only for those with dates before November 1, 2013.

Indian family-sponsored applicants fared better. Final action dates for F1, F2B and F3 moved to January 22, 2021, August 22, 2020 and October 22, 2015 respectively. On the other hand, the F4 category, for brothers and sisters of adult US citizens, remained at December 15, 2006 for India, against October 22, 2012 for most countries.

The bulletin says per-country proration currently applies to China-mainland born, India, Mexico and the Philippines. The per-country limit is set at 7 per cent of combined family and employment-based limits, or 25,620.

India’s EB-2 category was unavailable in the last months of fiscal 2026. In its July 2026 bulletin, the State Department said that “It is likely that in October the final action date will advance to at least the final action date announced in the May 2026 Visa Bulletin.”

The bulletin follows a renewed push by New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer to end per-country caps on employment-based green cards.

“Imagine waiting 179 years for a green card. That’s the projected wait for Indian green card applicants,” Gottheimer said on X.

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