Indian professionals in the EB-2 advanced-degree employment category saw their green card queue remain frozen for a second consecutive month, as the US State Department's November 2026 Visa Bulletin held the final action date for India at 1 November 2013 — even as applicants from most other countries saw their dates advance by three months to 1 April 2025. The standstill compounds an already historic backlog that one US lawmaker has estimated could stretch to 179 years for new Indian applicants.

What the November Bulletin Shows

For employment-based categories, Mexico and the Philippines moved in step with the rest of the world on EB-2, while China-born applicants remained at 1 October 2021. India's EB-3 final action date edged forward by just three weeks to 22 January 2014, and the EB-3 Other Workers category for India moved to the same date — compared with 15 June 2024 for most other countries. The EB-1 date for India held at 1 February 2023, and the EB-5 unreserved date for Indian investors stayed at 1 December 2023.

On the filing side, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has directed that November adjustment-of-status applicants in employment-based categories must use the Dates for Filing chart. This means Indian EB-2 applicants already in the US with priority dates before 15 January 2015 can file adjustment applications — but green cards can be approved only for those with dates before 1 November 2013.

Premium Processing Rule Heads to White House Review

Separately, a Department of Homeland Security proposal to amend deadlines for paid premium processing — a service widely used by H-1B employers to accelerate adjudication — is now under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). According to reginfo.gov, OIRA received the USCIS proposed rule titled 'Amending the Premium Processing Timeframe' (RIN 1615-AD25) on 13 October. The proposal is listed as pending review with no legal deadline and is not designated economically significant. Crucially, the text has not been made public, and the listing does not specify which visa categories would be affected or whether processing deadlines would be lengthened or shortened.

A separate USCIS rule, 'Reforming the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program' (RIN 1615-AD00), has been pending at OIRA since 24 August and is designated economically significant — a classification that typically signals broader regulatory impact.

Family-Sponsored Categories: Mixed Picture

Indian family-sponsored applicants fared comparatively better in the November bulletin. Final action dates for the F1, F2B, and F3 categories moved to 22 January 2021, 22 August 2020, and 22 October 2015 respectively. However, the F4 category — covering brothers and sisters of adult US citizens — remained stuck at 15 December 2006 for India, against 22 October 2012 for most other countries, highlighting the depth of India-specific backlogs across visa classes.

The Per-Country Cap Debate

The bulletin reaffirms that per-country proration currently applies to China-mainland born, India, Mexico, and the Philippines. The per-country limit is set at 7% of combined family and employment-based limits, equivalent to 25,620 visas annually — a ceiling that critics argue is structurally discriminatory given India's outsized share of high-skilled immigration to the United States.

The bulletin's release follows a renewed legislative push by New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer to abolish 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 posted on X. This is not the first such legislative push — similar bills have surfaced repeatedly over the past decade without clearing the Senate, leaving millions of Indian professionals in prolonged limbo on H-1B status.

Notably, India's EB-2 category was unavailable in the final months of fiscal year 2026. The State Department's July 2026 bulletin had flagged that the final action date would likely advance to at least the level seen in the May 2026 bulletin — a projection that has not materialised into meaningful relief for applicants.

With the premium processing rule still opaque and H-1B reform pending at OIRA, the regulatory environment for Indian skilled workers in the US remains in flux heading into the new fiscal year.