December 2026 Visa Bulletin: When It Comes Out, What to Watch for EB-2 India and Why Forecasts Miss
The December bulletin is not out yet, so here is when to expect it, what to check the day it lands and why EB-2 India forecasts keep missing.
Part of our guide to the Visa Bulletin and priority dates.
Status as of November 1, 2026. Not published: the December 2026 Visa Bulletin. Published: the November 2026 bulletin (released 2026-10-22). Expected: December's bulletin around mid-November. Forecast only: any December cutoff quoted online.
The December 2026 Visa Bulletin has not been released. As of November 1, 2026, trackers expect it around mid-November (one estimates about November 16; no date has been announced), so all December 2026 visa bulletin predictions are forecasts, not cutoffs. One published forecast, from Shusterman's law firm, expects EB-2 India to advance 1-2 weeks and EB-1 India 3-4 weeks. The latest real numbers are November's: EB-2 India held at a Final Action Date of 2013-11-01, EB-3 India moved to 2014-01-22, and USCIS told employment-based I-485 filers to use the Dates for Filing chart. It has not named a December chart.
When will the December 2026 Visa Bulletin be released?
The State Department had not published the December 2026 Visa Bulletin as of November 1, 2026. Trackers expect it around mid-November, and one estimates about November 16, but no release date has been announced. Once it is out, USCIS says it anticipates naming the chart that adjustment applicants must use within one week.
Bulletins normally appear during the month before they take effect; November's came out on 2026-10-22. Read your own row in the authoritative copy on the Visa Bulletin page at travel.state.gov, not in a same-day summary that may have transposed a date.
Two announcements, not one: the bulletin, then the USCIS chart choice
Every bulletin has two employment-based charts. Final Action Dates decide when a green card can be approved. Dates for Filing reach further ahead and can let an adjustment applicant submit an I-485 sooner. USCIS, not the State Department, decides each month which chart applies to adjustment filings inside the US, and posts the choice on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin page.
That page sets its own timetable: "We anticipate designating one of the two charts each month and linking to the relevant chart below within one week" of the bulletin. Dates for Filing applies when USCIS determines "there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas"; otherwise Final Action Dates control. For November 2026 the page says: "For all employment-based preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart."
On 2026-11-01 the page showed nothing for December and its footer still read 10/05/2026, so go by the month named in the text, not the "last reviewed" date. Consular cases, finished at a US embassy or consulate, always use Final Action Dates.
December 2026 Visa Bulletin predictions next to the published November values
EB cutoffs to watch, as of 2026-11-01. November values as published on 2026-10-22 and reported identically by several law firms, including Fragomen's November 2026 summary.
| Category and country | November 2026 Final Action Date | November 2026 Dates for Filing | Shusterman's December forecast (reported) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 India | 2023-02-01 (no change) | 2024-07-01 | Advance of 3-4 weeks |
| EB-2 India | 2013-11-01 (no change) | 2015-01-15 | Advance of 1-2 weeks |
| EB-3 India | 2014-01-22 (from 2014-01-01) | 2015-01-15 | Not repeated |
| EB-1 China | 2023-08-01 (from 2023-07-01) | 2024-07-01 | Not repeated |
| EB-2 China | 2021-10-01 (no change) | 2023-01-01 | Not repeated |
| EB-3 China | 2022-01-22 (from 2022-01-08) | 2024-04-01 | Not repeated |
| EB-2 rest of world | 2025-04-01 (from 2025-01-01) | 2026-03-15 | Not repeated |
| EB-3 rest of world | 2024-06-15 (from 2024-05-15) | 2024-08-01 | Not repeated |
The forecast column comes from Shusterman's "Visa Bulletin Predictions For December 2026" page, read on 2026-11-01. These are one firm's estimates, not State Department figures, and we repeat only the EB-1 and EB-2 India ones. The page also lists estimates for EB-3 India, China and the rest of the world; read them there with the same caution.
Will EB-2 India move in December 2026?
No one outside the State Department can tell you yet. EB-2 India held at 2013-11-01 in October and November 2026, the first two months of fiscal year 2027, and the forecast above expects a move of 1-2 weeks. Whether it moves depends on demand and visa-number data the State Department sees and the public does not.
What the USCIS inventory says about the line ahead of you
The most useful public number is the USCIS employment-based I-485 inventory, with data as of 2026-10-05 and posted 2026-10-26 (USCIS EB I-485 inventory, October 2026, Excel file). For EB-2 India it shows 3,289 pending cases labelled "available", meaning the priority date is already current, and 23,964 labelled "awaiting" a visa number.
EB-2 India pending I-485s by priority-date slice (USCIS inventory as of 2026-10-05)
| Slice | Pending I-485s | Per month of priority dates (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Labelled "available" | 3,289 | Not applicable |
| Awaiting, November-December 2013 dates | 2,329 | About 1,160 |
| Awaiting, 2014 dates | 20,637 | About 1,720 |
| Awaiting, January 2015 dates | 998 | One month only (the filing cutoff is 2015-01-15) |
| Total awaiting | 23,964 |
A worked example. Say your EB-2 India priority date is 2013-12-10. In November 2026 it is later than the Final Action Date (2013-11-01), so it is not current for approval, but earlier than the Dates for Filing date (2015-01-15), the chart USCIS named for November. A December move of 1-2 weeks would put the Final Action Date around 2013-11-08 to 2013-11-15, still short of your date. By our arithmetic, each week of late-2013 dates holds about 270 filed I-485s and each week of 2014 dates about 400, before counting consular cases or anyone who has not filed. That density is one reason forecasters talk about EB-2 India in weeks, not months (our reading).
The inventory is a floor: it excludes consular cases, beneficiaries who have not filed and suppressed small cells. The approved-petition count uses a different definition and cannot be added to it. As of June 2026, USCIS listed 356,360 approved EB-2 petitions for India-born primary beneficiaries awaiting visa availability, dependents excluded, and one person can hold more than one (USCIS FY2026 Q3 approved petitions data). Our EB-2 India queue math from the October inventory works through every month.
Why did EB-2 India not move in November?
The November 2026 bulletin kept EB-2 India at 2013-11-01, where October left it. That is well short of the State Department's non-binding projection, made before fiscal year 2027 opened, that the category would reach "at least July 15, 2014". The bulletin does not explain the hold, so treat any confident explanation you read online as a guess.
The public data does show pressure at the front of the line: 3,289 EB-2 India cases already current but still pending at USCIS, and 2,329 more in the next two months of priority dates. With Dates for Filing in use two months running, people with 2014 dates could file, which makes more demand visible (our reading). Our breakdown of the State Department's FY2027 EB-2 India projection covers how that projection was built and why it missed.
The EB-3 India crossover
November's other India story: EB-3 India moved 21 days, from 2014-01-01 to 2014-01-22 (our arithmetic), so it now sits later than EB-2 India. Priority dates from 2013-11-01 through 2014-01-21 are current under the EB-3 India Final Action Date but not under EB-2 India's. In general practice the employer files a new EB-3 I-140 and the priority date carries over, but that depends on each case. Each category moves independently, so the gap can widen, close or reverse in December; in the EB-3 India row, watch that gap rather than any single forecast.
A downgrade is a question for an immigration attorney with your PERM and I-140 in hand. Our comparison of an EB-3 downgrade versus waiting in EB-2 sets out the trade-offs, the EB-2 and EB-3 India priority date strategy guide shows how to compare the two categories month by month, and our November 2026 Visa Bulletin explainer covers every November row.
How reliable are visa bulletin predictions?
Directionally useful, numerically unreliable. Forecasters work from public material (past bulletins, the USCIS inventory, quarterly data), while the State Department sets cutoffs from demand data that is not public and can hold, advance or retrogress a date in any month. The best recent test of visa bulletin predictions for FY2027 is the State Department's own: it projected EB-2 India would reach at least July 15, 2014, and the October and November bulletins came in about 8.5 months short (our arithmetic).
Common misconception, then correction (as of 2026-11-01)
| What you may read | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| "DOS projected mid-2014, so EB-2 India will catch up by December." | The projection ("at least July 15, 2014") was non-binding. EB-2 India sat at 2013-11-01 in October and November 2026. |
| "A 1-2 week forecast means my date will be current." | It is one firm's estimate. Only the published bulletin and, for I-485 filers, the USCIS chart notice decide. |
| "USCIS used Dates for Filing in November, so it will in December." | USCIS decides monthly; its page showed no December instruction on 2026-11-01. |
| "The December cutoffs are out" (posted before release day) | Unpublished as of 2026-11-01; any figure is a forecast. |
If a chart shows "U" instead of a date, that is a different situation; see what "Unavailable" means on the Visa Bulletin and how it differs from retrogression.
Will USCIS use the Dates for Filing chart in December?
Nobody knows until USCIS posts it. USCIS required the Dates for Filing chart for all employment-based I-485s in October and November 2026. Its stated test turns on whether more visas are available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants, so December could match November or switch.
The page notes one exception: in a month when a category is "current" on the Final Action Dates chart, or its Final Action Date is later than its Dates for Filing date, applicants in that category may file using the Final Action Dates chart. For the chart basics, see our Visa Bulletin and priority date explainer.
Filing under Dates for Filing lets you submit the I-485, but approval still waits for the Final Action Date, and H-1B or L-1 status remains your separate work authorization. On F-1 OPT or STEM OPT, ask an immigration attorney how an I-485 filing interacts with your status before you file.
What to check the day the December bulletin is released
- Open the Visa Bulletin page on travel.state.gov and confirm the December 2026 bulletin is listed; a screenshot or forecast summary is not the bulletin.
- Find your row in both employment-based charts, using the preference category on your Form I-140 approval notice (Form I-797) and your country of chargeability, usually your country of birth.
- Compare the priority date on that notice with each cutoff. A date earlier than the cutoff is current; "C" means current for everyone; "U" means unavailable.
- Check the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page for the December instruction, which USCIS anticipates within a week, and do not assume November's chart carries over.
- Read the notes at the end of the bulletin for any State Department comment on coming months, and treat it as non-binding.
- Download Form I-485 (edition 09/18/26) from uscis.gov/i-485 and use the filing address shown there; paper filings sent to old addresses are accepted only if postmarked on or before 2026-11-09.
- Confirm the fee on Form G-1055 (edition 10/26/26) and include every required piece of initial evidence. Under PA-2026-05 (in effect since 2026-08-05 and challenged in court), officers may deny without an RFE or NOID when required initial evidence is missing.
- Take the result to your employer's immigration attorney before you file, downgrade, change jobs or travel. If you are on OPT or STEM OPT, keep your DSO informed of employment changes as your reporting rules require.
December 2026 published values (reserved)
Not yet published (checked 2026-11-01). When the December 2026 bulletin is released, this section will list its dates for the rows above and the USCIS December chart choice, under a dated "Updated" note. Until then, nothing here is a December value.
Common mistakes
- Treating a forecast as a cutoff. The non-binding projection said at least July 15, 2014; November said 2013-11-01.
- Reading the wrong chart. USCIS picks one chart a month for adjustment filings; consular cases always use Final Action Dates.
- Treating the EB-3 crossover as a free switch. A downgrade generally needs a new EB-3 I-140, and the right call depends on your PERM, job and timeline.
- Filing an outdated or incomplete package. Old addresses take only packages postmarked on or before 2026-11-09, and PA-2026-05 allows a denial for missing initial evidence without an RFE.
Frequently asked questions
When will the December 2026 Visa Bulletin be released?
The State Department had not published it as of November 1, 2026. Trackers expect it around mid-November, with one estimating about November 16, but no date has been announced. After it appears, USCIS anticipates naming the chart I-485 filers must use within one week.
Will EB-2 India move in December 2026?
No one outside the State Department knows until the bulletin is out. EB-2 India held at a Final Action Date of 2013-11-01 in October and November 2026. Shusterman's law firm forecasts a December advance of 1-2 weeks, which is one firm's estimate and not a cutoff.
Why did EB-2 India not move in November?
The November 2026 bulletin kept EB-2 India at 2013-11-01, well short of the State Department's non-binding projection of at least July 15, 2014, and gave no reason. USCIS data as of 2026-10-05 shows 3,289 EB-2 India I-485s already current and 2,329 more with November-December 2013 priority dates.
Will USCIS use the Dates for Filing chart in December?
USCIS had not said as of November 1, 2026. It required the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based I-485s in October and November 2026, but it decides month by month on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page. Consular cases always use Final Action Dates.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin
- USCIS, Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin (read 2026-11-01)
- USCIS, Employment-based I-485 inventory, October 2026 (data as of 2026-10-05)
- USCIS, Approved I-140, I-360 and I-526 petitions awaiting visa availability, FY2026 Q3 (as of June 2026)
- USCIS, Form I-485 and Form G-1055 fee schedule
- USCIS, Policy Alert PA-2026-05 on evidentiary standards
- Fragomen, November 2026 Visa Bulletin summary (dated 2026-10-22)
- Shusterman, Visa Bulletin Predictions For December 2026 (a forecast, read 2026-11-01)
How we checked this: on 2026-11-01 we read the USCIS filing-charts page, the Shusterman forecast page and the Fragomen summary, and opened the two USCIS spreadsheets to confirm every count. travel.state.gov blocks automated reads, so the November values come from law-firm summaries (Fragomen, Ogletree, BAL and others) that agree with one another; read the bulletin itself before you act.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-797 notices and your attorney govern your case, and your DSO governs anything touching F-1, OPT or SEVIS.
Waiting on a priority date is easier when your job search keeps moving. If you are on OPT, STEM OPT or H-1B and want help with that search, F1Jobs is happy to talk it through.
Frequently asked questions
When will the December 2026 Visa Bulletin be released?
The State Department had not published it as of November 1, 2026. Trackers expect it around mid-November, with one estimating about November 16, but no date has been announced. After it appears, USCIS anticipates naming the chart I-485 filers must use within one week.
Will EB-2 India move in December 2026?
No one outside the State Department knows until the bulletin is out. EB-2 India held at a Final Action Date of 2013-11-01 in October and November 2026. Shusterman's law firm forecasts a December advance of 1-2 weeks, which is one firm's estimate and not a cutoff.
Why did EB-2 India not move in November?
The November 2026 bulletin kept EB-2 India at 2013-11-01, well short of the State Department's non-binding projection of at least July 15, 2014, and gave no reason. USCIS data as of 2026-10-05 shows 3,289 EB-2 India I-485s already current and 2,329 more with November-December 2013 priority dates.
Will USCIS use the Dates for Filing chart in December?
USCIS had not said as of November 1, 2026. It required the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based I-485s in October and November 2026, but it decides month by month on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page. Consular cases always use Final Action Dates.