EB-1 vs EB-2: Which Green Card Category Is Faster for Your Country Under the October 2026 Bulletin

EB-1 India sits more than nine years ahead of EB-2 in the October 2026 bulletin. Here is what that gap does and does not mean for you.

Part of our guide to the Visa Bulletin and priority dates.

If you were born in India or China, the short answer to eb1 vs eb2 under the October 2026 Visa Bulletin is that EB-1 is faster on paper, by a wide margin. The EB-1 India Final Action Date is February 1, 2023; EB-2 India sits at November 1, 2013. For China, EB-1 is at July 1, 2023 and EB-2 at October 1, 2021. For Rest of World, EB-2 retrogressed from Current to January 1, 2025, so the category choice now matters there too. The catch: EB-1 is much harder to qualify for, and some EB-1 petitions take longer at USCIS.

For readers on STEM OPT or H-1B, this guide covers the October numbers, the tradeoffs and how an EB-2 to EB-1 upgrade works. Our stake: F1Jobs sells a job-search service to visa holders. We do not file petitions or give legal advice, and the analysis would be the same either way.

Status as of October 14, 2026. The October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, is published and in effect. For October, USCIS requires all employment-based I-485s to use the Dates for Filing chart. The November 2026 bulletin is not published, and USCIS listed November as "Coming soon" when it updated its charts page on October 1, 2026. Any November cutoff you see is a forecast.

EB-1 vs EB-2 cutoffs by country (as of October 2026)

The table shows the October 2026 bulletin for both categories. Read your own column from the live Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov, which is the source of truth.

Mexico and the Philippines share the Rest of World EB-2 Final Action Date of January 1, 2025. We have not printed an EB-1 Rest of World cutoff because it was outside our verified data; read it from the bulletin.

The raw gaps:

• India: EB-1 is about 9 years 3 months ahead of EB-2 on Final Action, and about 9.5 years ahead on Dates for Filing.
• China: EB-1 is about 1 year 9 months ahead on Final Action, and about 1.5 years ahead on Dates for Filing.
• Rest of World: EB-2 is no longer Current; compare it with the EB-1 column in the live bulletin.

What the gap means, and what it does not

A cutoff gap is not a wait time. How long you wait depends on how fast each cutoff moves, which depends on demand, the per-country limit and spillover. None of those is fixed.

EB-2 India was "Unavailable" from July through September 2026, and the State Department said in July it would likely advance to at least July 15, 2014 when fiscal year 2027 began. It opened at November 1, 2013, roughly 8.5 months behind. A projection is never a floor.

Your own priority date is the other half of the comparison. In a PERM case it is generally the date the labor certification was filed; in EB-1 and NIW cases it is generally the date USCIS received the I-140. Our EB-1 priority date explainer shows how to find yours on your notices.

Which chart counts this month, and what changed from September

Each bulletin has two charts: Dates for Filing governs when an I-485 can be submitted, Final Action when it can be approved. USCIS designates the filing chart monthly on its adjustment of status filing charts page.

For October 2026 that is Dates for Filing for every employment-based category. Mechanically, an India-born EB-1 priority date before July 1, 2024 falls inside the October filing chart; for EB-2 India it must be before January 15, 2015. That is one eligibility condition, and approval still waits for the Final Action Date.

As of October 14, 2026, USCIS still lists the November chart as "Coming soon" and we could not find a published November bulletin. Our November 2026 Visa Bulletin predictions post covers what forecasters say, labelled as forecasts, and our Rest of World retrogression explainer covers the ROW side in depth.

The tradeoff: line position vs. the qualification bar

The cutoffs make EB-1 look like an obvious upgrade for India-born applicants. Two things push back: the evidence standard and the petition stage. The table is the reported I-140 stage as of October 2026.

These figures are reported by a private aggregator, not published by USCIS; confirm them in the live USCIS processing times tool. Premium processing is available for I-140s at a fee and timeframe USCIS publishes on the Form I-907 page. The short EB-2 PERM figure also hides the Department of Labor stages that come first (prevailing wage and PERM), whose queues DOL posts on its FLAG processing times page.

On qualification, EB-1A requires sustained national or international acclaim, EB-1B international recognition as an outstanding researcher plus a qualifying offer, and EB-1C qualifying managerial or executive work for a related company abroad. EB-2 requires an advanced degree or exceptional ability, plus PERM or a national interest waiver. USCIS describes each on its EB-1 and EB-2 pages. Our EB-1 criteria comparison and EB-2 green card basics guide cover each side in plain language.

India: the gap dwarfs the petition stage, but the bar is the gate

With EB-2 India at November 2013, a recent EB-2 priority date sits behind years of demand, and even a long EB-1 petition stage is small next to a nine-year gap. That is why so many India-born H-1B workers ask about an eb2 to eb1 upgrade.

Three cautions. EB-1 India is itself backlogged, at February 2023, so "EB-1" does not mean "no wait." If more India-born applicants move into EB-1, that line can slow or retrogress. And whether a record meets an EB-1 standard is a judgment an immigration attorney makes on the actual evidence, not something a cutoff table answers.

One H-1B point applies to either category: an approved I-140 whose priority date is held back by the per-country limit is what generally supports H-1B extensions beyond six years under AC21 section 104(c). Our H-1B extension after six years guide explains that mechanism.

China: a smaller gap, so petition timing matters more

The China gap is under two years on Final Action. Reported 80th-percentile regular processing for EB-1A and EB-1C runs past two years, so if an EB-2 priority date is already close to the EB-2 China cutoff, a new EB-1 petition may save less time than the gap suggests. An attorney can model the dates.

Rest of World: a new question this fiscal year

While ROW EB-2 was Current, EB-1 vs EB-2 was mostly about the petition stage. With the EB-2 ROW Final Action Date at January 1, 2025, line position matters too. Compare against the EB-1 Rest of World column in the live bulletin, and remember the NIW petition stage alone was reported at about 30 months.

How an EB-2 to EB-1 upgrade works

This is how the process works mechanically. Whether you qualify, and what to file, are questions for a licensed immigration attorney.

1. A new I-140 is filed in an EB-1 subcategory. You can file EB-1A yourself; an employer files EB-1B or EB-1C. The EB-2 petition is not converted and stays on file, and the Form I-140 page lists the current edition and filing instructions.
2. USCIS adjudicates the EB-1 petition on its own timeline, shown in the live processing-times tool.
3. The earlier priority date can generally carry over. Once an earlier I-140 is approved, its priority date can generally be retained for a later petition under 8 CFR 204.5(e). Exceptions include revocation for fraud or willful misrepresentation, invalidation of the labor certification, and revocation for material error.
4. A pending I-485 does not move by itself. Moving an I-485 pending under EB-2 to the new EB-1 petition takes a separate written request to transfer the underlying basis.
5. The cutoff still governs. Filing follows the chart USCIS designates that month, and approval follows the Final Action Date for EB-1 in your country of chargeability. Since July 24, 2026, unrepresented EB-1A and NIW self-petitioners can file the I-140 and I-485 together online when the I-485 is eligible to be filed; our online concurrent filing guide explains how that works.
6. Nonimmigrant status runs in parallel and must be maintained on its own terms.

If you are thinking about self-petitioning in both lanes, our EB-1A vs EB-2 NIW sequencing guide covers which petition people tend to file first and why.

On F-1 or OPT? F-1 is not a dual-intent status, so an immigrant petition filed while you hold it can raise questions at a future visa interview or reentry. Talk to an immigration attorney before any immigrant petition is filed, and to your DSO for SEVIS or OPT questions.

Common mistakes

• Reading the ROW EB-2 filing date as the Final Action Date. March 15, 2026 is the ROW EB-2 Dates for Filing value; the Final Action Date is January 1, 2025.
• Treating a cutoff gap as a wait time. A nine-year gap does not mean EB-1 saves nine years; lines move at different speeds and can retrogress.
• Quoting November dates as fact. The November 2026 bulletin was not published as of this writing.
• Relying on stale posts. Older posts, including some on this site, cite the July 15, 2014 EB-2 India projection. The actual October Final Action Date is November 1, 2013.
• Assuming EB-1C fits an F-1 to OPT to H-1B path. EB-1C generally requires at least one year of managerial or executive work for a related company abroad in the three years before the petition (or before nonimmigrant entry to work for that employer). Many former students never had that stint.
• Assuming the upgrade is automatic. It is a new petition with its own evidence and its own RFE or denial risk.
• Ignoring chargeability. Your line follows country of birth, not citizenship, and sometimes a spouse's country of birth. Ask your attorney about cross-chargeability.

Frequently asked questions

Is EB-1 faster than EB-2 for India in October 2026?

On the cutoff dates, yes. The October 2026 Final Action Date is February 1, 2023 for EB-1 India and November 1, 2013 for EB-2 India, a gap of more than nine years. That gap is a snapshot, not a wait-time promise, and EB-1 has a much higher qualification bar.

Can I upgrade from EB-2 to EB-1 and keep my priority date?

An upgrade means a new I-140 filed in an EB-1 subcategory, not a conversion of the EB-2 case. Once an earlier I-140 is approved, its priority date can generally be retained for a later petition under 8 CFR 204.5(e), with exceptions such as revocation for fraud or material error. An immigration attorney should confirm how this applies to your own petitions.

Which chart do I use to file an I-485 in October 2026?

For October 2026, USCIS requires all employment-based I-485 filings to use the Dates for Filing chart. Approval still depends on the Final Action Date reaching your priority date. USCIS announces the chart month by month, and November was listed as "Coming soon" as of October 1, 2026.

What is the November 2026 Visa Bulletin cutoff for EB-1 and EB-2?

The November 2026 Visa Bulletin had not been published as of this writing. Any November cutoff you see online is a forecast. Check the live bulletin on travel.state.gov and the USCIS filing-charts page before relying on a date.

Does EB-1 take longer at the I-140 stage than EB-2?

For some subcategories it can. Reported 80th-percentile regular processing around September 2026 was about 32.5 months for EB-1A, 15 for EB-1B and 27.5 for EB-1C, versus 30 for EB-2 NIW and 3 for a PERM-based EB-2 I-140. These are aggregator figures; confirm them in the USCIS processing-times tool.

Your own notices and I-94 govern over anything published here.

A green card category only helps if an employer or your record can support it. If you are working on the employer side, F1Jobs helps visa holders run a focused search for roles with sponsoring employers.