October 2026 Visa Bulletin for China, Employment-Based: EB-2 2021-10-01, EB-3 2022-01-08
Employment-based (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-5) priority dates for people born in mainland China, plus I-140 processing times. Data from the State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin and USCIS, updated monthly.
October 2026 at a glance
- China this month: EB-2 up 1 month to 2021-10-01, EB-3 up 7 days to 2022-01-08, EB-3 EW up 5 months to 2019-10-01; other categories unchanged.
- For I-485s filed in October 2026, USCIS uses the Dates for Filing chart.
- Immigrant visa interviews have been paused worldwide since about 25 Aug, with no official resumption date yet (see NVC and Guangzhou). →
- EAD renewals filed on or after 30 Oct 2025 no longer get the up-to-540-day automatic extension; you can file up to 180 days before expiry, so file early. Source
October 2026 employment-based Visa Bulletin chart (born in mainland China)
| Category | Final Action | Dates for Filing | vs last month | All countries (Final Action) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | 2023-07-01 | 2024-07-01 | No change | Current |
| EB-2 | 2021-10-01 | 2023-01-01 | ▲ Up 1 month | 2025-01-01 |
| EB-3 | 2022-01-08 | 2024-04-01 | ▲ Up 7 days | 2024-05-15 |
| EB-3 EW | 2019-10-01 | 2020-10-01 | ▲ Up 5 months | 2022-01-01 |
| EB-4 | 2022-12-15 | 2025-01-01 | No change | 2022-12-15 |
| EB-5 | 2016-12-01 | 2021-03-01 | No change | Current |
| EB-5 set-aside | Current | Current | No change | Current |
The last 13 months
Show all data
USCIS processing times
Employment-based I-140
| Form | Category | Time |
|---|---|---|
| I-140 | EB-1A extraordinary ability | |
| I-140 | EB-1B outstanding professor or researcher | |
| I-140 | EB-1C multinational manager | |
| I-140 | EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) | |
| I-140 | EB-2 advanced degree (with PERM) | |
| I-140 | EB-3 professional or skilled worker | |
| I-140 | EB-3 other worker (EW) | |
| I-485 | Employment-based adjustment (EB-1/2/3, all field offices) | |
| I-526E | EB-5 regional center investor (only once the linked I-956F is decided) |
How to read these numbers
Your priority date is the day the Department of Labor received your PERM application, or, if no labor certification is needed (EB-1, NIW), the day USCIS received your I-140. If the date in the table is later than yours, your turn has come.
Each country can use at most 7% of employment-based numbers a year, so dates for people born in mainland China run well behind the “All countries” column. If your spouse was born elsewhere, you may be able to use your spouse’s country.
Once an I-140 is approved you can usually keep its priority date: when you change employers and start over, or move between EB-2 and EB-3, you use the earliest date. China EB-2 and EB-3 have traded places in recent years, and some people file a second EB-3 I-140 when EB-3 is ahead (a “downgrade”).
The I-140 times are how long 80% of cases take; many categories can be sped up with premium processing (I-907), explained below.
Common questions
Which is faster, EB-2 or EB-3?
Check this month’s chart and the trend lines on this page. They swap often; look at the last year of movement and talk to your lawyer before downgrading.
My Dates for Filing date is current. Can I file my I-485?
Only if USCIS uses the Dates for Filing chart this month (shown on this page). If so, you can also file for a work permit (I-765) and travel document (I-131), and after 180 days you can move to a similar job under AC21.
Can I file my I-485 before my date is current?
No. Your priority date must be earlier than the date in the chart USCIS uses that month. You can file the I-140 first and lock in the priority date once it is approved.
What are the EB-5 set-asides?
Investments in rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure projects have their own numbers, and for China they have stayed far ahead of the unreserved category. See the EB-5 guide.
Related policies
| Policy | Status | When | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| No more automatic EAD extensions | In effect | From 2025-10-30 | Renewals filed on or after this date get no 540-day automatic extension; the final rule was published 2026-10-14. File up to 180 days before expiry. |
| Wage-weighted H-1B lottery | In effect | Effective 2026-02-27 | Used since the FY2027 registration (March 2026); higher wage levels have better odds. |
| Immigrant visa interviews paused worldwide | Paused | Since about 2026-08-25 | The State Department told reporters it is training officers on public charge screening; no written notice or resumption date. Guangzhou is affected. |
| $100,000 H-1B payment | Blocked by court | Paused under a court order | A court vacated the implementing guidance on 2026-06-08, so it is not being collected; the proclamation now runs to 2027-09-21 and USCIS plans to collect if the order is lifted. It applies only to new petitions for people outside the U.S. |
Real experiences
October is a window: EB-3 Dates for Filing jumped more than two years, and many are rushing to file I-485s
China EB-3 Dates for Filing jumped from 8 Jan 2022 to 1 Apr 2024, and USCIS accepts I-485s by Dates for Filing this month. Forum users widely note that USCIS often opens the Dates for Filing chart early in a fiscal year and may switch back to Final Action Dates later. People who have been through it say: prepare your documents in advance and file as soon as the window opens.
Forum: Employment-based →Big jumps are often followed by stalls; don’t extrapolate from one month
People recall the big 2021 advance: many predicted green cards within a few years, and then dates stalled for years. The forum consensus is not to project future speed from a single big jump, and to plan around the long-term trend of Final Action Dates.
Forum: Visa Bulletin & timelines →From the forum
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