Visa BulletinMonthly outlook · updated on release
December 2026 Visa Bulletin Predictions: EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 India, China and Rest of World
December 2026 Visa Bulletin predictions built from the official October and November tables: what moved, what held, release timing, the USCIS chart choice, and what OPT workers should do.
Publication-status note
Checked November 8, 2026: the State Department index lists November 2026 as the current bulletin and USCIS lists the December charts as "coming soon". No official December 2026 dates exist yet. Every December number below is arithmetic on the published October-to-November movement, clearly labelled, and this page will be rewritten with the official tables on release day.
Direct answer
The December 2026 Visa Bulletin is not published yet; it usually appears in the middle of November. The November bulletin held EB-1 India at February 1, 2023 and EB-2 India at November 1, 2013, moved EB-3 India three weeks to January 22, 2014, and advanced EB-2 and EB-3 for all other countries by three months and one month after their October retrogression. The base case for December is another hold for EB-1 and EB-2 India and small steps elsewhere. USCIS accepted the Dates for Filing chart in October and November; check its December choice before filing.
What You Should Know First
- November moved EB-3 India (+3 weeks), EB-1 China (+1 month), EB-3 China (+2 weeks) and the rest-of-world EB-2 (+3 months) and EB-3 (+1 month) categories. EB-1 and EB-2 India did not move.
- A December scenario that simply repeats November would put EB-3 India near February 12, 2014 and rest-of-world EB-2 at July 1, 2025. That is arithmetic, not a prediction with a probability.
- USCIS used the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment in both October and November 2026. The December choice is separate and must be checked on the USCIS page.
- None of this changes an OPT or STEM OPT EAD date. Track the I-765 and any I-140 or I-485 receipts separately.
When the December 2026 Visa Bulletin comes out
The State Department publishes each bulletin in the middle of the month before it takes effect. The November 2026 bulletin carries an internal date of October 5 and appeared on the index later that month. The December 2025 bulletin, one year ago, was summarised by law firms on November 17, 2025, which is a reasonable guide to timing: expect the December 2026 bulletin between roughly November 12 and November 20, with no fixed date promised by the Department.
Two pages matter on release day. The State Department bulletin sets the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing. USCIS then announces, on its own page, which of the two charts adjustment-of-status applicants may use that month. As of November 2, 2026 the USCIS page lists the December charts as "coming soon".
Sources: Official Visa Bulletin Index; Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
- Official bulletin index: travel.state.gov, Visa Bulletin.
- USCIS chart choice: the Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page, updated after each bulletin.
- If a prediction site shows December dates before the index does, they are estimates.
The November 2026 baseline: official Final Action Dates
Every December scenario starts from the November table. These are the official employment-based Final Action Dates from the November 2026 bulletin. A priority date must be earlier than the listed cutoff for a visa number to be available for final action.
| Category | All other countries | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | Aug 1, 2023 | Feb 1, 2023 | C | C |
| EB-2 | Apr 1, 2025 | Oct 1, 2021 | Nov 1, 2013 | Apr 1, 2025 | Apr 1, 2025 |
| EB-3 | Jun 15, 2024 | Jan 22, 2022 | Jan 22, 2014 | Jun 15, 2024 | Aug 15, 2023 |
| EB-3 Other Workers | Jun 1, 2022 | Oct 1, 2019 | Jan 22, 2014 | Jun 1, 2022 | Jan 1, 2022 |
| EB-4 | Dec 15, 2022 | Dec 15, 2022 | Dec 15, 2022 | Dec 15, 2022 | Dec 15, 2022 |
| EB-5 Unreserved | C | Dec 1, 2016 | Dec 1, 2023 | C | C |
Sources: Visa Bulletin for November 2026
What moved from October to November, category by category
October opened fiscal year 2027 with a reset that restored EB-2 India to a printed date after August’s "unavailable" and that retrogressed EB-2 and EB-3 for all other countries. November recovered part of that retrogression and nudged several Asia-chargeable categories. India’s EB-1 and EB-2 held.
| Category | October 2026 | November 2026 | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 India | Feb 1, 2023 | Feb 1, 2023 | No change |
| EB-2 India | Nov 1, 2013 | Nov 1, 2013 | No change |
| EB-3 India | Jan 1, 2014 | Jan 22, 2014 | +3 weeks |
| EB-1 China | Jul 1, 2023 | Aug 1, 2023 | +1 month |
| EB-2 China | Oct 1, 2021 | Oct 1, 2021 | No change |
| EB-3 China | Jan 8, 2022 | Jan 22, 2022 | +2 weeks |
| EB-2 all other countries | Jan 1, 2025 | Apr 1, 2025 | +3 months |
| EB-3 all other countries | May 15, 2024 | Jun 15, 2024 | +1 month |
| EB-3 Other Workers (other countries) | Jan 1, 2022 | Jun 1, 2022 | +5 months |
| EB-5 India (unreserved) | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 1, 2023 | No change |
Sources: Visa Bulletin for October 2026; Visa Bulletin for November 2026
Vinay’s practical note
Read movement as a sign of demand reporting, not as a trend line. The Department allocates numbers month by month against annual and quarterly limits, and a category can hold for several months and then jump, or advance and then retrogress.
December 2026 scenarios by category
The honest way to "predict" the December bulletin is to show what each category reaches if its latest step repeats, and then say why that may not happen. The table does the arithmetic. The paragraphs below explain the uncertainty for the categories most OPT and STEM OPT workers ask about.
| Category | November 2026 (official) | If the November step repeats | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 India | Feb 1, 2023 | Feb 1, 2023 (no step to repeat) | Any move at all would be news; a hold is the base case |
| EB-2 India | Nov 1, 2013 | Nov 1, 2013 (no step to repeat) | Has held since October; days or weeks, not months |
| EB-3 India | Jan 22, 2014 | About Feb 12, 2014 | Second straight small step, or a pause |
| EB-1 China | Aug 1, 2023 | Sep 1, 2023 | Steady one-month steps so far this fiscal year |
| EB-3 China | Jan 22, 2022 | About Feb 5, 2022 | Two-week steps |
| EB-2 all other countries | Apr 1, 2025 | Jul 1, 2025 | Recovering from the October retrogression |
| EB-3 all other countries | Jun 15, 2024 | Jul 15, 2024 | Recovering from the October retrogression |
Sources: Visa Bulletin for November 2026; Visa Bulletin for October 2026
- EB-2 India: held at November 1, 2013 in both October and November. Early fiscal-year bulletins often hold India EB-2 while the Department measures demand under the new annual limit. A small forward step of days or a few weeks is possible; a jump of months would contradict the pattern since 2024. A hold is the base case.
- EB-1 India: held at February 1, 2023 since the October reset. Any forward movement would be meaningful news, and a hold is again the base case. The August 2026 bulletin warned that EB-1 India could become unavailable late in a fiscal year, which is a reminder that the risk runs both ways.
- EB-3 India: advanced three weeks in November to January 22, 2014. Another step of two to four weeks is consistent with that, which would land in early-to-mid February 2014. A pause would also be unremarkable.
- EB-2 and EB-3 for all other countries: October retrogressed both; November recovered three months and one month respectively. A second recovery step is plausible, but the Department said the October retrogression was needed to keep issuances within quarterly limits, so recovery may stop short of the September 2026 position, when EB-2 was current and EB-3 stood at September 1, 2024.
- China: EB-1 moved one month and EB-3 two weeks in November; EB-2 China held at October 1, 2021. Expect similar small steps or a hold.
Dates for Filing and the USCIS chart choice
For adjustment of status inside the United States, the chart USCIS selects matters as much as the dates. In both October and November 2026 USCIS accepted the Dates for Filing chart for all employment-based categories, which lets applicants with later priority dates file Form I-485 and request an EAD and advance parole while they wait for a final action date.
The November Dates for Filing did not change for EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 in any country; only the Other Workers row for the rest of the world moved a month. If December again uses Dates for Filing, the question for an India EB-2 or EB-3 applicant is simply whether the priority date is before January 15, 2015. Confirm the December selection on the USCIS page before filing anything.
| Category | All other countries | China | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | Jul 1, 2024 | Jul 1, 2024 |
| EB-2 | Mar 15, 2026 | Jan 1, 2023 | Jan 15, 2015 |
| EB-3 | Aug 1, 2024 | Apr 1, 2024 | Jan 15, 2015 |
| EB-3 Other Workers | Jul 1, 2022 | Oct 1, 2020 | Jan 15, 2015 |
| EB-5 Unreserved | C | Mar 1, 2021 | May 1, 2024 |
Sources: Visa Bulletin for November 2026; Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
Family-sponsored categories in November
Family categories had a strong November, with F1, F2B, F3 and F4 for most countries advancing a full year and F2A moving a month. India F4 and Mexico’s F1 through F4 rows stayed within days of their October dates. December movement in family categories is usually smaller after a jump like this.
| Category | October 2026 | November 2026 | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Jan 22, 2020 | Jan 22, 2021 | +1 year |
| F2A | Sep 22, 2026 | Oct 22, 2026 | +1 month |
| F2B | Aug 22, 2019 | Aug 22, 2020 | +1 year |
| F3 | Oct 22, 2014 | Oct 22, 2015 | +1 year |
| F4 | Oct 22, 2011 | Oct 22, 2012 | +1 year |
| F4 India | Dec 15, 2006 | Dec 15, 2006 | No change |
| F4 Mexico | Apr 22, 2001 | Apr 22, 2001 | No change |
Sources: Visa Bulletin for October 2026; Visa Bulletin for November 2026
What OPT and STEM OPT workers should do before the release
Green-card timing and F-1 work authorization run on separate clocks. A priority date becoming current does not extend an OPT or STEM OPT EAD, and an EAD expiring does not pause a priority date. Use the days before the December bulletin to put both sets of dates in one place.
- Write down your category, country of chargeability and priority date from the I-140 approval or receipt notice, and confirm them with the employer’s counsel.
- Save the October and November tables above so you can compare the December bulletin line by line on release day.
- Check whether your priority date is already before the November Dates for Filing cutoff. If it is, ask counsel now what an I-485 package would need, so a December filing window is not lost to document collection.
- Keep the I-765 (OPT or STEM OPT), any I-140 and any I-485 or I-131 receipts tracked separately, and keep SEVP Portal reporting current whatever the bulletin says.
How this page will be updated
On the day the State Department publishes the December 2026 bulletin, this page will be rewritten with the official Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing, a November-to-December comparison, and the USCIS chart selection once USCIS posts it. The scenario table will be kept below the official numbers so readers can see how the arithmetic compared with reality.
Your Action Checklist
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Sharing a scenario date as if it were an official December cutoff.
- Checking the State Department bulletin but not the USCIS chart selection.
- Assuming an I-140 approval or a current priority date authorizes work after an EAD expires.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When will the December 2026 Visa Bulletin be released?
The Department has not announced a date. Bulletins appear in the middle of the preceding month; the December 2025 bulletin was public by November 17, 2025. Expect the December 2026 bulletin in the second or third week of November 2026 and check the official index rather than a prediction site.
Will EB-2 India move in December 2026?
It cannot be known before publication. EB-2 India held at November 1, 2013 in October and November. A hold or a step of days to a few weeks fits the recent pattern; a multi-month jump does not.
Will EB-3 India advance in December 2026?
EB-3 India moved from January 1 to January 22, 2014 in November. If that three-week step repeats, December would land near February 12, 2014. A pause is equally consistent with how the Department has managed India EB-3.
Which chart will USCIS use in December 2026?
USCIS used the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based adjustment in October and November 2026. The December choice is announced separately on the USCIS filing-charts page, which listed it as "coming soon" on November 2, 2026.
Does a current priority date extend my OPT or STEM OPT?
No. OPT and STEM OPT authorization depend on the F-1 rules and the EAD dates. A pending or approved I-485 can lead to a separate EAD, but that is a different application with its own receipt.
Official Sources
Rules can change. We checked this guide against the primary sources below; always open the current form instructions or agency page before acting.
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Written by Vinay Kumar
Vinay is a content writer at TrackMyOPT who specializes in immigration guidance for international students. All content is researched using official USCIS, SEVP, and Department of Labor sources and reviewed for accuracy by the TrackMyOPT team, which includes former F-1 students who navigated OPT, STEM OPT, and H-1B transitions firsthand.
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