EB-2 — All other countries

Employment-based preference · Final Action Dates Current · Dates for Filing Current · July 2026 bulletin

In the July 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 for All other countries has a Final Action Dates cut-off of Current and a Dates for Filing cut-off of Current. EB-2 is Current for All other countries in this bulletin: State is acting on every priority date in the category, so there is no cut-off to wait for. This page carries the full published history State printed for this combination: 291 Final Action Dates bulletins back to December 2001, and 130 Dates for Filing bulletins back to October 2015 — every cut-off, every month it moved, and the exact text State printed in each cell. It reports what was published; it is not legal advice.

Source bulletin July 2026 U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs — Visa Bulletin. A work of the U.S. Government, in the public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). Every figure below is the one State printed, kept with its exact source text.

The July 2026 cut-offs

State publishes two charts for EB-2, and they are not interchangeable. Both are shown here as printed. This is the All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed column — it covers every country that does not have a column of its own, which is most of the world. It is not a worldwide figure.

This is not legal advice This page republishes cut-off dates exactly as the State Department published them. It cannot tell you what will happen to your case, and being current in a chart is not the same as a visa being issued. Cut-off dates routinely stall, and they can move backward without warning. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney.

Final Action Dates

The chart that decides whether a visa can be issued. State has published a Final Action Dates figure for EB-2 / All other countries in 291 bulletins since December 2001.

Final Action Dates: when would a priority date be reached?

The answer for every priority date This category is Current in the July 2026 bulletin. There is no backlog and no cut-off to wait for, so every priority date in it is being acted on now. This category is CURRENT in the newest bulletin: there is no backlog, so any priority date is current now. No projection is needed.

How fast has this cut-off actually moved?
Measured movement of the Final Action Dates cut-off over its trailing published bulletins. This describes what already happened. It is not a forecast, and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from.
Window Bulletins used Total movement Average per month
Last 3 bulletins April 2026 – July 2026 0 of 3 carried a measurable move nothing measurable not measurable
Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 2 of 6 carried a measurable move 197 days forward about 98.5 days forward
Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 8 of 12 carried a measurable move 366 days forward about 45.8 days forward

This table describes what already happened; it is not a forecast and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from. A pace can be zero, or negative when the cut-off has been moving backward, and some windows have nothing measurable in them at all — a category that spent the window Current or Unavailable has no distance to average. A category State has stopped moving can also keep showing a pace from a window that closed years ago, which describes that window and nothing since.

Final Action Dates — the full published history December 2001 – July 2026 · 291 published bulletins · cut-offs from 1 January 2007 to 15 October 2024
Final Action Dates: EB-2, All other countries, December 2001 – July 2026 Final Action Dates for EB-2, All other countries, December 2001 – July 2026. 51 of 291 published bulletins carry a dated cut-off, ranging from 1 January 2007 to 15 October 2024. Current (no backlog) in 239 months. Unavailable (no visas issued) in 1 months. 3 retrogressions (the cut-off moving backward) are marked. 3 breaks in the line where months are missing; the line is never drawn across them. C Current — no backlog: December 2001 to July 2007 (68 bulletins) Current — no backlog: October 2007 to February 2009 (17 bulletins) Current — no backlog: April 2009 to August 2009 (5 bulletins) Current — no backlog: December 2009 to June 2012 (31 bulletins) Current — no backlog: November 2012 to July 2016 (45 bulletins) Current — no backlog: October 2016 to July 2017 (10 bulletins) Current — no backlog: October 2017 to August 2018 (11 bulletins) Current — no backlog: October 2018 to July 2019 (10 bulletins) Current — no backlog: October 2019 to November 2022 (38 bulletins) Current — no backlog: April 2026 to July 2026 (4 bulletins) 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 No bulletin in the public record: March 2009. The line is not drawn across it. No bulletin in the public record: September 2009 to November 2009. The line is not drawn across it. No bulletin in the public record: October 2012. The line is not drawn across it. Retrogressed April 2023: 1 November 2022 back to 1 July 2022 (123 days backward) Retrogressed May 2023: 1 July 2022 back to 15 February 2022 (136 days backward) Retrogressed August 2025: 15 October 2023 back to 1 September 2023 (44 days backward) U Unavailable — no visas issued: August 2007 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Every published cut-off is on the line above; the table below lists every month it moved.

  • Published cut-off date
  • Retrogression — the cut-off moved backward (3)
  • C — Current: no backlog. Not a date, so it is not on the line
  • U — Unavailable: no visas issued. Not a date either
  • No bulletin in the public record — the line stops rather than crossing it
Final Action Dates — the 24 most recent of 37 bulletins in which this cut-off changed, newest first. Months in which it held steady are not listed: it held in 253 of the published bulletins. Direction is shown by the ↑ / ↓ glyph and the word, never by colour alone.
Bulletin From To What changed
April 202615 October 2024CurrentBecame Current
March 20261 April 202415 October 2024Advanced197 days
January 20261 February 20241 April 2024Advanced60 days
December 20251 December 20231 February 2024Advanced62 days
October 20251 September 20231 December 2023Advanced91 days
August 202515 October 20231 September 2023Retrogressed44 days
June 202522 June 202315 October 2023Advanced115 days
April 202515 May 202322 June 2023Advanced38 days
March 20251 April 202315 May 2023Advanced44 days
January 202515 March 20231 April 2023Advanced17 days
July 202415 January 202315 March 2023Advanced59 days
April 202422 November 202215 January 2023Advanced54 days
March 202415 November 202222 November 2022Advanced7 days
February 20241 November 202215 November 2022Advanced14 days
January 202415 July 20221 November 2022Advanced109 days
November 20238 July 202215 July 2022Advanced7 days
October 20231 July 20228 July 2022Advanced7 days
September 20231 April 20221 July 2022Advanced91 days
August 202315 February 20221 April 2022Advanced45 days
May 20231 July 202215 February 2022Retrogressed136 days
April 20231 November 20221 July 2022Retrogressed123 days
December 2022Current1 November 2022Retrogressed from Current
October 20191 January 2018CurrentBecame Current
September 20191 January 20171 January 2018Advanced365 days
Show the earlier 13 changes — back to August 2007
The remaining 13 bulletins in which the Final Action Dates cut-off changed, newest first, back to August 2007. 1 of these span more than one month, because State published no bulletin for the months named in the row — the change is real, but it did not happen in a single month, and is not shown as if it did.
Bulletin From To What changed
August 2019Current1 January 2017Retrogressed from Current
October 20181 January 2013CurrentBecame Current
September 2018Current1 January 2013Retrogressed from Current
October 20171 January 2016CurrentBecame Current
September 20171 April 20151 January 2016Advanced275 days
August 2017Current1 April 2015Retrogressed from Current
October 20161 February 2014CurrentBecame Current
August 2016Current1 February 2014Retrogressed from Current
November 2012 over 2 months, from the September 2012 bulletin — no bulletin was published for October 20121 January 2009CurrentBecame Current
July 2012Current1 January 2009Retrogressed from Current
October 20071 January 2007CurrentBecame Current
September 2007Unavailable1 January 2007Became available again
August 2007CurrentUnavailableCurrent to Unavailable

Dates for Filing

The chart that decides when an application may be submitted — usually the more optimistic of the two. It did not exist before October 2015, so its history is shorter by design, not by omission: 130 bulletins since October 2015.

Dates for Filing: when would a priority date be reached?

The answer for every priority date This category is Current in the July 2026 bulletin. There is no backlog and no cut-off to wait for, so every priority date in it is being acted on now. This category is CURRENT in the newest bulletin: there is no backlog, so any priority date is current now. No projection is needed.

How fast has this cut-off actually moved?
Measured movement of the Dates for Filing cut-off over its trailing published bulletins. This describes what already happened. It is not a forecast, and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from.
Window Bulletins used Total movement Average per month
Last 3 bulletins April 2026 – July 2026 0 of 3 carried a measurable move nothing measurable not measurable
Last 6 bulletins January 2026 – July 2026 1 of 6 carried a measurable move 0 days not measurable
Last 12 bulletins July 2025 – July 2026 7 of 12 carried a measurable move 335 days forward about 47.9 days forward

This table describes what already happened; it is not a forecast and it is not what any estimate on this page is computed from. A pace can be zero, or negative when the cut-off has been moving backward, and some windows have nothing measurable in them at all — a category that spent the window Current or Unavailable has no distance to average. A category State has stopped moving can also keep showing a pace from a window that closed years ago, which describes that window and nothing since.

Dates for Filing — the full published history October 2015 – July 2026 · 130 published bulletins · cut-offs from 1 December 2022 to 15 October 2024
Dates for Filing: EB-2, All other countries, October 2015 – July 2026 Dates for Filing for EB-2, All other countries, October 2015 – July 2026. 39 of 130 published bulletins carry a dated cut-off, ranging from 1 December 2022 to 15 October 2024. Current (no backlog) in 91 months. C Current — no backlog: October 2015 to November 2022 (86 bulletins) Current — no backlog: March 2026 to July 2026 (5 bulletins) 2023 2024 U 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026

Every published cut-off is on the line above; the table below lists every month it moved.

  • Published cut-off date
  • C — Current: no backlog. Not a date, so it is not on the line
Dates for Filing — every one of the 10 bulletins in which this cut-off changed, newest first. Months in which it held steady are not listed: it held in 120 of the published bulletins. Direction is shown by the ↑ / ↓ glyph and the word, never by colour alone.
Bulletin From To What changed
March 202615 October 2024CurrentBecame Current
January 202615 July 202415 October 2024Advanced92 days
October 202515 November 202315 July 2024Advanced243 days
June 20251 August 202315 November 2023Advanced106 days
October 202422 March 20231 August 2023Advanced132 days
July 202415 February 202322 March 2023Advanced35 days
January 20241 January 202315 February 2023Advanced45 days
October 20231 December 20221 January 2023Advanced31 days
December 2022Current1 December 2022Retrogressed from Current
October 2015not publishedCurrentFirst published

How to read this page

What a priority date is

A priority date is the date that fixes your place in the queue for an immigrant visa number. For most family-sponsored categories it is the date the petition was filed; for employment-based categories that require labour certification, it is the date that certification was filed. It is printed on the I-797 receipt or approval notice. Your priority date does not move — the cut-off moves toward it.

Congress caps how many immigrant visas may be issued each year, both in total per category and per country of chargeability. When more people want a category than the cap allows, a queue forms, and State publishes a cut-off date each month: the priority date it has reached. If your priority date is earlier than the cut-off, your turn has come in that chart.

Why All other countries has its own column

This page is the column State prints as "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed". It is the queue for every country that does not have its own column — not a global average, and not everyone. A country gets its own column only when demand from applicants chargeable to it exceeds the per-country limit; in the July 2026 bulletin those are China (mainland-born), India, Mexico and the Philippines. If your country of chargeability is not one of those, this column is the one that applies to you.

The two charts are not interchangeable

Final Action Dates is when a visa can actually be issued or a green card approved. Dates for Filing is when the application may be submitted; it is usually the earlier and more optimistic of the two, and being past it does not mean a visa can be issued. Which chart U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will accept for adjustment-of-status filings is announced by USCIS each month and is not decided by State or by this site. The Dates for Filing chart was introduced in October 2015 and does not exist for any earlier bulletin.

What Current and Unavailable mean

Current (printed C) means there is no backlog at all: every priority date in the category is being acted on. Unavailable (printed U) means no visas are being issued in the category at all that month — usually because the annual limit has been reached. Neither is a date, and neither can be compared to one, so this site never plots them on a date axis and never projects from them.

Retrogression: the cut-off can move backward

A cut-off is not a promise and does not only move forward. When more people apply than the annual limit allows — often after a period of rapid advancement draws in filings — State pulls the cut-off back to an earlier date. This is called retrogression, and it can undo years of progress in a single bulletin. It has happened 359 times across the whole published record this site holds. The largest on record is F3 for Mexico in August 2006, which moved back 12.79 years in one month. Retrogressions on this page are marked on the chart with a ▼ mark and listed in the movement tables with a ↓ glyph — never by colour alone.

Frequently asked questions

What is the EB-2 priority date cut-off for All other countries in the July 2026 Visa Bulletin?
The Final Action Dates cut-off is Current and the Dates for Filing cut-off is Current. State printed those cells as "C" and "C". Current means there is no backlog at all in this category: every priority date in it is being acted on.
What is the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for EB-2?
They answer different questions and they are not interchangeable. Final Action Dates is when a visa can actually be issued or a green card approved. Dates for Filing is when the application may be submitted — it is usually the earlier and more optimistic of the two, and being past it does not mean a visa can be issued. For EB-2 and All other countries in the July 2026 bulletin they read Current and Current respectively. Which chart U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services accepts for adjustment-of-status filings is announced by USCIS each month and is not decided by this site. The Dates for Filing chart did not exist before October 2015.
What is a priority date?
A priority date is the date that fixes your place in the queue for a visa number. For most family-sponsored and employment-based categories it is the date the petition was filed with the government (for employment categories requiring labour certification, it is the date that certification was filed). It is printed on the I-797 receipt or approval notice. The Visa Bulletin publishes a cut-off date each month for each category and country of chargeability; if your priority date is earlier than the cut-off, your turn has come in that chart. Your priority date never changes on its own — the cut-off moves toward it.
Has the EB-2 cut-off for All other countries ever moved backward?
Yes. Moving backward is called retrogression, and it happens when more people apply in a category than the annual limit allows, forcing State to pull the cut-off back to an earlier date. This combination has retrogressed 11 times in the published record — 10 in the Final Action Dates chart and 1 in the Dates for Filing chart. The largest was in May 2023, when the Final Action cut-off moved back from 1 July 2022 to 15 February 2022 — 136 days, or about 0.4 years, in a single bulletin.
When will a priority date in EB-2 become current for All other countries?
It already is. This category is Current for All other countries in the July 2026 bulletin, which means there is no backlog and no cut-off to wait for — every priority date in it is being acted on now. Whether it stays that way is a different question, and one no honest reading of this data can answer.
Where does this EB-2 history come from, and how far back does it go?
Every figure is the one the U.S. Department of State printed in its monthly Visa Bulletin, kept alongside the exact cell text it came from. This page carries 291 Final Action Dates bulletins back to December 2001 and 130 Dates for Filing bulletins back to October 2015. The Visa Bulletin is a work of the U.S. Government and is in the public domain (17 U.S.C. section 105). 5 months are absent from the public record in that span (March 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2009, October 2012); they are shown as a break in the chart and are never filled in from a neighbouring month.

Source and method

Every figure on this page is read from the U.S. Department of State's monthly Visa Bulletin — the July 2026 edition for the current cut-offs, and each bulletin's own edition for the history. The Visa Bulletin is a work of the U.S. Government prepared by federal employees in the course of their duties, and is therefore in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. §105. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Department of State or any government agency.

This page carries 421 published cut-off cells for EB-2 / All other countries and 47 recorded changes across both charts. Each cell is stored with the exact text State printed for it (the C shown above is the source's own), so every figure here is traceable back to the bulletin it came from.

5 months in the December 2001 to July 2026 span are absent from the public record — March 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2009, October 2012. They are recorded as gaps and shown as breaks in the charts above, never filled in from a neighbouring month.

Data version visa-bulletin-derived-v1 · 291 bulletins, December 2001 to July 2026 · Next monthly bulletin. The State Department publishes one bulletin per month, typically mid-month for the following month; past bulletins are immutable once published.

All 75 categories in the July 2026 bulletin →