Green Card Backlog Tracker
EB-2 Priority Date for All Other Countries
Updated for September 2026 · +653 days moved in 12 months · 3 retrogressions since 2015
This page tracks the EB-2 (Advanced Degree / Exceptional Ability) cutoff date for applicants chargeable to All Other Countries, using the chart USCIS designated for adjustment-of-status filers each month. History runs from October 2015 to September 2026 — 132 monthly bulletins.
Where the line is right now
EB-2 · All Other Countries · September 2026
Current
No backlog for All Other Countries in this category as of September 2026. Any priority date qualifies.
USCIS designated the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based adjustment-of-status filings in September 2026. That designation changes month to month, and it determines which cutoff actually governs when you can file.
How fast the line is moving
Note: this category is current (no backlog) for All Other Countries. The movement below is measured through February 2026, the most recent month with a published cutoff date.
| Window | Cutoff then | Cutoff now | Total movement | Average pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 6 months | August 1, 2023 | October 15, 2024 | +441 days | +74 days/month |
| Last 12 months | January 1, 2023 | October 15, 2024 | +653 days | +54 days/month |
| Last 24 months | December 1, 2022 | October 15, 2024 | +684 days | +40 days/month |
Movement is measured only between months that used the same chart type. USCIS publishes one designated chart per month, so comparing a Final Action cutoff against a Dates for Filing cutoff would overstate or understate movement. Months where the chart switched are excluded from these figures.
Has it moved backward?
The cutoff for All Other Countries has moved backward 3 times since October 2015. When that happens, people who were eligible to file stop being eligible.
- August 2025 — moved backward from October 15, 2023 to September 1, 2023, a loss of 44 days.
- May 2023 — moved backward from July 1, 2022 to February 15, 2022, a loss of 136 days.
- September 2018 — moved backward from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2013, a loss of 1,095 days.
The last 24 bulletins
| Bulletin month | Cutoff date | Chart in use |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Final Action Dates |
| August 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Final Action Dates |
| July 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Final Action Dates |
| June 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Final Action Dates |
| May 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Final Action Dates |
| April 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Dates for Filing |
| March 2026 | Current (no backlog) | Dates for Filing |
| February 2026 | October 15, 2024 | Dates for Filing |
| January 2026 | October 15, 2024 | Dates for Filing |
| December 2025 | July 15, 2024 | Dates for Filing |
| November 2025 | July 15, 2024 | Dates for Filing |
| October 2025 | July 15, 2024 | Dates for Filing |
| September 2025 | September 1, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| August 2025 | September 1, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| July 2025 | October 15, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| June 2025 | October 15, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| May 2025 | June 22, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| April 2025 | June 22, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| March 2025 | May 15, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| February 2025 | April 1, 2023 | Final Action Dates |
| January 2025 | August 1, 2023 | Dates for Filing |
| December 2024 | August 1, 2023 | Dates for Filing |
| November 2024 | August 1, 2023 | Dates for Filing |
| October 2024 | August 1, 2023 | Dates for Filing |
The table above is the last 24 bulletins. Pace and retrogression counts use the full series back to October 2015 — 132 monthly bulletins.
Who is in this line
This line is the second employment preference: people with advanced degrees and people of exceptional ability. A National Interest Waiver is in this line and does not require a labor certification. Other cases are employer-sponsored. All Other Countries is a chargeability line, not one community. The community guides cover Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Mexican, and Nigerian communities.
What a priority date actually is
Your priority date is the day the Department of Labor accepted the labor certification. If no labor certification was required, as with a National Interest Waiver, it is the day USCIS accepted Form I-140. It is your place in line, and it never changes.
Every month the State Department publishes a cutoff date for each category and country of birth. A visa number is available only under the Final Action chart, and only when the priority date is earlier than that cutoff. A Dates for Filing cutoff controls filing, not visa issuance. Because the law caps how many green cards any one country can receive per year, applicants born in high-demand countries wait far longer than the worldwide line for the exact same category.
Country of birth is what matters — not citizenship, not where you live now. That single fact is why two colleagues doing identical work at the same company can be years apart in the same queue.
This page is information, not legal advice. It reports published government data and nothing more. Cutoff dates move unpredictably and individual cases turn on facts this page cannot know. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney.
Sources
Cutoff dates from USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts, September 2026 edition, which republishes the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin. History compiled from 132 monthly USCIS bulletin pages (October 2015–September 2026). Chart type is recorded as published; where a source page did not state it, it is marked rather than assumed. See How We Research.