Green Card Backlog Tracker
EB-3 Priority Date for China
Updated for September 2026 · 4.7-year backlog · +549 days moved in 12 months · 5 retrogressions since 2015
This page tracks the EB-3 (Skilled Workers & Professionals) cutoff date for applicants chargeable to China, 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-3 · China · September 2026
January 1, 2022
If your priority date is earlier than January 1, 2022, a visa number is available for September 2026 under the Final Action Dates chart. A priority date on January 1, 2022 itself is not early enough.
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
| Window | Cutoff then | Cutoff now | Total movement | Average pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 6 months | December 1, 2020 | January 1, 2022 | +396 days | +66 days/month |
| Last 12 months | July 1, 2020 | January 1, 2022 | +549 days | +46 days/month |
| Last 24 months | April 1, 2019 | January 1, 2022 | +1,006 days | +42 days/month |
At the pace of the last 12 months — about 46 days of movement per month — the line would take roughly 3 more years to clear its current 4.7-year gap. That is arithmetic on past movement, not a projection: demand, per-country caps and annual visa supply all change.
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 China has moved backward 5 times since October 2015. When that happens, people who were eligible to file stop being eligible.
- November 2021 — moved backward from January 15, 2019 to April 1, 2018, a loss of 289 days.
- September 2019 — moved backward from July 1, 2016 to January 1, 2014, a loss of 912 days.
- July 2018 — moved backward from June 1, 2015 to January 1, 2013, a loss of 881 days.
- July 2017 — moved backward from October 1, 2014 to January 1, 2012, a loss of 1,004 days.
- June 2016 — moved backward from August 15, 2013 to January 1, 2010, a loss of 1,322 days.
The last 24 bulletins
| Bulletin month | Cutoff date | Chart in use |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | January 1, 2022 | Final Action Dates |
| August 2026 | January 1, 2022 | Final Action Dates |
| July 2026 | December 22, 2021 | Final Action Dates |
| June 2026 | August 1, 2021 | Final Action Dates |
| May 2026 | June 15, 2021 | Final Action Dates |
| April 2026 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| March 2026 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| February 2026 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| January 2026 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| December 2025 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| November 2025 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| October 2025 | January 1, 2022 | Dates for Filing |
| September 2025 | December 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| August 2025 | December 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| July 2025 | December 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| June 2025 | November 22, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| May 2025 | November 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| April 2025 | November 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| March 2025 | August 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| February 2025 | July 1, 2020 | Final Action Dates |
| January 2025 | November 15, 2020 | Dates for Filing |
| December 2024 | November 15, 2020 | Dates for Filing |
| November 2024 | November 15, 2020 | Dates for Filing |
| October 2024 | November 15, 2020 | 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 third employment preference for skilled workers, whose jobs require at least two years of training or experience, and for professionals whose jobs require a bachelor’s degree. It is employer-sponsored. Jobs that require less than two years are the separate Other Workers row. The Chinese community guides show where people born in China have settled in the U.S.
What a priority date actually is
Your priority date is the day the Department of Labor accepted the labor certification. 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.