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How does EB-1 move in the Visa Bulletin?

Updated · Not legal advice

EB-1 (priority workers) gets up to 28.6% of the employment-based limit, plus any numbers EB-4 and EB-5 do not use. Because demand from India and mainland China is high and each country is capped, those two columns often carry their own cutoff dates while other countries can be current or much closer.

EB-1: current cutoff dates

See the current bulletin for this month's EB-1 dates: official Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov. We do not copy dates by hand, so this page shows them only after our automated fetch has read the official bulletin.

USCIS says employment-based adjustment applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin (USCIS filing charts).

EB-1 at a glance (statutory rules, INA 203(b)(1))
ItemRule
Share of employment-based limitUp to 28.6%, plus numbers not needed by EB-4 and EB-5
WhoEB-1A extraordinary ability, EB-1B outstanding professors and researchers, EB-1C multinational managers and executives
PetitionForm I-140 (EB-1A can self-petition)
Unused EB-1 numbersFall down to EB-2
Rows in the bulletinPrinted as "1st" in the employment charts

Why EB-1 India and EB-1 China behave differently

Each country can use at most 7% of family plus employment preference numbers in a year. When applicants born in a country need more than that, the State Department gives that column its own cutoff. Indian and Chinese applicants who upgrade from EB-2 or EB-3 into EB-1 add to that demand, which is why their EB-1 column can move very differently from the rest of the world.

Reading the EB-1 history table

The table on this page is built from the official bulletins we have read. A long flat stretch followed by a jump usually lines up with a new fiscal year in October. See October bulletins.

Movement history

This table is built month by month from the official bulletins as we read them, so it only shows months we have fetched. Until then, past bulletins are in the official archive.

Quick answers

What is the EB-1 India final action date this month?
See the live table on this page, read from the current official bulletin, or the India column of the employment chart on travel.state.gov.
Is EB-1 faster than EB-2?
For most countries EB-1 is at or ahead of EB-2, but it depends on the month and your country. Compare the two rows in your column. For India, see EB-1A vs NIW.
Where do unused EB-1 numbers go?
To EB-2, under INA 203(b)(2).

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Sources

Checked: November 12, 2026