November 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 Unchanged — What Indian Green Card Applicants Must Know

The U.S. Department of State has released the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, with the EB-2 employment-based preference category remaining unchanged for Indian nationals. This means no forward movement in the priority date cutoff, offering little relief to the hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals stuck in one of the world's longest green card backlogs. For Indian nationals, the EB-2 and EB-3 queues remain severely retrogressed, with priority dates stretching back decades. The lack of advancement in November reflects the persistent demand-supply imbalance caused by the per-country cap, which limits any single country to no more than 7% of annual employment-based visas regardless of application volume. Applicants currently in the EB-2 category should monitor whether downgrading to EB-3 could offer any tactical advantage, as EB-3 dates have at times moved ahead of EB-2 for India. This so-called "EB-3 downgrade" strategy has been used by some applicants to accelerate their path to permanent residence. The November 2026 Visa Bulletin also covers other family-based preference categories (F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4), some of which may see modest movement. Applicants are encouraged to consult with an immigration attorney to assess their specific situation given the continued stagnation in employment-based categories for India. With no legislative relief on the horizon to address the employment-based backlog, Indian EB-2 and EB-3 applicants should continue maintaining valid nonimmigrant status, keeping their I-485 or NVC cases active, and tracking each monthly bulletin closely for any changes.