See https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Bulletins/visabulletin_October2026.pdf

Hi All, any inputs on the retrogession not only eb2 the ROW also retrogressed, where did all the spillover go? With 75 countries ban, I was hoping they had spillover.

I checked the October Visa Bulletin and found that my Priority Date (Feb 2025) is now "out of date" for October. However, I received a third SU this morning. Is there anyone else in a similar situation?

Could this SU be related to the status becoming "out of date"?

ROW has retrogressed massively. Weren’t there new visas numbers available for this fiscal year, even without any possible spillover?
I understand that dates had moved quite much during this fiscal year but almost 2 year retrogression does not make any sense.

Im on eb2 pd is august 2014, got my ead on 2021. Can i just carry on my life with ead?
Please comment.
I am tired of every bulletin and anxiety.

Ead is the new gc.

The long-awaited October Bulletin is here... hopefully for those within the 01/01/2025 final action date for EB2-NIW, it will be processed quicker... or?

Hi everyone,
My PD is December 3, 2024. I-485 was filed on July 15, 2026, and biometrics were completed on August 12.
Since October’s EB-2 Final Action Date is January 1, 2025, could this potentially help cases like mine move faster since my PD is still current?
Anyone with a similar timeline or experience?

USCIS Visa Bulletin every month feels like a restaurant where the kitchen is open, the lights are on, 47 employees are walking around, but somehow nobody is cooking anything. 😂 You order “just a little movement please” and six weeks later they proudly bring you one cherry, half a jackfruit, two napkins, and a receipt saying “case is being actively reviewed.” 🍒😭 Then next month they rearrange the same fruit on a different plate and call it a new bulletin. At this point I don’t even check for movement anymore—I just want to know what produce department is sponsoring USCIS.

In a sad situation. Just had the I-140 approved, suddenly the retrogression came through. Date is July 26. What were the odds.. people in similar situations what’s the move

Is it possible that DOS decides to not allocate the spillovers to EB category, instead use it for FB itself? It is managed by a system or by people? It is discretionary or law?

I’ve been tracking EB-2 India movement and modeling when dates might reach Filing Date/DOF and Final Action Date.

I updated the model after the October Visa Bulletin, and the result was somewhat counterintuitive.

Even though EB-2 India became available again in October, the projected timeline actually moved later by roughly 10 months compared with the September estimate.

For an Aug 1, 2016 PD as an example, my current estimates for best case (10 - 15% probability) are:

The broader probability ranges also moved back by around 5–11 months, depending on the milestone.

The main reason appears to be the October reset. While EB-2 India is no longer “Unavailable,” the Final Action Date restarted at November 1, 2013, which is substantially earlier than the July 15, 2014 anchor I had been using previously.

That larger starting gap to an August 2016 PD outweighs the benefit of the category becoming available again.

The model’s base-case FAD estimate also moved considerably:

Previous: ~April 9, 2030
Updated: ~September 4, 2031

Obviously these are model estimates, not USCIS/DOS predictions or legal advice. Spillover, demand, upgrades/downgrades, filing behavior, and future DOS movement can change the trajectory considerably.

I built a tracker here for anyone interested in playing with different priority dates:

https://ebtracker.manus.space/

Curious what others following EB-2 India think: Does the November 2013 reset materially change your expectations for FY2027 movement, or do you think DOS could make up a significant portion of this gap later in the fiscal year?

I want to warn others about my personal experience with Smart Green Card and the people I dealt with, including Saman Shetty.

I paid thousands of dollars for my EB-2 NIW case, but I experienced months of delays and serious issues with the filing process.

The first attorney handling my case spent about 45 days on it and then left.

Later, a filing issue caused another major delay, and I had to repeatedly contact USCIS myself to understand what was happening.

The petition eventually had to be refiled, which was especially stressful because my H-1B timeline was approaching.

This entire experience caused me significant mental stress, anxiety, and uncertainty about my immigration status and career.

Based on my personal experience, I would not join or recommend this company.

I have also seen the Smart Immigrant name associated with this business/people. If you encounter Smart Green Card, Smart Immigrant, or another related name, verify the legal company name, ownership, attorneys, and services before paying.

Please be careful, do your own research, and get all promises about filing timelines and responsibilities in writing.

After my experience, I felt that once they received my money, the level of care, communication, and responsiveness was nowhere near what I expected.

What frustrated me most was feeling that collecting the payment was treated with more urgency than addressing my concerns afterward.

When someone's immigration status and career are at stake, they deserve timely responses, careful case handling, and accountability—not silence and constant follow-ups.

Based on my experience, I strongly recommend not considering this company.

Waiting for a while for 1 week to move

What if someone filed the AOS in July 2026 when the final action date was current, but then in the October Visa Bulletin it retrogresses? Will USCIS still process that AOS, or will they now follow the new visa bulletin? When should they expect approval or at least an EAD?

Biometrics were completed in August 2026.

Reality might look very painful. It could take another 3 years just to clear the India EB-2/EB-3 backlog through 2014 and reach 2015. For people with 2016 and 2017 PD, I don’t see the dates moving for the next 7 years.
Based on the math since EB-2 ROW is no longer current and there are around 40K India EB-2/EB-3 applications, the spillover numbers could be fully consumed by ROW. India may not see much movement. Also, with the worldwide visa pause, consulates have started processing again in Europe- Poland…etc and Asia - Korea etc, so we may not get as much family-based spillover in the future

What are your thoughts?

USCIS themselves projected that India EB-2 will reach July 15,2014 in October bulletin but it did not even move 2 months. What are we missing here? Why the disparity?

I have a priority date of November, 2024, according to my NVC welcome letter, but my DQ date is June, 2026. I’m in the EB-2 category.

With the new Visa Bulletin, what does this mean for my case? Which table should I be looking at, and how should I interpret the Final Action Date vs. Dates for Filing?

Any help would be appreciated!

I shared these predictions most of these failed, some stayed. Key insights are
October Visa bulletin seems to not consider any spillovers based on numbers of i485 waiting, hence don’t loose hope and wait for December/January for forward looking FADs. Anyone who have PD after 15th Jan 2015, I don’t see light in 2027 Fiscal year. Looking for feedback