Priority date
Your place in the queue. Your date must be earlier than the cut-off for your category and country of chargeability.
EB-2 · 🇮🇳 India
Final action cut-off
March 1, 2013
Dates for filing: June 1, 2014 — some months USCIS lets you file on this earlier chart. It does not mean a decision is close.
How it has moved
Over the last 12 recorded months, this cut-off moved an average of 16 days per month.
This is history, not a forecast. Cut-off dates move backwards as well as forwards, and past movement does not predict when a date becomes current.
EB-2: Advanced Degree / Exceptional Ability
For professionals holding advanced degrees (master's or higher) or persons with exceptional ability in sciences, arts, or business. Includes National Interest Waiver (NIW).
Who qualifies
- Professionals with a master's degree or higher (or bachelor's + 5 years progressive experience)
- Persons of exceptional ability in sciences, arts, or business
- National Interest Waiver (NIW) applicants
Worth knowing
- NIW allows self-petition without employer sponsorship.
- India and China face significant backlogs in this category.
- PERM labor certification is typically required unless filing NIW.
- EB-2 to EB-3 downgrade is an option if EB-3 dates are more current.
India faces the longest employment-based backlogs, especially EB-2 and EB-3, due to high demand and per-country visa limits.
Cut-offs here are the app's stored figures. The month's official chart is on the visa bulletin page, and the Department of State publishes the authoritative version.