EB-3 India Nov 2025: No Movement from Oct 2025 Filing

EB-3 India applicants comparing the Department of State’s October 2025 and November 2025 Visa Bulletins will see a clear result: No Movement. Across both months, EB-3 India—covering Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers, plus the Other Workers sub-category—shows identical cut-off dates on both the Final Action and Dates for Filing charts. That means approvals can continue only for the same set of priority dates as October, and no new filing window opened in November.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this month-over-month freeze is exactly what many applicants watch for when gauging progress: no advancement, no micro-movement, and no retrogression.

Current state and why it matters now

The November 2025 Visa Bulletin holds every key EB-3 India threshold in place from October 2025:

• Final Action (EB-3 India): 22 August 2013 in October → 22 August 2013 in November
• Final Action (EB-3 India—Other Workers): 22 August 2013 in October → 22 August 2013 in November
• Dates for Filing (EB-3 India): 1 January 2022 in October → 1 January 2022 in November
• Dates for Filing (EB-3 India—Other Workers): 1 October 2018 in October → 1 October 2018 in November

For people with a priority date (PD) on or before 22 August 2013, this stability means your case remains eligible for approval when a visa number is available and all other requirements are met. For those with PDs after that date, the waiting line didn’t shorten this month. And if you’re tracking Dates for Filing—hoping to submit adjustment packages sooner—nothing opened up in November beyond what October already allowed.

Still, predictability has value. The absence of retrogression means no surprise setbacks. But the lack of forward motion early in the fiscal year can feel tough, especially for EB-3 India cases with post-2013 PDs and for Other Workers whose filing gate remains fixed at 1 October 2018.

What the charts mean and how to track them each month

• Final Action Dates are the “green light to approve.” When your PD is earlier than or equal to the cut-off, a consular officer or USCIS can approve your immigrant visa or permanent residence case if everything else checks out.
• Dates for Filing are the “green light to submit.” When your PD is earlier than or equal to the filing cut-off—and if USCIS chooses to use the filing chart that month—you may be able to file an adjustment of status package in the United States 🇺🇸 even if the Final Action Date is far behind.

To manage your case month by month:

1. Read the Visa Bulletin carefully for EB-3 India and EB-3 India—Other Workers.
2. Note both charts; you may be able to file before you can be approved.
3. Watch USCIS’s monthly chart selection announcement to see whether it accepts the Dates for Filing or the Final Action chart for adjustment filings.
4. Keep your documents ready so you can move quickly when a window opens.

For the official month-to-month bulletin, use the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin homepage.

If you’re already current (PD on or before 22 August 2013)

You remain current under Final Action in both October and November 2025. Your priority is to clear any last-mile items so your approval isn’t held up when a number is available:

• Confirm medical exam validity: USCIS uses the I-693 medical report to determine health admissibility. Make sure your medicals are valid and on file, or be ready to submit promptly if asked. You can find the form here: USCIS Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.
• Ensure biometrics are done: If you were scheduled for fingerprints or photos, complete them on time.
• Respond quickly to requests: If USCIS or a consular post asks for more evidence, answer within deadlines to avoid losing a monthly allocation opportunity.
• Keep contact details up to date with the agency processing your case so you don’t miss notices.

The steady cut-off avoids backtracking. That stability helps you focus on clean execution—no scrambling to overcome retrogression, just careful follow-through.

If you’re not current (PD after 22 August 2013)

Your Final Action position didn’t improve in November. Use this period to stay case-ready:

• For consular processing: Keep civil documents current, line up police certificates where applicable, and plan for the medical exam step so you can act when the National Visa Center or post reaches your turn.
• For adjustment cases: Maintain supplemental evidence you may need later—updated employment verification, experience letters, and the employer’s ability-to-pay support.
• Watch the bulletin monthly and set notifications to review it as soon as it’s released.
• Manage personal timelines thoughtfully—work projects, family plans, and travel—so you can move fast if cut-offs advance.

Patience is difficult, but good preparation shortens the time between “You’re current” and “Approved.”

Filing under Dates for Filing (when USCIS accepts that chart)

EB-3 India’s filing cut-off holds at 1 January 2022, and EB-3 Other Workers for India stays at 1 October 2018. If your PD is on/before the relevant filing date and USCIS announces it’s using the filing chart that month, you may be able to submit I-485 even while Final Action is far behind.

How to approach the filing window:

1. Check whether USCIS is accepting the Dates for Filing chart for that month.
2. Confirm your PD meets the filing cut-off for EB-3 India or EB-3 India—Other Workers.
3. Assemble a complete I-485 package. The form is here: USCIS Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
4. Include the sealed I-693 medical, or be ready to provide it upon request, depending on filing strategy and timing.
5. Track your receipt notices and case status after submission.

Filing doesn’t grant permanent residence by itself, but it can open interim benefits—like work and travel authorization—while you wait for Final Action to reach your PD.

Focus on the “Other Workers” sub-category

For India, Other Workers (roles that typically require less than two years of experience) mirrors the main EB-3 Final Action cut-off at 22 August 2013 in both months. The filing cut-off for this sub-category remains earlier at 1 October 2018, reflecting a historically tighter sub-cap and careful management of forward demand.

If you qualify under Other Workers and your PD is on or before 1 October 2018, monitor USCIS’s monthly chart decision closely so you can submit when allowed.

Structural factors shaping today’s freeze

Both the October and November 2025 bulletins underscore system-wide constraints that help explain why EB-3 India is static early in FY 2026:

• Annual ceilings: The family-sponsored preference limit is 226,000, and the employment-based worldwide level is at least 140,000.
• Per-country limit: 7% of the combined family and employment totals—25,620—with a 2% dependent area limit of 7,320. These caps limit how many Indian-chargeable visas can be issued in total each year across categories.
• Oversubscribed areas: India is among oversubscribed chargeability areas, along with China (mainland-born), Mexico, and the Philippines. Oversubscription drives the use of cut-off dates and keeps EB-3 India deep in the queue.
• NACARA adjustment: The Employment Third Preference Other Workers annual limit can be reduced under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). For FY 2026, the bulletins describe an approximate 150 reduction—small, but still a subtraction from the Other Workers pool.
• Fourth preference SR note: The Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category is Unavailable absent legislative extension beyond late September 2025. This doesn’t directly change EB-3 India in October–November, but it’s part of the broader employment-based environment DOS manages.

These unchanged parameters across both months mean there’s no new structural relief to push EB-3 India forward in November.

Why DOS may be holding the line early in FY 2026

October is the fiscal year’s first month, when DOS typically resets and re-balances with a fresh annual allocation in view. In some years, early movement appears, especially if unused family numbers roll into employment categories. For October and November 2025, EB-3 India stayed fixed. Likely reasons include:

• Guarding against over-allocation: EB-3 India has heavy, well-documented demand. Starting cautiously helps avoid mid-year retrogressions.
• Waiting for tighter demand data: DOS relies on demand reporting from consulates and USCIS. A two-month freeze can reflect a pause to collect granular information—pipeline volume, RFE resolution rates, and interview scheduling—before testing forward movement.
• Managing Other Workers: Even with a small NACARA reduction this year, the Other Workers queue has its own dynamics. Keeping it aligned with the main EB-3 India Final Action cut-off hints at similar saturation at 22 August 2013.

Broader EB-3 pattern this season

The steadiness isn’t limited to India. In these two months:

• All Chargeability’s EB-3 Date for Filing: 15 July 2024 (unchanged)
• China’s EB-3 Date for Filing: 1 July 2023 (unchanged)

The wider message is restraint: DOS appears to be stabilizing lines across the EB-3 spectrum early in FY 2026. For India, that translates to a continued, deeply backlogged Final Action cut-off with no early-year relief.

Planning moves for employers and workers

Employers sponsoring EB-3 India cases should take a conservative view:

• Workforce planning: Assume no near-term Final Action advancement beyond 22 August 2013.
• Nonimmigrant coverage: Maintain H-1B extension strategies, including AC21 beyond six years where eligible, to preserve work authorization for employees with later PDs.
• Upgrades/downgrades: EB-2 ↔ EB-3 reclassification can make sense in some cycles. Given historic backlogs in EB-2 India and no movement in EB-3 India here, treat any shift as a long-term move rather than a quick fix.
• Case hygiene: Keep ability-to-pay evidence current, preserve PERM and I-140 records, and plan employee travel carefully when adjustment or consular milestones are near.

For beneficiaries:

• If you can file under Dates for Filing: Prepare a complete I-485 package as soon as USCIS signals it will accept the filing chart. Early and accurate filing helps you access interim benefits while you wait for Final Action.
• If you’re far from the line: Keep status valid, renew underlying work authorization on time, gather experience and employment verification, and stay alert to monthly chart shifts.

What could open the door later in the year

No movement in October and November doesn’t lock in a static FY 2026. Movement could appear if:

• Some EB preferences or countries underuse their numbers, allowing DOS to reallocate later in the year.
• Real-world demand proves lower than forecasts due to documentation delays, security checks, or interview bottlenecks, prompting cautious testing forward.
• Legislative or policy shifts change annual limits or distribution patterns. The SR note shows how timing in one preference can affect overall EB flows, even though it didn’t budge EB-3 India in these months.

For now, EB-3 India remains anchored:

• Final Action: 22 August 2013
• Dates for Filing (EB-3 India): 1 January 2022
• Dates for Filing (EB-3 India—Other Workers): 1 October 2018

With the NACARA-related reduction of approximately 150 unchanged, there’s no month-to-month catalyst in the Other Workers sub-cap. Those who were current stay current; those waiting see no new opening; and nobody loses ground through retrogression. The prudent approach is steady preparation, close monthly monitoring, and readiness to act if DOS tests even a small forward step.