- The October 5 release individually lists 367 applications and withholds 51 cells.
- Approved employment-based petitions awaiting filing totaled 856,662 across categories in June 2026.
Checked against USCIS
The Employment-Based Green Card inventory of pending Form I-485 applications fell by about 41,000 in just over a month, to roughly 225,000 on October 5, 2026. The comparison tracks USCIS inventory snapshots, not every person waiting for an employment-based visa.
The category picture was uneven. A separate September-to-October analysis recorded increases in EB-1, EB-2 and EB-5 applications, while EB-3 declined. Applicants can use the inventory to estimate earlier-dated applications in their category and country, then check the filing chart before applying.
The comparison puts the earlier snapshot at about 266,000, dated September 3, 2026. USCIS had roughly 225,000 pending applications in the October 5 snapshot.
Those totals are estimates. Small cells are withheld, so the figures do not provide a precise count of every application.
The USCIS inventory report breaks pending employment-based adjustment applications down by preference category, selected country of chargeability and priority date. Each release is a dated snapshot.
| Measure | Earlier snapshot | October snapshot | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pending employment-based adjustment applications | About 266,000, September 3, 2026 | About 225,000, October 5, 2026 | About 41,000 fewer |
Category counts moved in different directions
The category analysis for September to October 2026 found that EB-1 and EB-2 pending counts rose, while EB-3 fell. EB-5 also increased.
- EB-1: increased from 58,891 to 60,414, a rise of 1,523.
- EB-2: increased from 78,452 to 83,380, a rise of 4,928.
- EB-3: decreased from 54,814 to 51,529, a drop of 3,285, or an estimated 6%.
- EB-5: increased from 23,341 to 24,906, a rise of 1,565.
These counts cover multiple subcategories within EB-1 and EB-2, not only EB-1A or EB-2 National Interest Waiver cases. They represent pending applications.
Analysts cited the September fiscal-year end and changes in the first Visa Bulletin of fiscal year 2027 as possible factors behind the snapshot movement. That bulletin moved some categories backward, and USCIS used the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based cases. A new bulletin can affect how inventory appears from one month to another.
The inventory counts filed applications, not the entire queue
USCIS estimates pending adjustment applications by category, country and estimated priority-date month and year. Each family member with an application is counted separately, so a household may account for several entries.
“The report provides our estimate of how many Forms I-485 we have in our inventory for each employment-based preference category, by selected country of chargeability, and by the month and year of the estimated priority date.”
The inventory leaves out people pursuing consular processing through the State Department, as well as beneficiaries who have not filed an adjustment application. That includes people with approved I-140 petitions who are waiting for a visa number. A separate USCIS count for June 2026 put approved employment-based petitions whose beneficiaries could not yet file at 856,662 across all categories.
USCIS replaces cells containing 1 to 10 applications with “D,” which prevents an exact total from being read directly from the release. In the October snapshot, 367 applications were published individually and 51 cells were withheld.
Applicants should check their category, country and priority date
The inventory can help applicants estimate how many pending applications have earlier priority dates in the same category and country. It is not an individual forecast: visa availability and case circumstances also affect when a case can move.
USCIS used Dates for Filing for employment-based adjustment applications in October 2026 and again allowed Chart B in November 2026. Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates serve different purposes, so applicants should verify which chart USCIS permits for the month they plan to file.
Before submitting an adjustment application, compare the priority date with the applicable cutoff for the person’s category and country in the USCIS Visa Bulletin filing-chart guidance. Check the inventory for earlier-dated applications in that same line.
