November 2026 China EB-2 and EB-3: keep the two Visa Bulletin charts separate
The November bulletin now covers the applicable month. Its priority-date thresholds, USCIS’s monthly filing-chart choice and an employer’s current sponsorship commitment answer different questions.
Openbound perspective
November 2026 China EB-2 and EB-3: keep the two Visa Bulletin charts separate
The November bulletin now covers the applicable month. Its priority-date thresholds, USCIS’s monthly filing-chart choice and an employer’s current sponsorship commitment answer different questions.
The State Department’s November 2026 bulletin lists mainland-China EB-2 Final Action at October 1, 2021, and EB-3 at January 22, 2022. Its Dates for Filing entries are January 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024, respectively. These are priority-date thresholds for different chart purposes, not estimated processing times. [1]
This is our November 1 interpretation of an already issued monthly bulletin, not an announcement that it was released today. The document identifies October 5, 2026 as its CA/VO compilation and demand-reference date. We could not retrieve USCIS’s November adjustment-of-status chart selection during review and do not identify either chart as accepted for filing this month. [2]
- Record the bulletin month, preference category, chargeability area and chart name together.
- Check USCIS’s month-specific chart choice before evaluating an adjustment-of-status filing.
- Confirm a job’s employer support separately from visa-number availability.
What changed between October and November
Mainland-China EB-2 Final Action is unchanged from the October bulletin. EB-3 moves from January 8 to January 22, 2022, a 14-calendar-day advance in the cutoff. The two selected Dates for Filing entries are unchanged. That describes movement in published thresholds; it does not say that an applicant’s remaining wait fell by 14 days.
Keep the full chart label with a saved number. A screenshot that drops the month, category or column can make a valid date misleading in another case. The State Department says a priority date must be earlier than the listed date; equality does not satisfy that stated date comparison. Meeting a chart threshold alone does not establish that all filing or approval requirements are met.
Use the bulletin as one input to a case review
Openbound’s interpretation is to prepare a small evidence sheet for the team handling the case: the relevant category and chargeability, documented priority date, applicable month and the official chart being used. Confirm the current USCIS selection for a U.S. adjustment-of-status filing rather than assuming the State Department’s Dates for Filing table is sufficient by itself.
Our source-access limit matters here. The State Department tables were readable, but the USCIS selection page returned an access error. This article therefore reports the published thresholds and their distinction without telling a particular reader that they may file, will receive an EAD or will obtain approval. Those conclusions need the current selection and the reader’s case facts.
A current priority date does not establish support for a new opening
For candidates comparing employers, keep visa-number availability and the employer’s role-specific plan on separate lines. Ask which entity would employ you, which process it is prepared to support and who confirms the proposed steps. Historical PERM records help frame that conversation; they do not establish a commitment for the requisition you are considering.
Use the related employer-history Research and current Jobs or Companies to prepare questions, then bring the actual case documents to the responsible immigration adviser. This commentary makes no recommendation to change employers, switch preference categories or alter a filing. Its purpose is to prevent a monthly cutoff headline from being treated as a complete career or immigration plan.