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EB-1 China: a mainland-born queue that moves in small steps

Enter the priority date of your EB-1 Form I-140 to see where a person born in mainland China stands on this month’s first-preference charts.

Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error

Where will you apply?

October 2026 bulletin

Current

Your date is before the Final Action cutoff: a green card can be approved this month.

Final Action DateJuly 1, 2023
Date for FilingJuly 1, 2024
I-485 this month (USCIS uses Dates for Filing)You can file
I-485 employment, national average (August 2026)11.8 months
Government fees (paper filing, with work permit and travel permit)$3,645
How this was calculated
  1. Fees: I-140 $715 + I-140 $600 + I-485 $1,440 + I-765 $260 + I-131 $630 (USCIS Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, and State Department visa fees).

Fee details, line by line

Estimate from public data, not legal advice. Your case may differ (cross-chargeability, CSPA, waivers). For advice, see a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. Not affiliated with USCIS or the Department of State. Method and past error

In the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-1 for people born in mainland China has a Final Action Date of July 1, 2023 and a Date for Filing of July 1, 2024. The column header reads “China, mainland born”: place of birth decides the line, not passport or residence. The Chinese date is about 5 months ahead of EB-1 India (February 1, 2023), while the rest of the world faces no EB-1 cutoff. Since October 2015 the Chinese column has differed from the worldwide one in 65% of bulletins. It has not gone backwards since January 2023, when it left Current; the movement since then has been slow and forward. That regularity does not make it predictable enough for us: no distance passed our back-test, so the calculator gives the cutoff and your distance from it, not a date.

The 2016 break

From October 2007 to July 2016, every bulletin in our archive listed EB-1 China as Current, the same open line as everyone else. Then, in August 2016, the bulletin moved the column from Current (C) to January 1, 2010, about 78 months in one step, the largest of the 8 retrogressions this line has recorded since 2001. The column has had its own date in 65 % of bulletins since October 2015.

October by October

The start of each fiscal year gives a clean reading. The Final Action Date was June 1, 2016 in October 2018, November 1, 2016 in 2019 and June 1, 2018 in 2020, then Current in October 2021 and 2022. Since the cutoff returned, it has opened the fiscal year at February 15, 2022 in 2023, November 8, 2022 in 2024, December 22, 2022 in 2025 and July 1, 2023 in 2026. Between October 2023 and October 2026 the cutoff gained about 16 months of priority dates in three calendar years, so a newly filed Chinese EB-1 case joins a line that advances more slowly than time passes. Every change since January 2023 has been a step forward.

China and India on the same chart

This month the Chinese Final Action Date is about 5 months ahead of the Indian one, February 1, 2023. Both countries share the same Date for Filing, July 1, 2024. The two lines behaved differently in fiscal year 2026: India fell back in June 2026 and stayed lower through September, while China kept edging forward. EB-1 India has its own history.

What our test found

From October 2012 to October 2025, forecasts for Chinese EB-1 dates six months behind the cutoff missed by a median of 6.5 months, with only 30 % of outcomes inside the range; a year behind, 14 months and 18 %. Neither passes, which is why the result box shows the cutoff and filing status only.

EB-1 in the October 2026 bulletin

USCIS asks applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart this month to file Form I-485.
CountryFinal ActionDates for FilingChange this month
All other countriesCurrent (C)Current (C)▲ 30 days
China (mainland born)July 1, 2023July 1, 2024no change
IndiaFebruary 1, 2023July 1, 2024▲ 109 days
MexicoCurrent (C)Current (C)▲ 30 days
PhilippinesCurrent (C)Current (C)▲ 30 days
EB-1 China (mainland born): Final Action cutoff by bulletin month since December 20012002200620102014201820222002200620102014201820222026
Solid line: Final Action Date. Dashed line: Dates for Filing (since October 2015). A drop is a retrogression.

Every October since 2002

October opens each federal fiscal year, so it is the cleanest point to compare one year with the next.
BulletinFinal Action DateYears behind the bulletin
October 2002Current (C)–
October 2003Current (C)–
October 2004Current (C)–
October 2005Current (C)–
October 2006Current (C)–
October 2007Current (C)–
October 2008Current (C)–
October 2009Unavailable (U)–
October 2010Current (C)–
October 2011Current (C)–
October 2012Unavailable (U)–
October 2013Current (C)–
October 2014Current (C)–
October 2015Current (C)–
October 2016Current (C)–
October 2017Current (C)–
October 2018June 1, 20162.3
October 2019November 1, 20162.9
October 2020June 1, 20182.3
October 2021Current (C)–
October 2022Current (C)–
October 2023February 15, 20221.6
October 2024November 8, 20221.9
October 2025December 22, 20222.8
October 2026July 1, 20233.3

How our forecast did for this case

Back-test from October 2012 to October 2025, each month using only the bulletins known that month.
Distance behind the cutoffMedian error, our modelMedian error, “last 12 months” ruleRange held the real dateStart months testedPublished?
6 months7 months16 months30 %76No reliable forecast
12 months14 months20 months18 %73No reliable forecast
24 months9 months74 months14 %47No reliable forecast
48 months2 months596 months23 %13No reliable forecast

Questions people ask

When can an EB-1 China applicant in the United States submit Form I-485?

In any month when the priority date is earlier than the Chinese Final Action Date, or, when USCIS designates the Dates for Filing chart for employment cases, earlier than the Chinese filing date. USCIS posts that choice each month on its filing charts page. Approval still waits for the Final Action Date, and work permit and travel document renewals tied to the pending case use the reduced G-1055 fees.

Can a spouse’s country of birth move an EB-1 China applicant to another line?

Cross-chargeability allows a principal applicant to be charged to the spouse’s country of birth when both immigrate together. A person born in mainland China married to someone born in a country without an EB-1 cutoff may therefore use the worldwide line, which has usually been Current. The chargeability guide explains the conditions.

Why is there no forecast for EB-1 China even though it moves steadily?

Because a forecast here has to pass a test on past bulletins: from October 2012 to October 2025 the range for EB-1 China dates held the real outcome far less often than our 40% minimum, at every distance tested. Steady months alternate with long pauses and occasional drops, which is exactly what broke past forecasts.

Keep going

EB-1 priority workers

First preference: the rest-of-world cutoff, the India and China lines, and where EB-1 time is really spent.

China

Every Visa Bulletin category for people born in mainland China, with the worldwide date beside it.

EB-1 India

Indian priority workers: a line that was Current until 2022, its record drop in 2023 and the 2026 seesaw.

Chargeability

Which country your green card is counted against, and when a spouse or parent born elsewhere changes the queue.

I-485 employment-based

Employment green card adjustment times as USCIS publishes them, field offices against service centers.

Official sources and data

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Data for 2026, checked on