EB-3 Other Workers: the unskilled row and its own slow clock
Enter the priority date of the PERM labor certification for an unskilled EB-3 job to see where the case stands in this month’s bulletin.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error
October 2026 bulletin
Current
Your date is before the Final Action cutoff: a green card can be approved this month.
| Final Action Date | January 1, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Date for Filing | June 1, 2022 |
| 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
- 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).
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-3 Other Workers for applicants born outside mainland China and India has a Final Action Date of January 1, 2022 and a Date for Filing of June 1, 2022, the Final Action Date having moved 90 days back from the previous bulletin. That is about 28 months behind the skilled-worker EB-3 date, May 15, 2024, for the same rest-of-world column. Part of the explanation is a statutory ceiling: no more than 10,000 third-preference numbers a year may go to Other Workers, and under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) that figure has been reduced by up to 5,000 each year since fiscal year 2002; the October 2026 bulletin says the reduction for fiscal year 2027 will be limited to about 150. The row was last Current in May 2022. Our back-test passes for dates six months behind the cutoff, with a median error of 4 months, but not further back.
A row capped twice
Other Workers share the third preference with skilled workers and professionals but queue on a separate line. Paragraph 5 of the October 2026 bulletin caps them at 10,000 numbers a year, and the NACARA offset has trimmed that ceiling every year since fiscal 2002; for fiscal 2027 the bulletin limits the cut to about 150. This month the row stands at January 1, 2022, about 28 months behind the skilled EB-3 date of May 15, 2024.
October 2026 and the years before
The new fiscal year moved the row back: April 1, 2022 in September 2026 became January 1, 2022 in October, and the Date for Filing went from August 1, 2022 to June 1, 2022. Since the cutoff returned in mid-2022, October readings have advanced slowly: June 1, 2020 in 2022, August 1, 2020 in 2023, December 1, 2020 in 2024, July 15, 2021 in 2025 and January 1, 2022 in 2026. Before that, the row was Current from October 2020 to May 2022. Its largest single fall in the archive came in March 2005, from Current (C) to July 1, 2001, one of 12 retrogressions since 2001.
Columns that share and columns that do not
Mexico and the Philippines carry the worldwide Other Workers date this month. Mainland China has its own date, October 1, 2019, and India’s January 1, 2014 matches the Indian skilled-worker row; see EB-3 Philippines for that column’s history.
Petition time and the forecast
In the September 2026 USCIS release, an Other Workers Form I-140 took 9 to 15 months, against 4 to 8 months for a skilled-worker petition. Tested from October 2012 to October 2025, our forecast for this row missed by a median of 4 months six months out and 7 months a year out, so only the shorter distance can show a range.
EB-3 Other Workers in the October 2026 bulletin
| Country | Final Action | Dates for Filing | Change this month |
|---|---|---|---|
| All other countries | January 1, 2022 | June 1, 2022 | ▼ 90 days |
| China (mainland born) | October 1, 2019 | October 1, 2020 | ▲ 153 days |
| India | January 1, 2014 | January 15, 2015 | no change |
| Mexico | January 1, 2022 | June 1, 2022 | ▼ 90 days |
| Philippines | January 1, 2022 | June 1, 2022 | ▲ 31 days |
Every October since 2002
| Bulletin | Final Action Date | Years behind the bulletin |
|---|---|---|
| October 2002 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2003 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2004 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2005 | October 1, 2000 | 5.0 |
| October 2006 | January 1, 2001 | 5.7 |
| October 2007 | October 1, 2001 | 6.0 |
| October 2008 | January 1, 2003 | 5.7 |
| October 2009 | Unavailable (U) | – |
| October 2010 | March 22, 2003 | 7.5 |
| October 2011 | September 15, 2005 | 6.0 |
| October 2012 | Unavailable (U) | – |
| October 2013 | July 1, 2010 | 3.3 |
| October 2014 | October 1, 2011 | 3.0 |
| October 2015 | August 15, 2015 | 0.1 |
| October 2016 | June 1, 2016 | 0.3 |
| October 2017 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2018 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2019 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2020 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2021 | Current (C) | – |
| October 2022 | June 1, 2020 | 2.3 |
| October 2023 | August 1, 2020 | 3.2 |
| October 2024 | December 1, 2020 | 3.8 |
| October 2025 | July 15, 2021 | 4.2 |
| October 2026 | January 1, 2022 | 4.7 |
How our forecast did for this case
| Distance behind the cutoff | Median error, our model | Median error, “last 12 months” rule | Range held the real date | Start months tested | Published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | 4 months | 5 months | 64 % | 80 | Yes |
| 12 months | 7 months | 9 months | 53 % | 79 | No reliable forecast |
| 24 months | 16 months | 16 months | 35 % | 69 | No reliable forecast |
| 48 months | 28 months | 32 months | 100 % | 17 | No reliable forecast |