EB-2 Processing Time in 2026: PERM, I-140, NIW and Green Card Stages

As of November 5, 2026, the posted government times for a PERM-based EB-2 case add up to roughly 19 months before the Visa Bulletin wait and the green card application begin. Here is how that total breaks down: about four months in the Department of Labor (DOL) prevailing wage queue (DOL reported at its September 30, 2026 update that it was working on June 2026 requests), at least two months of recruitment, a 300-day average PERM analyst review, and a USCIS Form I-140 time of 3 months (or 15 business days with premium processing).

That total simply lays the posted snapshots end to end. It is not an official figure. The prevailing wage number is inferred from the month DOL was processing, the PERM number is an average of completed cases, and some preparation can overlap.

An EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) case skips the DOL stages and goes straight to the I-140, where USCIS posted 30 months for standard processing or 45 business days with premium processing. After the petition, your country of chargeability (generally your country of birth) and whether you finish inside or outside the United States decide most of the remaining wait. The November 2026 Visa Bulletin EB-2 final action date was April 1, 2025 for all other chargeability areas, October 1, 2021 for mainland China and November 1, 2013 for India.

EB-2 processing time is the sum of up to five stages: the prevailing wage determination, recruitment and PERM labor certification at DOL, the I-140 petition at USCIS, the wait for your priority date in the Visa Bulletin, and the final green card step through Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) or an immigrant visa abroad. Below is each stage with the posted times and rules in effect on November 5, 2026, plus premium processing, the November 2026 EB-2 dates, the risks that stop a case mid-stream and the options that can shorten one. Every posted time is a snapshot that changes monthly, not a promise about your case.

How Long Is the EB-2 Processing Time in 2026?

As of November 5, 2026, the posted DOL and USCIS times for a PERM-based EB-2 visa case add up to roughly 19 months before the Visa Bulletin wait and the green card stage begin. An NIW case avoids the DOL stages but faces a much longer posted I-140 time unless premium processing is used.

Which EB-2 Stages Apply to Your Case?

A PERM-based EB-2 case needs an employer, a DOL-certified labor certification and an I-140. An NIW case needs only the I-140 and the green card step. USCIS explains that an EB-2 petition is generally filed with a DOL-certified Form ETA-9089, while NIW applicants ask USCIS to waive the job offer and the labor certification and may file the I-140 for themselves.

EB-2 covers members of the professions holding an advanced degree and people of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business. A U.S. bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty counts as the equivalent of a master’s degree (8 CFR 204.5(k)(2)).

If you are weighing the two routes, our post on whether an EB-2 NIW is faster than employer sponsorship compares them step by step.

How Long Does PERM Labor Certification Take for EB-2?

PERM review is the longest posted stage before the I-140 in a PERM-based EB-2 case in late 2026, and the prevailing wage, recruitment and DOL review largely run one after another. The PERM labor certification shows DOL that no able, willing, qualified and available U.S. worker was found for the job and that hiring the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

Prevailing wage determination

The employer first asks DOL to set the prevailing wage for the job. In its update as of September 30, 2026, DOL reported that it was processing PERM prevailing wage requests received in June 2026, for both OEWS and non-OEWS requests (DOL FLAG processing times). Once issued, a wage determination is valid for at least 90 days and no more than one year. Under 20 CFR 656.40(c), the employer must file the PERM application or begin the required recruitment within the validity period stated on the determination, so the wage determination has to be in force at whichever of those two points comes first for the employer’s sequence.

Recruitment

For professional jobs, all recruitment must take place within the 180 days before the PERM application is filed. Two steps are mandatory: a job order with the state workforce agency that runs for 30 days, and two Sunday newspaper advertisements. The job order must end, and the newspaper ads must run, at least 30 days before filing (20 CFR 656.17(e)(1)(i)). The employer must also complete three additional recruitment steps from the regulation’s list, and one of those three may take place within the 30 days before filing (20 CFR 656.17(e)(1)(ii)). Because the job order itself runs 30 days and must end at least 30 days before filing, the job order and the waiting period alone set a floor of about two months before the application can go in. That floor comes from the job order mechanics, not from a rule that every step must finish 30 days out.

DOL review of the PERM application

After filing, the application waits for analyst review. As of October 31, 2026, DOL reported average analyst review times of 300 calendar days for determinations issued in the prior 30 days, 315 days over the prior 90 days and 360 days over the prior 180 days. DOL does not publish average times for audited or supervised recruitment cases, which take longer. Our post on PERM processing times explains how to read DOL’s chart.

How Long Does the EB-2 I-140 Take?

As of November 5, 2026, USCIS posted that 80% of EB-2 I-140 petitions not seeking a national interest waiver were completed within 3 months, and 80% of EB-2 NIW I-140 petitions within 30 months (USCIS processing times). Both figures are for USCIS Service Center Operations, and both change monthly.

USCIS states on its processing times page that it prioritizes the adjudication of I-140 petitions when the Visa Bulletin indicates a visa is available, so that related I-485 applications can move forward. That is a statement of agency practice, not a filing option you can request, and it does not change premium processing timeframes.

Is Premium Processing Available for EB-2 I-140 Petitions?

Yes. Premium processing is available for both PERM-based EB-2 and EB-2 NIW I-140 petitions. The Form I-907 fee is $2,965 for requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, the effective date of the DHS final rule adjusting premium processing fees for inflation. Older guidance that NIW petitions cannot use premium processing is out of date: USCIS made all pending and new E21 NIW petitions eligible as of January 30, 2023.

Under 8 CFR 106.4, USCIS must take adjudicative action within that period or refund the premium processing fee (USCIS premium processing page). Adjudicative action can be an approval, a denial, a request for evidence, a notice of intent to deny, or the opening of an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, so premium processing buys a faster decision, not a favorable one. If USCIS issues a request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny, the processing period stops on the date of that notice and starts again, in full, on the date USCIS receives the complete response. Premium processing also does nothing for the PERM stage, the Visa Bulletin wait or the I-485. Our post on whether USCIS premium processing is worth it looks at the tradeoffs.

How Long Is the EB-2 NIW Processing Time?

An EB-2 NIW case removes the prevailing wage, recruitment and PERM stages, so it starts directly with the I-140. As of November 5, 2026, the standard posted time for NIW I-140s was 80% within 30 months, while premium processing commits USCIS to act within 45 business days.

The priority date for an NIW case is the date the properly filed I-140 reaches USCIS (8 CFR 204.5(d)), so the Visa Bulletin wait still applies after approval. An NIW has no separate row in the Visa Bulletin; it follows the EB-2 line for your country of chargeability. NIW eligibility rests on the three-part test from Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016), which the USCIS Policy Manual applies. USCIS must adjudicate the case according to the three-part Dhanasar test and must make a favorable determination before the case can be approved. If you are also considering EB-1A, see EB-1A vs EB-2 NIW.

How Does the Visa Bulletin Affect EB-2 Processing Time?

The Visa Bulletin decides when you can take the final green card step. For applicants chargeable to India or mainland China, the November 2026 cutoff dates shown below mean the Visa Bulletin wait is the longest part of the process. EB-2 receives up to 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based visa numbers each fiscal year (INA 203(b)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)), and no single country can receive more than 7% of the combined family-sponsored and employment-based preference total (INA 202(a)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)). Where demand from one country exceeds that share, a country-specific cutoff date applies. Chargeability generally follows country of birth, not citizenship. INA 202(b) allows limited exceptions, known as cross-chargeability: an accompanying or following-to-join spouse may be charged to the principal’s country (or the principal to the spouse’s) to avoid separating the family, and a child may be charged to either parent’s country in some situations.

These were the EB-2 dates in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, the current bulletin when this post was checked on November 5, 2026 (the December 2026 bulletin had not been published):

A priority date must be earlier than the listed cutoff to be within it. For November 2026, USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based Form I-485 filings, the same designation as October 2026; in September 2026 it required the Final Action Dates chart, so the designation can change month to month. Filing under the Dates for Filing chart lets USCIS accept the I-485 and lets you apply for employment authorization and advance parole, but USCIS can approve the I-485 only when your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date in effect in the month of approval (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 6).

For how priority dates are set, kept and retrogress, read our guide to the EB-2 priority date, the country posts for EB-2 India and EB-2 China, and our November 2026 Visa Bulletin summary.

How Long Does the Final EB-2 Green Card Stage Take?

If you are in the United States and eligible to adjust status, the last stage is Form I-485. As of November 5, 2026, USCIS posted that 80% of employment-based I-485 applications were completed within 9.5 months at field offices and within 42.5 months at Service Center Operations. Which posted category applies depends on where USCIS is handling your case: USCIS instructs applicants whose receipt notice lists the National Benefits Center to check the time for their local field office. Neither figure predicts an individual case, and an I-485 filed under the Dates for Filing chart stays pending until the Final Action Date reaches your priority date, however long that takes.

Adjustment eligibility is its own test. Among other requirements, you need an approved or concurrently filed I-140, admissibility, and freedom from the bars in INA 245(c). INA 245(k) gives employment-based applicants in the first four preference categories some room: an applicant who was lawfully admitted can still adjust if, since that most recent lawful admission, the total time spent out of status, working without authorization or otherwise violating the terms of admission does not exceed 180 days. Whether a specific gap counts, and how it is counted, is a case-specific question.

If you are outside the United States, the final stage is an immigrant visa through the National Visa Center and a U.S. embassy or consulate, and USCIS posted times do not apply. Federal law terminates the registration of an applicant who does not apply for the immigrant visa within one year after being notified that a visa is available (INA 203(g), 8 U.S.C. 1153(g)). Under the State Department’s rules in 9 FAM 504.13, the one-year clock runs only while a visa number is actually available, so a retrogression after the notice pauses it. The applicant receives a termination notice, and the case can be reinstated only if, within two years of that notice, the applicant establishes that the failure to apply was due to circumstances beyond the applicant’s control. Reinstatement is not automatic.

Can You File the I-140 and I-485 at the Same Time?

Yes, if your priority date is within the cutoff on the chart USCIS has designated for employment-based I-485 filings in the month the I-140 is filed, which is how USCIS determines that a visa number is immediately available for filing purposes. In that case the I-485 can be filed together with a properly filed I-140, or at any later point while the petition is pending or after approval (8 CFR 245.2(a)(2)(i)(B)). If your priority date is not within the designated chart that month, the I-485 has to wait.

Concurrent filing removes the gap between I-140 approval and the I-485 filing. It is open only to people who independently meet the Adjustment of Status requirements described above, including the INA 245(c) bars and the 245(k) allowance. Being in valid H-1B or other nonimmigrant status helps, but status alone does not establish eligibility, so this needs a case-specific review.

What Can Delay an EB-2 Case?

Delays come from a pause at one stage rather than from the stage length itself:

• A PERM audit or supervised recruitment. DOL does not publish average times for these queues, and they sit outside the 300-day average.
• A request for evidence or notice of intent to deny on the I-140 or I-485.
• Visa Bulletin retrogression. A final action date can move backward, which stops final approval until it advances again.
• Employer withdrawal or business closure before the case is protected. If the employer withdraws or closes before the I-140 is approved, USCIS cannot approve the petition, and a new employer generally means a new PERM and I-140 (although a successor in interest that takes over the business can continue the case in some situations). Once the I-140 has been approved for 180 days or more, or an I-485 based on it has been pending for 180 days or more, a withdrawal or business closure no longer automatically revokes the petition (8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C) and (D)), and INA 204(j) portability, described below, may let the case continue with a new job.
• Nationality-based travel restrictions. Presidential Proclamation 10998, effective January 1, 2026, fully or partially suspends visa issuance, including immigrant visas, for nationals of 39 countries and for applicants using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority, with limited exceptions; the restrictions remain in effect as of November 2026 (State Department notice).
• Employer-specific DOL actions. A processing suspension against an employer can hold that employer’s PERM cases.

Two 2026 developments eased other delays, as reported by the agencies. The State Department reported that its January 2026 pause on immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries was no longer in effect as of August 21, 2026. USCIS reported that a federal court on August 24, 2026 enjoined its adjudication hold memos for nationals of the listed travel-restriction countries and ordered it to adjudicate applications in the normal course. Court orders of this kind can be appealed, stayed or narrowed, so the status of each should be checked for your case.

How Do You Keep Your Status During the EB-2 Wait?

A pending PERM or I-140 does not by itself give you any status in the United States. Filing an I-485 does not either. A properly filed I-485 places you in a period of authorized stay while it is pending, and an employment authorization document or advance parole issued on that basis lets you work or travel, but none of those grants or extends a nonimmigrant status. If your H-1B or other status lapses while the I-485 is pending and the I-485 is later denied, you can be left without status. Many applicants keep their nonimmigrant status in force alongside the pending I-485 for that reason.

Two provisions of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act (AC21), implemented at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D) and (E), let H-1B workers request extensions beyond the usual six-year limit while an EB-2 case is pending:

• One-year extensions are available when the labor certification (or, for an NIW, the I-140) was filed at least 365 days before the date the requested extension period would begin, and that labor certification or petition has not been denied, revoked, or allowed to expire unused. The extension request itself can be filed before the 365 days have run, as long as the 365-day mark falls before the extension start date.
• Three-year extensions are available when the I-140 is approved and the worker cannot file for or complete Adjustment of Status or an immigrant visa because a visa number is not available under the per-country or worldwide limits.

Each extension is a separate H-1B petition that USCIS adjudicates. The AC21 extensions apply only to H-1B status. Workers in other statuses, such as L-1, O-1 or F-1 on OPT, cannot use them and need a separate plan (for example a change of status or a timely I-485 filing) for the gap between status expiration and the final stage.

Children face an age-out risk during a long wait. Under the Child Status Protection Act (INA 203(h)), a child’s age for immigration purposes is the child’s age on the date a visa number became available, reduced by the number of days the I-140 was pending from receipt to approval. If that calculated age is under 21, the child must remain unmarried and must seek to acquire permanent residence within one year of the visa becoming available, which USCIS treats as filing the I-485 or an equivalent step (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7). Under USCIS policy in effect since February 14, 2023, a visa is considered available for this calculation under the Dates for Filing chart in any month USCIS designates that chart for I-485 filings, and under the Final Action Dates chart otherwise. For a child close to 21 with a long Visa Bulletin wait, the I-140 pending time, the chart in use and the one-year filing requirement together decide whether the child can immigrate with the parent, so the calculation should be run early.

Can You Speed Up EB-2 Processing?

You can shorten some stages, but nothing moves your priority date forward in the Visa Bulletin. Here are the options that change the timeline.

Use premium processing for the I-140

Premium processing shortens only the I-140 stage. It does not affect DOL review, the I-485 or consular processing. Timing matters: if your priority date is years away, a fast I-140 approval may still be worth it to lock in the priority date and open AC21 extensions, but it does not shorten the overall wait.

Consider whether an NIW fits

If you qualify for a national interest waiver, the case skips the DOL stages entirely. Some applicants file an NIW and a PERM-based case in parallel; both are EB-2, so either approval sets a priority date on the same line.

Ask USCIS to expedite in urgent situations

USCIS considers expedite requests at its sole discretion. Criteria it lists include severe financial loss to a company or person (when not caused by a late filing or late response), emergencies and urgent humanitarian situations, certain nonprofit requests in the cultural or social interests of the United States, U.S. government interests, and clear USCIS error. USCIS states that it generally does not consider expedite requests for benefit requests where premium processing is available, which covers EB-2 I-140s, so an expedite is realistically limited to the I-485 and similar filings.

Keep an earlier priority date

An approved EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 I-140 gives you its priority date for any later petition in those categories, unless USCIS revoked the approval for fraud, willful misrepresentation of a material fact, invalidation or revocation of the labor certification, or USCIS error (8 CFR 204.5(e)(2)). People who later qualify for EB-1 can carry the earlier date into that petition, and the same rule protects your date if a new employer files a new case. Petition validity and priority date retention are separate questions: an employer’s withdrawal of an I-140, or the end of the employer’s business, within 180 days of approval automatically revokes the petition under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii), but USCIS guidance confirms that the beneficiary generally keeps the priority date in that situation because withdrawal and business closure are not among the grounds listed in 8 CFR 204.5(e)(2).

Use job portability after 180 days

Once an I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more, the I-140 can remain valid for a new job in the same or a similar occupational classification (INA 204(j), 8 U.S.C. 1154(j)). The I-140 must have been approved, or be approvable when filed, and the new job offer is reported to USCIS on Form I-485 Supplement J. It can prevent a restart when your job changes.

What Are the Government Fees for an EB-2 Case?

The main USCIS fees for EB-2, from the fee schedule (Form G-1055) checked on November 5, 2026, are shown below. The amounts are the paper filing fees; confirm on the current form page whether an online filing option, and any online fee, applies to your filing.

For PERM-based cases, 20 CFR 656.12(b) bars the employer from seeking or receiving payment of any kind for any activity related to obtaining the labor certification, including the employer’s attorney fees, whether as an incentive to file or as reimbursement of costs. Payment includes wage deductions or concessions, kickbacks, in-kind payments and free labor. The narrow exception is payment from a third party that will benefit from the worker’s job through an established business relationship with the employer. The worker may pay his or her own costs, including fees for the worker’s own attorney, but where the same attorney represents both the employer and the worker, the employer must bear those costs. A violation can lead to denial or revocation of the labor certification or debarment of the employer (20 CFR 656.12). Fees change by regulation and inflation notice, so confirm the fee schedule on the day you file.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How long does EB-2 take for people born in India?

  It depends mainly on the Visa Bulletin. In the November 2026 bulletin, the EB-2 final action date for India was November 1, 2013 and the date for filing was January 15, 2015, so applicants with later priority dates were still waiting at that point. The DOL and I-140 stages are the same as for other countries, and the India EB-3 final action date (January 22, 2014) was about three months ahead of EB-2 that month.

• Does the EB-2 priority date start when PERM is filed or when the I-140 is filed?

  For PERM-based cases, the priority date is the date DOL accepted the labor certification application for processing. For NIW cases, which have no labor certification, it is the date USCIS received the properly filed I-140 (8 CFR 204.5(d)).

• What happens if the I-140 is not filed within 180 days of PERM approval?

  The labor certification expires. A certified PERM must be filed in support of an I-140 within 180 calendar days of the certification date (20 CFR 656.30(b)(1)), and an expired certification generally means starting the PERM process over, including a new prevailing wage determination and new recruitment.

• Does premium processing mean USCIS will approve my I-140?

  No. Premium processing requires USCIS to take adjudicative action within the set period, which can be an approval, a denial, a request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny. If USCIS misses the period, it refunds the premium processing fee but continues to process the case.

• How long is the PERM recruitment period?

  For professional jobs, the state job order runs for 30 days and must end at least 30 days before the PERM filing, and all recruitment must fall within the 180 days before filing (20 CFR 656.17(e)(1)). One of the three additional recruitment steps may occur within the last 30 days. In practice the job order and waiting period set a floor of about two months between starting recruitment and filing.

• Can I change jobs while my EB-2 green card is pending?

  After your I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more, the I-140 can stay valid for a new job in the same or a similar occupational classification (INA 204(j)). Before that point, a job change can require a new PERM and I-140, although an approved I-140 generally lets you keep its priority date unless it was revoked for fraud, misrepresentation, labor certification invalidation or USCIS error.

• How long does it take to get an EB-2 green card after I-140 approval?

  If your priority date is current, the remaining time is mostly the I-485 or immigrant visa stage. USCIS posted 9.5 months at field offices and 42.5 months at Service Center Operations for employment-based I-485s as of November 5, 2026. If your date is not current, you wait for the Visa Bulletin first, and that wait can run years for India and China.

• Can I file my I-485 if my priority date is only within the Dates for Filing chart?

  Only in a month when USCIS designates the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based applicants, which it did for November 2026. USCIS accepts the I-485 and you can apply for employment authorization and advance parole, but approval waits until your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date in effect at the time of approval.

• Does a pending I-485 keep me in status?

  No. A pending I-485 gives you a period of authorized stay, and the work permit and advance parole that come with it let you work and travel, but it does not grant or extend a nonimmigrant status. If your underlying status expires and the I-485 is later denied, you may have no status to fall back on.

• Can I stay in H-1B status past six years while my EB-2 case is pending?

  In some cases. AC21 allows one-year H-1B extensions when the PERM or I-140 was filed at least 365 days before the requested extension start date and has not been denied, revoked or expired, and three-year extensions when the I-140 is approved but no visa number is available (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D) and (E)). Each extension is a separate petition that USCIS adjudicates.

• Does an EB-2 NIW have a different Visa Bulletin wait than a PERM-based EB-2?

  No. Both are EB-2 petitions and share the same EB-2 line for your country of chargeability. The NIW route only removes the DOL stages before the I-140.