EB-3 Priority Date for China: November 2026 Dates, Other Workers, and History

Reviewed by: Beth Persky, Esq.

The EB-3 priority date for China in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin is January 22, 2022 on the Final Action Dates chart and April 1, 2024 on the Dates for Filing chart for skilled workers and professionals born in mainland China. For EB-3 Other Workers born in mainland China, the dates are October 1, 2019 (Final Action) and October 1, 2020 (Date for Filing). USCIS has again designated the Dates for Filing chart for all employment-based Form I-485 filings in November 2026, so the filing window opened by the October 2026 jump in the EB-3 China Date for Filing (about 27 months, from January 8, 2022 in the September 2026 bulletin to April 1, 2024 in October) stays in place for November for applicants with priority dates earlier than April 1, 2024 who are otherwise eligible.

This post covers the current dates for both EB-3 lines, how the Other Workers limit works, how an EB-3 priority date is set, eight years of October bulletin history, when EB-3 has moved ahead of EB-2 for China, and the risks to weigh before filing on the Date for Filing, including the form-edition, filing-address, fee, and medical-exam checks that can decide whether a November filing is accepted.

What is the EB-3 priority date for China in November 2026?

The November 2026 Visa Bulletin lists two EB-3 rows for mainland China-born applicants:

For comparison, the November 2026 EB-3 Final Action Date for skilled workers and professionals is June 15, 2024 for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico, August 15, 2023 for the Philippines, and January 22, 2014 for India. On the Dates for Filing chart, the November 2026 EB-3 date is August 1, 2024 for All Chargeability Areas and Mexico, January 1, 2024 for the Philippines, and January 15, 2015 for India. The All Chargeability Areas and Mexico EB-3 rows retrogressed in October 2026 and partly recovered in November (Final Action from May 15, 2024 to June 15, 2024; Dates for Filing held at August 1, 2024). On the Other Workers row of the Dates for Filing chart, the All Chargeability Areas and Mexico date moved from June 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022 in November, while the China Other Workers date stayed at October 1, 2020. See our posts on the EB-3 priority date for India and the EB-3 priority date for the Philippines. Check for the December 2026 bulletin before relying on these dates for a December filing.

Which chart can EB-3 applicants use in November 2026?

USCIS announces each month on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page whether employment-based applicants must use the Final Action Dates chart or may use the Dates for Filing chart. For November 2026, that page states that applicants in all employment-based preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart, as it did for October 2026. In September 2026, employment-based applicants had to use the Final Action Dates chart, so the October switch mattered as much as the date movement itself.

With the Date for Filing at April 1, 2024, a mainland China-born EB-3 applicant in the United States with an approved EB-3 Form I-140 (or one filed concurrently or still pending) and a priority date earlier than April 1, 2024 may be able to file Form I-485 in November 2026, if otherwise eligible. The priority date must be earlier than the chart date; a priority date of exactly April 1, 2024 does not qualify. Eligibility also depends on the adjustment requirements in INA 245, including lawful inspection and admission or parole under INA 245(a), the bars in INA 245(c) for applicants who have failed to maintain status or worked without authorization, and admissibility.

INA 245(k) softens some of those bars for a limited group: a principal applicant eligible for an immigrant visa under EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, or the EB-4 religious worker classification, and that applicant’s qualifying derivative spouse and children, who are present in the United States after a lawful admission and who, since that most recent lawful admission, have not failed to maintain lawful status, worked without authorization, or otherwise violated the terms of admission for an aggregate period exceeding 180 days. USCIS counts each calendar day on which one or more of those violations existed once; overlapping violations on the same day are not stacked. Only violations after the most recent lawful admission count, and the provision does not excuse inadmissibility grounds or other adjustment bars. Each derivative’s own violations are assessed separately. Whether 245(k) applies is fact-specific and should be reviewed with counsel.

Four filing-mechanics points for November 2026:

• The November chart applies only if USCIS accepts the Form I-485 as properly filed. Under 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7), a benefit request is received and properly filed when it is submitted on a form edition USCIS currently accepts, with the required signature and the correct fee, at the filing location USCIS designates; a submission that fails one of those requirements is rejected. Missing initial evidence is treated differently: under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(8), it generally leads to a request for evidence or a denial rather than a rejection, with the exception for the Form I-693 medical exam discussed below. USCIS has stated that it determines which month’s chart applies by the month in which the application was received at the correct filing location.
• Form editions and filing addresses change. USCIS periodically revises Form I-485 and updates the filing locations for employment-based applicants, and when it does, the Form I-485 page states which edition dates it accepts and whether any grace period applies to packages sent to a prior location. A package on an edition USCIS no longer accepts, or mailed to an old address after any grace period ends, risks rejection and loss of the November window. Check the USCIS Form I-485 page for the accepted edition and the Direct Filing Addresses page for the address immediately before mailing.
• Fees are paid per form. The USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) lists the paper Form I-485 fee at $1,440 for applicants 14 or older, and $950 for a child under 14 filing with a parent. A Form I-765 ($260) or Form I-131 ($630) filed with or based on a pending Form I-485 has its own fee. USCIS requires a separate payment for each form and states that it rejects an entire package submitted with a single combined payment for multiple forms. Fees change; confirm each amount on the G-1055 page before mailing.
• A rejected submission does not keep its original receipt date. If a package is rejected and refiled in a later month, the chart USCIS designated for the later month, and that month’s cutoff date, apply.

EB-3 subcategories and the Other Workers limit

EB-3 has three groups under INA 203(b)(3), with the requirements set out in 8 CFR 204.5(l):

EB-3 as a whole receives 28.6 percent of the annual employment-based limit plus numbers unused by EB-1 and EB-2 (INA 203(b)(3)(A)). Within that, the statute caps Other Workers at 10,000 visas a year worldwide (INA 203(b)(3)(B)), and the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) reduces that number further; the November 2026 bulletin states the FY2027 reduction is limited to about 150. The per-country limit in INA 202(a)(2) then limits the share any one country can use. Those limits constrain how many Other Workers numbers can go to China-born applicants in a year. The State Department sets each month’s cutoff dates based on reported demand and number use, and the China Other Workers line has sat years behind the skilled worker and professional line in every October bulletin since FY2020 (see the tables below).

The row is set by the job, not by the applicant’s education. A person with a degree sponsored for a job that requires less than two years of experience is in Other Workers. Our EB-3 visa page explains the categories in more detail.

How an EB-3 priority date is set

Under 8 CFR 204.5(l)(3)(i), every EB-3 petition must be accompanied by one of three things: an individual labor certification from the Department of Labor (the PERM process), an application for Schedule A designation (for occupations the Department of Labor has pre-certified under 20 CFR 656.5, such as registered nurses and physical therapists), or documentation that the worker qualifies for one of the shortage occupations in the Department of Labor’s Labor Market Information Pilot Program. The discussion on this page concerns PERM-based cases outside Schedule A.

Under 8 CFR 204.5(d), the priority date of a petition that requires an individual labor certification is the date the Department of Labor accepted the PERM application for processing. That date is fixed when DOL accepts the application; it does not depend on when DOL later certifies the application or when the employer files the Form I-140. Separately, the certified PERM must be filed with the Form I-140 within its 180-day validity period (20 CFR 656.30(b)) for the petition to be approvable, and USCIS records the DOL acceptance date as the petition’s priority date. For a petition accompanied by a Schedule A application, 8 CFR 204.5(d) sets the priority date as the date the completed, signed petition, including all initial evidence and the correct fee, is properly filed with USCIS. The USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 6) states the same rules. See our PERM labor certification and employer-sponsored green card pages for the process, and our EB-3 processing time post for the stages before the bulletin matters.

Once an EB-3 Form I-140 is approved, the priority date is retained for later EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 petitions, including petitions filed by a different employer, unless the approval is revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation, invalidation or revocation of the labor certification, or material error (8 CFR 204.5(e)). A priority date from a petition that was denied, or that was withdrawn by the employer before approval, is not retained.

EB-3 China dates since fiscal year 2020

The October bulletin opens each fiscal year. These tables show the China dates for both EB-3 lines in each October bulletin from FY2020 to FY2027.

EB-3 China, skilled workers and professionals

EB-3 China, Other Workers

What the tables show:

• The skilled worker and professional Final Action Date moved from November 1, 2015 (October 2019) to January 8, 2022 (October 2026), but not in a straight line: it was later in October 2021 (January 8, 2019) than in October 2022 (June 15, 2018).
• The Date for Filing moved within FY2026 as well: it was January 1, 2022 in October 2025 and January 8, 2022 by September 2026, before the jump to April 1, 2024 in October 2026.
• The October 2026 Date for Filing gap (about 27 months ahead of the Final Action Date) is the widest in this period; in other Octobers the gap ranged from about 1 week to about 16 months.
• The Other Workers Final Action Date moved from January 1, 2008 to October 1, 2019 over the same period and has stayed several years behind the main EB-3 line.

None of this predicts future bulletins. Dates can stall or move backward within a fiscal year.

When EB-3 moves ahead of EB-2 for China

For the All Chargeability Areas column, EB-2 has been at least as fast as EB-3 in each October bulletin in this period. For mainland China, EB-3 has been ahead on the Dates for Filing chart in seven of the last eight October bulletins, which is why some China-born applicants with an EB-2 case have a second, EB-3 Form I-140 filed, referred to as a “downgrade.” The Date for Filing chart, which controls Form I-485 filing in months when USCIS designates it, shows the pattern:

On the Final Action Dates chart, the November 2026 EB-2 China date is October 1, 2021 and the EB-3 China date is January 22, 2022, so EB-3 leads by nearly four months there, compared with 15 months on the Date for Filing chart (EB-2 China’s Date for Filing is January 1, 2023 in November 2026). On the Final Action Dates chart, EB-3 China was ahead of EB-2 China in six of the same eight Octobers and behind in October 2022 and October 2025, so the two charts did not always agree on which category led. The full Final Action comparison and the mechanics of a downgrade, including reusing a PERM labor certification and transferring a pending Form I-485, are in our EB-2 priority date for China post.

A few points specific to the EB-3 side:

• The EB-3 petition must independently qualify under 8 CFR 204.5(l). The minimum job requirements stated on the certified labor certification, and the worker’s qualifications, must satisfy the EB-3 professional or skilled worker definition as written; the later petition cannot rely on job requirements that differ materially from those certified. USCIS decides each Form I-140 on its own evidence, and the employer must show the ability to pay the offered wage from the priority date forward (8 CFR 204.5(g)(2)).
• The labor certification question is separate. The original certified PERM is filed with the first Form I-140. Whether that same certification can also support a second Form I-140 in a different classification, and what USCIS requires when the original is already in another file, depends on current USCIS filing guidance and the status of the first petition. Confirm this with counsel before filing a downgrade.
• National Interest Waiver cases cannot move to EB-3 without a labor certification, Schedule A application, or Labor Market Information Pilot Program basis, because every EB-3 petition requires one. If the NIW Form I-140 was approved, its priority date is retained for the later EB-3 petition under 8 CFR 204.5(e).
• The lead can reverse. Demand from applicants who add EB-3 petitions can itself slow EB-3 later, as the October 2022 and October 2025 Final Action snapshots show. A downgrade filed because of this gap may sit in a line that moves more slowly next year.

Who is charged to China?

Chargeability is based on country of birth, not citizenship (INA 202(b)). An EB-3 applicant born in mainland China uses the China column even with another nationality; a Chinese citizen born elsewhere generally uses the birth country. The Visa Bulletin lists the column as “CHINA-mainland born.” Applicants born in Hong Kong and Taiwan are treated as chargeable to separate foreign states rather than to mainland China, and generally use the All Chargeability Areas column.

A mainland China-born principal applicant may be charged to the birth country of a spouse who is accompanying or following to join as a derivative, if the spouse would otherwise be charged to a different country (INA 202(b)(2)). Cross-chargeability also runs the other way: a derivative spouse born in mainland China who is accompanying or following to join can be charged to the principal applicant’s country. It is not available through a spouse who will not immigrate as an accompanying or following-to-join derivative. In November 2026, cross-chargeability could change an EB-3 Final Action Date of January 22, 2022 to the All Chargeability date of June 15, 2024, or to the Philippines date of August 15, 2023 if the spouse was born in the Philippines. Cross-chargeability depends on the facts and should be confirmed before filing.

Retrogression and what it means for EB-3 applicants

Retrogression is a backward move in a cutoff date when demand exceeds available numbers. EB-3 China moved backward between the October 2021 and October 2022 bulletins, and the All Chargeability Areas EB-3 column retrogressed at the start of FY2027 while the China column advanced, which shows that each column moves on its own. The State Department explains these moves as necessary to keep issuances within quarterly and annual limits. USCIS states on its Visa Retrogression page that retrogression can occur toward the end of the fiscal year as issuances approach annual category or per-country limits, but a move backward can happen in any month.

Under the USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 6), a visa must be available both when Form I-485 is filed and when it is approved. If your priority date falls behind the Final Action Date while your Form I-485 is pending, an otherwise approvable case stays pending until a visa number is available again; the Policy Manual states that such a case should be retained and processed up to the point of final approval. A pending application can still be denied for other reasons, such as inadmissibility or a withdrawn petition. An eligible applicant may apply to renew employment authorization (Form I-765) and advance parole (Form I-131) while Form I-485 remains pending; each renewal is a separate application with its own fee that USCIS decides on its own. Because the November 2026 EB-3 China Date for Filing is far ahead of the Final Action Date, applicants who file in November should plan for a potentially long pending period.

Filing on the Date for Filing: risks to weigh before you file

Filing under the Dates for Filing chart can make an applicant eligible to apply for employment authorization and advance parole for the applicant and dependents, and starts the period that may later allow job portability under INA 204(j). None of those results is automatic. A China-born EB-3 applicant should consider the following points before filing in November 2026:

• A pending Form I-485 is not a status and does not itself authorize work or travel. Work is authorized only by a basis that exists independently of the pending application, such as valid H-1B or L-1 status with the authorized employer, or by an approved Form I-765 employment authorization document. Travel generally requires an approved Form I-131 advance parole document; leaving the United States without one is treated as abandonment of the application unless a regulatory exception applies (discussed below). Working without authorization or falling out of status after filing can still matter; INA 245(k) covers only up to 180 days in the aggregate of such violations since the most recent lawful admission, and only for the applicants described above.
• Children’s ages are calculated under the Final Action Dates chart for applications filed on or after August 15, 2025. USCIS announced on August 8, 2025 (Policy Alert PA-2025-15), effective August 15, 2025, that it uses the Final Action Dates chart to decide when a visa became available for Child Status Protection Act purposes, even when the family filed on the Dates for Filing chart in a month USCIS designated it. The policy applies to adjustment applications filed on or after August 15, 2025; applications filed before that date are evaluated under the February 2023 policy, which used the Dates for Filing chart in months USCIS designated it. The CSPA calculation under INA 203(h) has more parts than the chart: the child’s age on the date a visa became available is reduced by the period the Form I-140 was pending, which the USCIS Policy Manual measures from the date the petition was properly filed to the date it was approved, and the child generally must seek to acquire permanent residence within one year of visa availability. A petition with an unusual history (reopening, revocation, or reinstatement) should be reviewed with counsel because the pending period may be calculated differently. Filing on the Dates for Filing chart does not by itself establish CSPA protection. A child close to 21 should have the calculation run under INA 203(h) and current USCIS policy before the family relies on the November 2026 window.
• Portability requires more than time. Under INA 204(j) and 8 CFR 245.25, an applicant may adjust based on a new job offer if the Form I-485 has remained pending for 180 days or more after it was properly filed; the Form I-140 either is approved or, if still pending when the applicant notifies USCIS of the new offer, is determined by USCIS to have been approvable when filed and to remain approvable; and USCIS determines that the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job in the petition. A rejected submission does not start the 180 days. Portability does not speed up approval; the priority date still has to reach the Final Action Date.
• Status maintenance still matters. An applicant who relies on the pending application and a work permit, and lets H-1B or other nonimmigrant status lapse, has fewer options if the Form I-485 is later denied. Keeping the underlying nonimmigrant status valid where possible preserves a fallback.
• Travel without advance parole is treated as abandonment of a pending Form I-485 unless the applicant fits an exception in 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii): an H-1 or L-1 worker, or an H-4 or L-2 dependent, who remains eligible for that status, is returning to resume employment with the same employer (or accompanying the principal who is), and is admitted in that status on return; or a K-3, K-4, or V nonimmigrant who is inspected and admitted on return. Each exception has its own conditions. Advance parole does not guarantee admission on return.
• Employer withdrawal. Under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C), an employer’s withdrawal does not automatically revoke an approved Form I-140 if the petition has been approved for 180 days or more, or if the associated Form I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more. If the employer withdraws before either 180-day mark, the approval is automatically revoked and the applicant loses the adjustment basis unless another petition supports the case. Even when the approval survives, the applicant still needs a valid basis to adjust: either the original job offer remains open, or a qualifying same-or-similar job offer under INA 204(j).
• Ability to pay and the job offer. The petitioning employer must show the ability to pay the offered wage from the priority date until the applicant obtains permanent residence (8 CFR 204.5(g)(2)), and USCIS can request that evidence while the case is pending. After a valid portability change under INA 204(j), the new employer’s job offer is the basis for the adjustment; the new employer is not evaluated under the petitioner’s ability-to-pay test in 8 CFR 204.5(g)(2). How USCIS assesses the original petitioner’s ability to pay for the period after the port depends on current USCIS policy and should be confirmed with counsel.
• Public charge. Employment-based adjustment applicants are subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility (INA 212(a)(4)) unless a specific exemption applies, and Form I-485 asks questions directed to that ground. Review what the current form edition and instructions ask and what supporting evidence they require, because an incomplete response can lead to a request for evidence.
• The medical exam. Since December 2, 2024, USCIS has required Form I-693 to be submitted together with Form I-485, and USCIS states that it may reject a Form I-485 filed without it. Use the Form I-693 edition the USCIS Form I-693 page lists as accepted, have it completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, and keep it sealed. Confirm the current requirement in the Form I-485 instructions for the edition in use, since the submission rule has changed more than once.

Planning steps for China-born EB-3 applicants

1. Confirm which EB-3 row applies (skilled worker or professional vs Other Workers) from the job requirements on the certified labor certification, not from your own degree.
2. Find your priority date on the PERM certification (or, for a Schedule A case, the Form I-140 receipt date) and on the Form I-140 receipt and approval notices, and keep copies of every approved Form I-140, including ones from former employers.
3. Check chargeability, including cross-chargeability through a spouse born outside mainland China who is accompanying or following to join.
4. Check both charts and the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page every month, since the designated chart can change with each bulletin. If your priority date is earlier than April 1, 2024 and you are otherwise eligible, USCIS must receive a properly filed Form I-485 by November 30, 2026 to file under the November 2026 chart; whether filing remains possible in December depends on the December bulletin and the chart USCIS designates for that month.
5. Prepare the Form I-485 package on the edition the USCIS Form I-485 page currently lists as accepted, with civil documents, certified translations, the sealed Form I-693, and a separate payment for each form in the amounts on the G-1055 fee schedule, and confirm the filing address on the USCIS Direct Filing Addresses page right before mailing.
6. Plan for a long pending period if you file on the Date for Filing: apply to renew work and travel documents before they expire, and know that after Form I-485 has been pending 180 days, INA 204(j) and 8 CFR 245.25 may allow a move to a same or similar job if the other conditions are met.
7. Run the Child Status Protection Act calculation for any derivative child using the Final Action Dates chart (or the February 2023 policy for applications filed before August 15, 2025), the Form I-140 pending time, and the one-year sought-to-acquire rule, and consider whether a separate strategy is needed for a child close to 21.
8. Review EB-2 and EB-1 options periodically with counsel; an approved EB-3 priority date is retained for a later EB-2 or EB-1 petition under 8 CFR 204.5(e), and the faster column can change from year to year.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the EB-3 priority date for China in November 2026?

  For skilled workers and professionals born in mainland China, the Final Action Date is January 22, 2022 and the Date for Filing is April 1, 2024. For Other Workers, the dates are October 1, 2019 (Final Action) and October 1, 2020 (Date for Filing).

• Can I file my I-485 in November 2026 with a 2023 EB-3 China priority date?

  Possibly. The USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page directs employment-based applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart in November 2026, and the EB-3 China Date for Filing is April 1, 2024, so a 2023 priority date is earlier than the cutoff. You also need an approved, pending, or concurrently filed EB-3 Form I-140 and must meet the other adjustment requirements, and USCIS must receive the properly filed application by November 30, 2026 to use the November chart. Confirm the designation on uscis.gov for the month USCIS receives your filing; approval waits until the Final Action Date passes your priority date.

• My priority date is April 1, 2024. Can I file in November 2026?

  No. The priority date must be earlier than the date on the chart. A priority date equal to the cutoff does not qualify.

• Can I file Form I-485 while my EB-3 Form I-140 is still pending?

  Yes, if a visa number is available to you under the chart USCIS designates for the month of filing. Under 8 CFR 245.2(a)(2)(i), an employment-based applicant may file Form I-485 concurrently with the Form I-140 or while the Form I-140 is pending, provided the priority date is earlier than the applicable chart date. USCIS cannot approve the Form I-485 until the Form I-140 is approved and the Final Action Date passes the priority date, and a Form I-140 denial leaves the Form I-485 without a basis.

• Which Form I-485 edition and address do I use for a November 2026 filing?

  Use the edition date the USCIS Form I-485 page lists as accepted on the day you mail, and the address on the USCIS Direct Filing Addresses page for your category and location. When USCIS revises the form or moves filing locations, the Form I-485 page states which editions remain acceptable and whether a grace period applies to packages sent to a prior address; do not rely on an older address or edition without checking. A rejected package does not keep its receipt date, so an edition or address error can cost the November window.

• What is the difference between EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers?

  The job decides. A skilled worker position requires at least two years of training or experience, and the worker must have it. A professional position is one for which a U.S. bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent is the normal entry requirement, and the worker must hold that degree. Both fall in the main EB-3 row. Positions requiring less than two years of training or experience fall in Other Workers, which has a separate annual cap of 10,000 visas worldwide under INA 203(b)(3)(B) and its own cutoff dates. In every group the work must not be temporary or seasonal (8 CFR 204.5(l)).

• Is EB-3 faster than EB-2 for China?

  In the November 2026 bulletin, EB-3 China is about 15 months ahead on Dates for Filing and nearly four months ahead on Final Action Dates. EB-2 China was ahead on the Final Action Dates chart in the October 2022 and October 2025 bulletins, so the order can change.

• How is an EB-3 priority date set?

  For a case based on an individual labor certification, it is the date the Department of Labor accepted the PERM application for processing (8 CFR 204.5(d)). For a Schedule A case, it is the date the completed, signed Form I-140 is properly filed with USCIS. USCIS records that date on the Form I-140 approval notice.

• Do I keep my EB-3 priority date if I change employers?

  Generally yes, once the EB-3 Form I-140 has been approved, unless the approval is revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation, labor certification invalidation or revocation, or material error (8 CFR 204.5(e)). A new employer would still need its own labor certification (or Schedule A basis) and Form I-140, unless you qualify to port a pending Form I-485 under INA 204(j).

• Does a Taiwan or Hong Kong birthplace use the China EB-3 dates?

  Generally no. Applicants born in Taiwan or Hong Kong are charged separately from mainland China and generally use the All Chargeability Areas column.

• If I file on the Date for Filing, does my child’s age freeze under the Child Status Protection Act?

  Not on the filing date. For applications filed on or after August 15, 2025, USCIS uses the Final Action Dates chart to decide when a visa became available for the CSPA age calculation, even when the Form I-485 was filed on the Dates for Filing chart. The calculated age also subtracts the period the Form I-140 was pending, and the child generally must seek to acquire permanent residence within one year of visa availability. A child near 21 should be reviewed with counsel before the family relies on the November 2026 window.

• Can my employer withdraw the Form I-140 after I file on the Date for Filing?

  An employer can withdraw at any time. Under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C), the withdrawal automatically revokes the approval unless the Form I-140 has been approved for 180 days or more or the Form I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more. If the approval survives, you keep the priority date, but you still need the original job offer or a qualifying same-or-similar offer under INA 204(j) to adjust.

• What happens if the EB-3 China date retrogresses after I file?

  An otherwise approvable Form I-485 stays pending until a visa number is available again under a later bulletin. An eligible applicant may apply to renew employment authorization and advance parole in the meantime.

• Will the EB-3 China date keep advancing?

  No one can say. The State Department adjusts dates based on demand and number use, so check the December 2026 bulletin when it is released.