Yes, for the all-areas column: no cut-off has been published for it in any of the 36 issues here, October 2023 to September 2026. A cut-off does apply to China and India in September 2026.

Has EB-1 ever moved backwards?

Yes. Across the 36 issues published here the cut-off fell back in 2 of them, across 1 country column, and 2 backward steps in all. The largest was 3.5 months, for India, in June 2026. A cut-off retrogresses when demand for a category exceeds what remains of its annual limit, and the numbers already promised have to be taken back.

Which country waits longest in EB-1?

India, 8.5 months behind China on the Final Action Dates chart in September 2026. Every country draws on the same annual limit; the per-country cap is what separates them.

When will a particular priority date be reached?

The bulletin does not answer that, and neither does this site on its own authority. Past pace is a record of what happened, not a schedule. The history page offers a projection driven by a pace you choose, alongside the measured error of that method, which on this data misses by a median of several months even one year out.

EB-1

Priority workers

The category is current

The all-areas column has been current in every issue of the 12 months to September 2026. There is no cut-off, so there is no queue to measure.

It has been current in every one of the 36 issues published here, October 2023 to September 2026.

Past pace is a record of what happened, not a schedule.

Movement, all areas

Final Action Dates across the 36 published months.

The all-areas column has fewer than two dated months in the published range, so there is no movement to plot: it was current or unavailable rather than sitting on a cut-off. Any country column that does carry a cut-off is shown in the table below.

By country of chargeability

EB-1 by area and chart
Area	Final Action Dates	Dates for Filing	Since August	Pace, 12mo
All chargeability areas except those listed	C (current, no wait)	C (current, no wait)	still current	not measurable
China, mainland born	01JUL2301 Jul 2023	01DEC2301 Dec 2023	no move	0.63x
India	15OCT2215 Oct 2022	01DEC2301 Dec 2023	no move	0.67xretrogressed 2x
Mexico	C (current, no wait)	C (current, no wait)	still current	not measurable
Philippines	C (current, no wait)	C (current, no wait)	still current	not measurable

What the record shows

Measured across the 36 issues published here, for this category alone.

How far apart the countries are

In September 2026 the widest gap inside this category is 8.5 months: India sits that far behind China. Every country draws on the same annual limit; the difference is demand from each country measured against the per-country cap.

How steady the movement is

The mean step is the average size of one month of movement, in either direction. A cut-off that averages sixty days a month but stands still half the time behaves nothing like one that advances thirty days every month, and the two figures together say which this is.

China: 14.3 days of movement in an average month, standing still in 63 percent of them. The longest unchanged run was 8 months on 08NOV22, October 2024 to June 2025. Dates for Filing currently sits 5 months ahead of Final Action Dates.
India: 70 days of movement in an average month, standing still in 69 percent of them. The longest unchanged run was 8 months on 01FEB22, July 2024 to March 2025. Dates for Filing currently sits 13.5 months ahead of Final Action Dates.

The annual reset

The bulletin runs on a fiscal year beginning 1 October. Pooling every country across the 34 comparisons that fall in those two quarters, the October-to-December quarter advanced 6.4 days in an average month and the July-to-September quarter advanced 24.2 days.

Here the record runs the other way: the closing quarter moved more than the opening one, so a generous October and a flat August are not a rhythm this category has shown. Read a single month against this category’s own figures rather than the calendar’s reputation.

Backward steps on record

June 2026: India fell back 3.5 months, from 01APR23 to 15DEC22.
July 2026: India fell back 2 months, from 15DEC22 to 15OCT22.

Questions this page answers

Is EB-1 current?: Yes, for the all-areas column: no cut-off has been published for it in any of the 36 issues here, October 2023 to September 2026. A cut-off does apply to China and India in September 2026.
Has EB-1 ever moved backwards?: Yes. Across the 36 issues published here the cut-off fell back in 2 of them, across 1 country column, and 2 backward steps in all. The largest was 3.5 months, for India, in June 2026. A cut-off retrogresses when demand for a category exceeds what remains of its annual limit, and the numbers already promised have to be taken back.
Which country waits longest in EB-1?: India, 8.5 months behind China on the Final Action Dates chart in September 2026. Every country draws on the same annual limit; the per-country cap is what separates them.
When will a particular priority date be reached?: The bulletin does not answer that, and neither does this site on its own authority. Past pace is a record of what happened, not a schedule. The history page offers a projection driven by a pace you choose, alongside the measured error of that method, which on this data misses by a median of several months even one year out.

Current values from the September 2026 bulletin, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Movement computed across 36 published months, 12 for the headline pace.