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EB-3 Other Workers

Unskilled labor, under two years of training

The queue is moving slower than the calendar

Over the 12 months to September 2026, the all-areas cut-off advanced 8.8 months. That is 0.73 months of queue per month of real time. Anyone who joined this queue during that year ended it further from the front than they started.

Across the whole record here, October 2023 to September 2026, the cut-off moved 20 months in 35 months. Past pace is a record of what happened, not a schedule.

Movement, all areas

Final Action Dates across the 36 published months.

Jun 20Dec 20Jun 21Nov 21May 22Jan 24May 24Sep 24Jan 25May 25Sep 25Jan 26May 26Sep 26
Published cut-offOne month per month (leaves the frame)

By country of chargeability

EB-3 Other Workers by area and chart
AreaFinal Action DatesDates for FilingSince AugustPace, 12mo
All chargeability areas except those listed01 Apr 202201 Aug 2022no move0.73x
China, mainland born01 May 201901 Oct 2019no move2x
India01 Jan 201415 Jan 2015no move0.62x
Mexico01 Apr 202201 Aug 2022no move0.73x
Philippines01 Dec 202101 Aug 2022no move0.4x

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 99 months: India sits that far behind All areas and Mexico, which share the front of it, with 2 countries somewhere between the two. 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.

  • All areas and Mexico: 19.1 days of movement in an average month, standing still in 51 percent of them. The longest unchanged run was 3 months on 01DEC20, September 2024 to December 2024. Dates for Filing currently sits 4 months ahead of Final Action Dates.
  • China: 34.7 days of movement in an average month, standing still in 74 percent of them. The longest unchanged run was 14 months on 01JAN17, January 2024 to March 2025. Dates for Filing currently sits 5 months ahead of Final Action Dates.
  • India: 17.4 days of movement in an average month, standing still in 43 percent of them. The longest unchanged run was 4 months on 15NOV13, January 2026 to May 2026. Dates for Filing currently sits 12.5 months ahead of Final Action Dates.
  • Philippines: 16.5 days of movement in an average month, standing still in 69 percent of them. The longest unchanged run was 11 months on 01MAY20, October 2023 to September 2024. Dates for Filing currently sits 8 months ahead of Final Action Dates.

The annual reset

The bulletin runs on a fiscal year beginning 1 October. Pooling every country across the 85 comparisons that fall in those two quarters, the October-to-December quarter advanced 16.2 days in an average month and the July-to-September quarter advanced 10.6 days.

The reset is measurable here, and it runs the way the calendar’s reputation suggests: a generous October and a flat August are the ordinary rhythm of this category’s year rather than news. That is the shape to hold in mind before reading anything into a single month.

Backward steps on record

  • September 2024: All areas and Mexico fell back 1 month, from 01JAN21 to 01DEC20.

Questions this page answers

Why does EB-3 Other Workers take so long?
Between October 2023 and September 2026, 35 months of published bulletins, the all-areas cut-off moved 20 months, a pace of 0.57 months of queue for every month of real time. Over the most recent 12 months, to September 2026, it moved 8.8 months, a pace of 0.73. The all-areas cut-off moved backwards in 1 of those 36 issues, so neither figure describes a steady advance. The bulletin does not publish a reason for the pace, and this site does not infer one.
Has EB-3 Other Workers ever moved backwards?
Yes. Across the 36 issues published here the cut-off fell back in 1 of them, across 2 country columns, and 2 backward steps in all. The largest was 1 month, for All areas and Mexico, in September 2024. 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-3 Other Workers?
India, 99 months behind All areas and Mexico, which share the front of this category on the Final Action Dates chart in September 2026, with 2 countries somewhere between the two. 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.