October 2026 visa bulletin — EB-2 ROW retrogressed to Jan 1, 2025. My I-485 was filed in August, what happens now?
I filed my I-485 in August while EB-2 for rest of world was still Current, priority date mid-2024. Now the October 2026 bulletin retrogressed EB-2 ROW to Jan 1, 2025 and EB-3 ROW to May 15, 2024, while USCIS switched to the Dates for Filing chart for employment cases. My priority date is after the new Jan 1, 2025 cutoff. Does my already-filed application get denied, or does it just sit pending until the date moves forward again? Trying to understand if I need to take any action this month or just keep renewing EAD and AP.
1 answer
- Do not forum your green card
Do not take immigration advice from a Q&A site, mine included. Yes, a pending I-485 survives retrogression — that part is mechanical. But your fact pattern (filed in August under Current, now retrogressed) is exactly the kind of thing where a $200 consult with an actual immigration lawyer pays for itself. They will confirm you keep renewing EAD/AP, confirm your priority date documentation, and tell you what happens if your employer amends the petition while you wait. A forum answer cannot do any of that. Forums are for sticker printers, not green cards.