EB-2 and EB-3 are the second and third employment-based preference categories for permanent residence. The category a worker lands in is set by what the sponsored position requires: an advanced degree or exceptional ability for EB-2, a bachelor's degree or two years of training and experience for EB-3. Both normally use the same PERM-to-I-140 route — the practical difference is where each category's queue stands in the monthly Visa Bulletin, and that ordering is not fixed.
Status as of July 24, 2026. Employment-based cut-off dates can advance, hold, retrogress, or become unavailable. In the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 for India is unavailable for the remainder of fiscal year 2026 after the country's allocation was exhausted, while EB-3 India holds at a January 1, 2014 final action date; EB-3 advanced modestly for several other chargeability areas. The Department of State has warned that EB-2 may retrogress or become unavailable more broadly as annual limits are reached, and that EB-1 for India may become unavailable in the coming weeks. For August, USCIS designated the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based adjustment filings. Current cut-offs are checked in the Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov together with the USCIS page identifying which chart applies that month.
Which category a position falls into
EB-2 covers members of the professions holding an advanced degree, or persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. The advanced-degree route is satisfied either by a degree above a bachelor's or by a bachelor's degree followed by five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty. Exceptional ability is a separate showing about the person rather than the degree.
EB-3 covers three groups: professionals, whose position requires a U.S. bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent; skilled workers, whose position requires at least two years of training or experience; and other workers, for positions requiring less than two years of training or experience and that are not temporary or seasonal.
The classification follows the job as described in the labor certification, not the worker's ambitions: a position that requires a bachelor's degree is an EB-3 position even if the person holds a doctorate. That linkage is why the wording of the employer's requirements matters so much earlier in the process.
The step both categories share: PERM
An EB-2 or EB-3 case sponsored by an employer normally begins at the Department of Labor with permanent labor certification. The employer obtains a prevailing wage determination, runs a documented recruitment effort, and then files Form ETA-9089 through DOL's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system. An approved certification is what accompanies the I-140 petition to USCIS. How that sequence works in practice is covered in the piece on the PERM process.
Two routes avoid the standard DOL-adjudicated process. For Schedule A occupations, the employer does not file the labor certification with DOL for adjudication; the labor-certification materials go directly to USCIS with the I-140, because DOL has already determined that qualified U.S. workers are not sufficiently available in those occupations. DOL currently designates two groups of occupations under Schedule A. And within EB-2, a national interest waiver may waive both the job offer and the labor certification for a petitioner who qualifies — a self-petition route described separately in the piece on the EB-2 national interest waiver.
Why the faster category is not always the higher one
At least 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are available under the statutory worldwide level each fiscal year across all preference categories, counting spouses and children within that number. EB-2 and EB-3 each receive 28.6% of the worldwide level, with EB-2 also taking numbers unused by EB-1; a per-country ceiling of 7% of the combined family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits applies regardless of a country's size, and it is a ceiling rather than a guaranteed allocation. Because demand differs sharply by chargeability area — usually, though not always, the country of birth — the two queues move at different speeds — and a category that is ahead one year can fall behind the next when unused numbers shift or a category retrogresses.
That difference is what leads employers to file a second I-140 in the category whose queue is moving more favorably — commonly described as downgrading from EB-2 to EB-3 or upgrading from EB-3 to EB-2. The same approved labor certification can support the second petition only if its certified minimum job requirements satisfy the classification being requested. A beneficiary of a previously approved I-140 can generally retain the earlier priority date for a later employment-based petition, subject to limited exceptions tied to revocation. For a PERM-based case, the priority date is normally the date DOL accepted the ETA-9089 for processing. How the dates themselves work is covered in the piece on the priority date, and the monthly charts in the Visa Bulletin section.
Is EB-2 always better than EB-3?
Not necessarily. EB-2 sits higher in the preference order and receives numbers unused by EB-1, but the actual wait depends on the chargeability area and on where each category's cut-off date currently stands. For some chargeability areas the EB-3 date has at times been ahead of EB-2 — and a category can also become unavailable outright, as EB-2 India did for the remainder of fiscal year 2026. The comparison is made against the current Visa Bulletin, not the category number.
What determines the category — the worker's degree or the job?
The position's minimum requirements, as certified by DOL. A position requiring a bachelor's degree supports EB-3 professional classification; requiring an advanced degree, or a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience in the specialty, supports EB-2. Holding a higher degree than the job requires does not move the case up a category.
Can a case switch between EB-2 and EB-3?
A second I-140 can be filed in the other category based on the same approved labor certification, provided its certified minimum requirements support the classification requested; the earlier priority date can generally be retained, with limited exceptions tied to revocation. Whether the move is useful depends on the current chart and on where the adjustment application stands. The specific combination is assessed with a licensed attorney.
Does the process differ once the I-140 is approved?
No — after approval, both categories follow the same path: waiting for the priority date to become current, then either adjustment of status inside the United States on Form I-485 or consular processing abroad. When a visa number is available under the chart USCIS has designated for adjustment filings that month, Form I-485 may generally be filed concurrently with Form I-140.