A PERM doesn't have a category. The I-140 filed on it does, and USCIS assigns it from what the job requires as written on the ETA-9089. What the worker happens to hold beyond that doesn't count. A master's-degree holder in a job that requires a bachelor's is an EB-3 case. That single fact explains most of the confusion, and most of the strategy. PERM Tracker's free EB-2 vs EB-3 tool sets the two lines side by side for your country and priority date, with how many people stand ahead of you in each.
The job's minimum requirements decide the category
8 CFR 204.5(k) for EB-2 and 204.5(l) for EB-3 both test the position's requirements as stated on the labor certification. The worker has to meet them. Exceeding them changes nothing.
The two categories
EB-2 is for jobs that require an advanced degree, a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience, or exceptional ability. EB-3 covers jobs that require a bachelor's, two years of training or experience, or less.
| EB-2 | EB-3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Rule | 8 CFR 204.5(k) | 8 CFR 204.5(l) |
| Job requires | An advanced degree, or a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience, or exceptional ability | A bachelor's (professional), two years of training or experience (skilled), or less (other workers) |
| Worker must | Hold what the job requires | Hold what the job requires |
| Annual numbers | 28.6% of the employment-based total, plus any unused EB-1 | 28.6%, plus any unused EB-1 and EB-2. Other workers are capped within it |
| Cutoff behaviour | Retrogresses hard for India and China, and often current elsewhere | Sometimes ahead of EB-2 for India and China, sometimes behind. The order has flipped more than once |
| Self-petition | The national interest waiver | None |
The five-years rule matters more than it looks. A bachelor's degree followed by five years of progressive experience in the specialty counts as an advanced degree for EB-2, but only if the job as certified requires it. Writing the requirement onto the ETA-9089 raises the bar for U.S. applicants too, and DOL tests whether the requirement is normal for the occupation.
Where the queues differ
Both categories get the same share of the annual employment-based total under INA 203(b), and unused numbers fall down from EB-1 to EB-2 to EB-3. For most countries both are current most of the time. For India and China the cutoffs are years back in both, and which one is ahead changes: there have been bulletins where EB-3 India stood ahead of EB-2 India, and a wave of downgrade petitions followed each time.
The priority date history shows both categories for each country over every bulletin since October 2014, including the months where the order reversed, and the I-485 queue position shows how many applicants USCIS had pending ahead of a date in each.
Downgrading and upgrading
A second I-140 in the other category can be filed on the same certified PERM, as long as the job's requirements support that category, and it keeps the original priority date under 8 CFR 204.5(e). That's the whole mechanism behind an EB-3 downgrade: the same PERM, a second petition, the old date, a different cutoff.
Two things it doesn't do. It doesn't change the PERM, so a job that requires a bachelor's can't be upgraded to EB-2 by petition alone. That needs a new PERM for a job that requires more. And it doesn't create a second priority date. There's one, and it's retained.
The downgrade question for India, this month
Downgrading means filing a second I-140, in EB-3, for someone who already has an EB-2 petition, because the EB-3 cutoff for their country is ahead. Here are the two India lines side by side, read on October 16, 2026:
| India | EB-2 | EB-3 |
|---|---|---|
| Final action date, October 2026 bulletin | Nov 1, 2013 | Jan 1, 2014 |
| Dates for filing, October 2026 bulletin | Jan 15, 2015 | Jan 15, 2015 |
| Times it went backwards or shut since October 2014 | 10, most recently July 2026 | 6, most recently July 2023 |
| Approved petitions waiting for a visa number (primary applicants, June 2026) | 356,360 | 106,214 |
| I-485s pending, visa number available (August 5, 2026) | 0 | 2,506 to 3,028 |
| I-485s pending, waiting for a visa number (August 5, 2026) | 27,785 to 28,226 | 13,395 |
This month EB-3 India's final action date is two months ahead of EB-2's, and its line of approved petitions is far shorter. Neither fact says which will move faster next year: the order has flipped before, and the EB-2 or EB-3 tool sets both lines against your own priority date and says when the counts can't tell them apart.
What a downgrade needs, in order:
A job that supports EB-3
The certified PERM's requirements have to fit an EB-3 classification under 8 CFR 204.5(l), such as the bachelor's degree a professional petition calls for. Whether a given job fits is the attorney's call.
A new I-140 in EB-3, on the same certified PERM
The employer files it. There's no form for converting the old petition. The EB-2 I-140 stays in place.
The priority date carries over
Under 8 CFR 204.5(e)(1), an approved petition "accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition for any subsequently filed petition" in EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3, and with several approved petitions the earliest date applies. It's lost only if USCIS revokes the approval for fraud, a revoked or invalidated labor certification, or a material error.
A pending I-485 moves by a transfer request
USCIS's Policy Manual covers moving a pending I-485 to a new basis (Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 8). It says "the priority date must be current for the category the applicant wishes to use," judged on the date the request is filed, and that changing categories on a new I-140 "resets the adjudication clock for purposes of portability eligibility," so 180 days start again before job portability applies.
Whether a downgrade is worth it for a particular case, and what it means for a pending application, is a question for the attorney on the case. Nothing here is legal advice.
What the record can show
The I-140 trends page shows receipts, approvals and denials for each category by quarter, which is where a downgrade wave is visible as a jump in EB-3 receipts. The salary explorer shows what certified PERM jobs in an occupation required and paid, which is the practical answer to whether an EB-2 requirement is normal for the role.
What this comparison can't tell you
This comparison can't tell you whether your job's requirements are supportable at EB-2, which category will move first for your country next year, or whether a downgrade is worth its fee.
- Whether your job's requirements are supportable at EB-2. DOL's normal-requirements test and USCIS's reading of the ETA-9089 are both judgments on the specific job.
- Which category will move first for your country next year. The history shows how often the order changed, but it doesn't say when it'll change again.
- Whether a downgrade is worth its fee. A second I-140 costs the same as the first, plus the asylum program fee. The fees calculator prices it.
