Us Green Card Shock July Visa Bulletin Hits Indians Hard

employment-based second preference, or EB-2, category.

The US State Department has declared EB-2 India unavailable for the remainder of the 2026 financial year after the country reached its allotted annual limit.

This means no further Green Cards can be approved under the EB-2 India category until fresh visa numbers become available with the beginning of the new US financial year on October 1, 2026.

The State Department said it expects the EB-2 final action date to move forward again in October.

However, the extent of the movement will depend on the availability of visa numbers and the number of pending Indian applications.

Indian applicants in the EB-1 category have also suffered a setback. The final action date has moved backwards to October 15, 2022.

The EB-1 category covers priority workers, including people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers.

The State Department said high demand from Indian applicants forced it to move the date backwards to ensure that visa issuances remain within the annual limit.

It also warned that the category could move backwards further or become completely unavailable if India reaches its full EB-1 limit before the end of the financial year.

There was some movement in the EB-3 category for Indian skilled workers and professionals. Its final action date moved forward to January 1, 2014.

The same date applies to the “Other Workers” category. However, the movement remains limited considering the long waiting period faced by Indian applicants.

The dates for filing in both the EB-2 and EB-3 categories remain unchanged at January 15, 2015.

The EB-5 unreserved category for Indian investors has also become unavailable for the rest of the 2026 financial year because of heavy demand.

The State Department said India had exhausted its allotted share of visas under the unreserved EB-5 programme.

Fresh numbers are expected to become available from October, though the new final action date will depend on demand and the annual visa allocation for the 2027 financial year.

However, the three EB-5 set-aside categories covering investments in rural areas, high-unemployment regions and infrastructure projects remain current for Indian applicants.

The final action date determines when a Green Card can actually be approved. Applicants whose priority dates fall before the listed cut-off date may become eligible for final approval, subject to other requirements.

The date for filing determines when eligible applicants may submit their documents or adjustment-of-status applications, depending on which chart US Citizenship and Immigration Services authorises for that month.

The July bulletin underlines the long wait faced by Indians because employment-based Green Cards are subject to annual numerical and per-country limits.

With EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 visas exhausted and EB-1 moving backwards, many Indian applicants may now have to wait until October for possible relief.