The State Department's Visa Bulletin for September 2026 marks two employment-based green card categories for India — EB-2 and the EB-5 unreserved investor category — as Unavailable, meaning no further visa numbers go out in either this fiscal year. The count resets on 1 October 2026, the first day of fiscal year 2027.
In this guide4 sections
| Status | Category | India final action date (Sep 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Oversubscribed | EB-1 Priority Workers | 15 October 2022 |
| No numbers issued for the rest of FY2026 | EB-2 Advanced Degree / Exceptional Ability | Unavailable |
| Oversubscribed | EB-3 Skilled Workers / Professionals | 1 January 2014 |
| Oversubscribed | EB-3 Other Workers | 1 January 2014 |
| Oversubscribed | EB-4 Certain Special Immigrants | 15 December 2022 |
| No numbers issued for the rest of FY2026 | EB-5 Unreserved (C5, T5, I5, R5, NU, RU) | Unavailable |
| Numbers available | EB-5 Set-Asides (Rural / High-Unemployment / Infrastructure) | Current |
Updated 24 Aug 2026 · Source: US Department of State, Visa Bulletin for September 2026, Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases (checked 24 Aug 2026)
What "Unavailable" actually means#
The bulletin's own definition is blunt: "'U' means unauthorized, i.e., numbers are not authorized for issuance." Congress caps employment-based immigrant visas worldwide at 186,317 for the fiscal year, with each country's per-country share set at 7% — 28,862 numbers. Once demand for a category and country exhausts that year's allocation, the State Department stops issuing numbers outright rather than pushing the cutoff date further back, and the category shows "U" until the new fiscal year begins.
Where India's other employment categories stand#
EB-1 (priority workers) sits at a final action date of 15 October 2022. EB-3 (skilled workers and professionals) and its Other Workers sub-category are both at 1 January 2014. EB-4 (certain special immigrants) is at 15 December 2022. Applicants whose priority date falls before the relevant cutoff can still have a visa number issued in September; everyone else waits. EB-5 set-aside categories — rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure investments — stay "Current" for India, unaffected by the unreserved category's shutdown.
Why this is not unusual, and what changes on 1 October#
India's EB-2 and EB-3 have run oversubscribed for years, so a category going fully unavailable in the fiscal year's final month is a familiar pattern. The EB-5 unreserved category is the less routine part: it rarely exhausts its India allocation before year-end. Both reset when fiscal year 2027 opens — the October 2026 bulletin will carry fresh annual numbers, and USCIS separately confirms each month which chart, Final Action Dates or Dates for Filing, applicants may use for adjustment-of-status filings.
This does not touch the tourist visa#
None of this affects the B1/B2 visitor visa that most Indian travellers apply for — that category has no annual numerical cap of this kind. For the visa most readers actually need, see our guide on US visa fees from India.
VisaGyan is an independent journal, not affiliated with the US government. Check travel.state.gov's Visa Bulletin directly before relying on any date here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an Unavailable status mean in the Visa Bulletin?
- It means the annual numerical limit Congress set for that category and country has already been reached, so the State Department stops authorizing any further visa numbers until the next fiscal year opens on 1 October 2026.
- Which employment-based categories are unavailable for India in September 2026?
- Two — EB-2, covering advanced-degree and exceptional-ability professionals, and the EB-5 unreserved investor category. EB-1, EB-3 and EB-4 for India still carry final action dates rather than a full stop, so some applicants in those categories can still get a visa number this month.
- What are September's final action dates for India's other employment categories?
- EB-1 is 15 October 2022, EB-3 (including the Other Workers sub-category) is 1 January 2014, and EB-4 is 15 December 2022. Only an applicant whose priority date falls before the relevant cutoff can have a visa number issued this month.
- Does this affect the B1/B2 tourist visa most Indians apply for?
- No. The Visa Bulletin governs only immigrant categories — family-sponsored and employment-based green cards. B1/B2 and other nonimmigrant visas are not numerically capped this way and are unaffected.