Indian professionals waiting for permanent residency in the United States are facing renewed uncertainty after the US State Department warned that employment-based EB-1 visa numbers for India could run out before the end of the current fiscal year.
The warning appears in the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, which notes that continued demand and the rapid use of visa numbers could push India's EB-1 allocation to its annual limit before September 30, the final day of the US fiscal year.
What Is the EB-1 Category?
EB-1 is the first-preference employment-based immigration category. It covers priority workers such as individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers.
The State Department has cautioned that if India's pro-rated allocation is exhausted before the fiscal year closes, the category could be declared temporarily unavailable. In that situation, additional EB-1 visa numbers would not be issued until the new fiscal year begins on October 1.
The department said it would continue monitoring demand and make adjustments if necessary.
EB-1 Cutoff Remains Unchanged
For September, the EB-1 final action date for India is October 15, 2022, unchanged from the previous month. In general, applicants need a priority date earlier than the published cutoff for their case to qualify for final action, subject to other eligibility requirements.
The separate dates-for-filing chart gives Indian EB-1 applicants a filing date of December 1, 2023 for September.
EB-2 Already Unavailable for India
The latest EB-1 warning comes as Indian applicants are already facing severe restrictions in other employment-based categories.
The EB-2 category is listed as unavailable for India in the September bulletin. EB-2 covers professionals with advanced degrees and individuals with exceptional ability.
The EB-3 category also remains heavily backlogged. Its final action date for Indian applicants is January 1, 2014, meaning applicants with later priority dates must continue waiting for visa availability.
For September, the EB-2 and EB-3 filing date for India is January 15, 2015, although applicants seeking adjustment of status in the US must verify which Visa Bulletin chart is authorised for use by US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Why India Faces Such Long Queues
The prolonged wait for Indian applicants is linked to the US employment-based immigration system's annual visa limits and country-specific restrictions.
High demand from India means far more applicants seek employment-based green cards than the number of immigrant visas available to them each year. The combination of these limits has resulted in substantial backlogs across several employment-based categories.
For applicants already in the queue, the possible exhaustion of EB-1 numbers before September 30 adds another layer of uncertainty. If the category becomes unavailable, they may have to wait until the next fiscal year for fresh visa numbers to become available.
The State Department's latest warning therefore serves as an important signal for Indian professionals monitoring their green-card cases as the current US fiscal year draws to a close.
