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September 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India Still Unavailable, EB-1 India Holds
The U.S. Department of State has released its Visa Bulletin for September 2026, the final bulletin of fiscal year 2026. For Indian green card applicants in particular, it brings more of the same uneasy holding pattern that has defined much of the past two months. Like the last few times, there is no forward movement in the categories that matter most and continued unavailability in one of the largest employment-based lanes. Moreover, now, there is also a standing warning that things could still get worse before the fiscal year closes on September 30.
As always, our EB1A consultants have analyzed the key points and movements of the September bulletin. Let's dive in.
What changed and what didn't
The bulletin, published August 10, 2026, and identified as Number 18 in Volume XI, sets the numerical limits for the year at 226,000 family-sponsored visas and 186,317 employment-based visas worldwide, with the per-country limit fixed at 7 percent of that combined total: 28,862 visas, or roughly 29,136 once carryover provisions are factored in. As has been the case for months, China-mainland born, India, Mexico, and Philippines remain the four oversubscribed chargeability areas subject to that per-country ceiling.
For Indian applicants in the employment-based categories, September brings no movement at all in the two categories most people are actually watching. The EB-1 Final Action Date for India holds at October 15, 2022, exactly where it sat in August. The EB-2 category for India remains marked "U", i.e. unavailable. In other words, the annual limit for that category has already been exhausted and no further visa numbers will be issued to India-chargeable EB-2 applicants until the new fiscal year opens in October. EB-3 for India also holds steady, with a Final Action Date of January 1, 2014. The cutoff is more than a decade old, and it illustrates just how severe the backlog has become in that lane for Indian nationals specifically.
The Dates for Filing chart tells a similar story for India: EB-1 sits at December 1, 2023, EB-2 and EB-3 both sit at January 15, 2015. These filing dates only matter if USCIS elects to use them rather than the Final Action Dates chart for a given month. The applicants should check USCIS's own visa bulletin information page before submitting anything based on these figures.
A standing warning over EB-1 India
Buried in the bulletin's narrative sections is the detail our EB-1A experts are watching most closely. The State Department states plainly: "High demand and number use by aliens chargeable to India in the EB-1 visa category may necessitate making the category unavailable in the coming weeks if India's pro-rated limit in the EB-1 category is reached before the fiscal year ends." That warning first appeared in the August bulletin and has now carried over into September. Essentially unchanged, it is a signal that the pressure on India's EB-1 allocation has not eased in the intervening month.
The bulletin issues a nearly identical caution for EB-2 more broadly: "Sufficient demand and increased number use in the EB-2 visa category may make it necessary to retrogress the final action date or make the category unavailable before the end of the fiscal year." A parallel warning applies to the EB-5 Unreserved category as well. Because September is the last month of fiscal year 2026, any of these categories could technically run out of numbers before September 30 arrives, which would mean no further visas issued in that category until October 1, when the FY2027 allocation resets.
Practically, this puts EB-1 India applicants with priority dates before October 15, 2022 in a race against the calendar.
Why the categories have tightened this Fiscal Year
Section C of the bulletin offers the clearest explanation the State Department has given for why so many categories have needed adjustment this year. It states that immigrant visa issuance rates for nationals of certain countries have decreased "in light of various actions the administration has taken to protect national security and public safety". In other words, it specifically cites Presidential Proclamation 10949 and Presidential Proclamation 10998, along with the department's own immigrant visa processing updates targeting nationalities considered at high risk of public benefits usage.
Because those slowdowns freed up numbers that would otherwise have gone unused, the State Department says it has been advancing dates in other categories throughout recent months specifically "to make visas available... to sufficient prospective immigrants from other countries to use immigrant visa numbers that are available in FY 2026." In effect, unused capacity from restricted nationalities has been redirected toward clearing backlog elsewhere. However, the bulletin cautions this is a moving target: "as additional immigrant visa demand materializes, or administration actions are amended, retrogression may be necessary in the upcoming months to keep issuances within annual limits."
Family-sponsored categories: modest movement, except for Mexico and Philippines
On the family-sponsored side, September's Final Action Dates show incremental movement across most chargeability areas. F2A (spouses and children of permanent residents) advanced to August 22, 2026 for all areas except Mexico, which sits at August 22, 2025. F1 (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) is stalled at January 22, 2020 for most countries, while Mexico's F1 cutoff remains at January 1, 2008 and Philippines at May 1, 2013.
What this means for the diversity visa program
The bulletin also carries a pointed reminder for Diversity Visa lottery winners: entitlement to DV-2026 status expires at the end of the fiscal year, regardless of whether a visa number was actually used. "The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2026 program ends as of September 30, 2026," the bulletin states, adding that "DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2026 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30." For DV-2026 selectees who have not yet completed their case, September represents a non-negotiable deadline: there is no rolling over into the next fiscal year.
What applicants should do now
Our EB-1A attorney friends are broadly advising against sitting on a nearly-ready case this month. If documentation can be completed and submitted before the category is potentially declared unavailable, doing so now removes the risk of losing the filing window entirely for the rest of the fiscal year. EB-2 India applicants, meanwhile, have no such lever to pull this month. The category is already shut for new number allocation and will stay that way until October.
At GCEB1, our EB-1A consultants are staying tuned to all the changes in the US immigration landscape. To get a personalized evaluation of your profile and immigration assistance, get in touch with us today. We wish you a safe and stress-free immigration journey ahead.
Frequently asked questions
1. Did the EB-1 India Final Action Date move in September 2026?
No. It remains at October 15, 2022, unchanged from August 2026.
2. Is EB-2 still unavailable for India in September 2026?
Yes. EB-2 India is marked "U" (unavailable) in the September 2026 Final Action Dates chart, meaning the annual numerical limit for that category has already been reached for the fiscal year.
3. Could EB-1 India become unavailable before the fiscal year ends?
It's possible. The State Department has explicitly warned that high demand could force it to make the EB-1 India category unavailable before September 30, 2026, if India's pro-rated limit is reached.
4. What is the EB-3 India Final Action Date this month?
January 1, 2014, unchanged from the prior bulletin.
5. Why have several categories tightened or become unavailable this fiscal year?
The State Department attributes part of the pressure to reduced visa issuance for nationals of certain countries under recent presidential proclamations and immigrant visa processing changes, which has led it to advance dates elsewhere to use up available annual numbers: a balancing act that can require retrogression if demand shifts.
6. What happens to unused Diversity Visa (DV-2026) entitlements after September 30?
They expire. DV-2026 selectees, along with their derivative spouses and children, lose entitlement to diversity-based status as of September 30, 2026, and visas may not be issued to them after that date even if their case wasn't completed.
7. Which chart should applicants use to file for adjustment of status: Final Action Dates or Dates for Filing?
It depends on which chart USCIS designates for that month, which is announced separately on the USCIS website at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo. Applicants should confirm the current month's designation rather than assume.
8. Does a category becoming "unavailable" mean the backlog restarts from zero?
No. It means no further visa numbers are being issued in that category for the remainder of the current fiscal year. Numbers reset with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, and existing priority dates carry over.
9. Will things improve for India-chargeable EB categories in October 2026?
Historically, the start of a new fiscal year resets the annual visa number allocation and can produce fresh forward movement in backlogged categories. However, the bulletin does not guarantee this, and the extent of any movement will depend on how much demand has accumulated and how FY2027's annual limits are set.
Source
travel.state.gov — Visa Bulletin For September 2026
