Indian professionals awaiting employment-based US green cards may face additional delays after the US State Department flagged a possible visa shortage in the EB-1 India category. The August 2026 Visa Bulletin kept the EB-1 India Final Action Date unchanged at October 15, 2022.
The department cited strong demand and higher-than-expected visa usage as reasons for the warning. If annual visa numbers are exhausted, the category could become unavailable before the end of the US fiscal year on September 30, 2026.
The State Department stated that increasing demand for immigrant visas has accelerated the utilisation of available visa numbers in recent months. As a result, the EB-1 India category may become unavailable before the fiscal year concludes.
The Final Action Date for the category remains fixed at October 15, 2022, indicating no forward movement for Indian applicants. An unavailable status would mean that new immigrant visas cannot be issued in that category until fresh visa allocations become available.
The latest bulletin offered limited progress across employment-based green card categories for India. The EB-2 category continues to remain unavailable for Indian applicants, reflecting ongoing visa number constraints.
Meanwhile, the EB-3 Final Action Date remains at January 1, 2014, with no advancement recorded in the August update. These developments highlight the continued backlog faced by Indian professionals seeking permanent residency through employment-based routes.
For applicants already residing in the United States, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the Final Action Dates chart will be used for employment-based adjustment of status filings in August. This means individuals can proceed with permanent residence applications only if their priority date is earlier than the applicable Final Action Date.
Applicants whose priority dates fall after the cut-off date must continue waiting for visa availability. The policy directly affects thousands of employment-based applicants monitoring monthly visa bulletin movements.
While India saw no advancement in key categories, some other countries recorded modest progress. China's EB-1 Final Action Date moved forward by 1 month to July 1, 2023. The Worldwide EB-3 category also advanced by 1 month, reaching September 1, 2024.
Despite these gains, the State Department cautioned that additional retrogression or category unavailability could occur if demand continues to exceed available visa numbers before the fiscal year ends.
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The August 2026 Visa Bulletin signals continued challenges for Indian professionals in the employment-based green card queue. The unchanged EB-1 India Final Action Date and the warning of possible visa unavailability underscore pressure on annual visa allocations.
Other major categories, including EB-2 and EB-3, also showed little or no progress for Indian applicants. With the new US fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2026, the coming weeks remain significant for applicants awaiting movement in employment-based immigration categories.
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Published on: Jul 21, 2026, 1:00 PM IST
Akshay Shivalkar
Akshay Shivalkar is a financial content specialist who strategises and creates SEO-optimised content on the stock market, mutual funds, and other investment products. With experience in fintech and mutual funds, he simplifies complex financial concepts to help investors make informed decisions through his writing.
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