U.S. Immigration Brief

VERIFIED NEWS · VISA AVAILABILITY

September Visa Bulletin makes India EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 unavailable

The State Department’s final monthly bulletin for fiscal year 2026 changes several family- and employment-based cutoff dates. Two India employment categories are marked unavailable for September.

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By U.S. Immigration Brief Editorial DeskLast verified August 26, 2026

India EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 are unavailable for final action

For September, the bulletin marks the India employment-based second preference category and India’s unreserved employment-based fifth preference category with “U.” The State Department defines “U” as unauthorized: visa numbers are not authorized for issuance in that category during the month.

In August, India EB-2 had a final action date of January 15, 2015, and India’s unreserved EB-5 category had a final action date of May 1, 2024. The September change therefore closes final-action availability in those two India categories for the remainder of fiscal year 2026 unless the State Department issues a later adjustment.

Several other employment dates move backward

The September final-action chart moves India EB-1 from December 1, 2023, to October 15, 2022. China EB-1 moves from December 1, 2023, to July 1, 2023. India EB-3 moves from January 15, 2015, to January 1, 2014, while the worldwide EB-3 date changes from current to September 1, 2024.

The bulletin also warns that high demand could make India EB-1 unavailable and could cause further retrogression or unavailability in EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 before the fiscal year ends. Those statements are forecasts, not separate final changes already made.

Family-sponsored final-action dates generally advance

For the worldwide column, September moves F1 from December 15, 2018, to January 22, 2020; F2B from January 1, 2018, to August 22, 2019; F3 from May 15, 2012, to October 22, 2014; and F4 from September 1, 2009, to October 22, 2011. Country-specific dates can differ, so those worldwide movements should not be applied to every chargeability area.

Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing are not interchangeable

The bulletin publishes two sets of charts. Final Action Dates control when a visa number may be authorized for final action. Dates for Filing identify when the State Department may invite document submission in consular cases. For adjustment-of-status filings with USCIS, the bulletin directs readers to USCIS for the chart the agency permits that month.

This article reports the federal publication and compares its tables. It does not calculate whether any person’s priority date is current, choose a filing chart, or recommend when to submit a case.

Primary federal sources

Corrections: We publish material corrections transparently and update the verification date. No corrections have been made to this article.