The US State Department’s July 2026 Visa Bulletin has delivered another setback for Indian employment-based green card applicants, marking EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 as unavailable while pushing the EB-1 Final Action Date backwards by two months.

The bulletin, released as the United States approaches the final quarter of fiscal year 2026, reflects heavy demand for the limited number of employment-based immigrant visas available to Indian applicants.

EB-1 India’s Final Action Date has retrogressed from December 15, 2022, in June to October 15, 2022, in July. This means only applicants with priority dates earlier than October 15, 2022, can move towards final approval, subject to other eligibility requirements.

Explaining the move, the State Department cited “high demand and number use” and warned that “further retrogression or making the category unavailable may be necessary” before the fiscal year ends on September 30.

Employment-based Final Action Dates – India (July 2026)

EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 become unavailable

The sharpest blow comes for Indian applicants in the EB-2 category, which covers professionals holding advanced degrees and people with exceptional ability.

The category has been marked “U”, or unavailable, in July, compared with a Final Action Date of September 1, 2013, in the June bulletin. The State Department said India’s prorated EB-2 limit had been reached, leaving the category “unavailable for the remainder of FY 2026”.

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No EB-2 immigrant visa numbers can be issued to Indian applicants until the annual limits reset at the beginning of fiscal year 2027 on October 1, 2026.

The State Department said the EB-2 India Final Action Date is likely to advance in October to at least the date published in the May 2026 bulletin. However, the actual cutoff will depend on demand from Indian applicants and the employment-based visa allocation for fiscal year 2027.

Unreserved EB-5 India has also been marked unavailable, moving from a Final Action Date of May 1, 2022, in June to “U” in July. This category covers investors applying outside the reserved rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure investment pools.

The department similarly said unreserved EB-5 India would remain unavailable for the rest of fiscal year 2026. It expects the category’s Final Action Date to advance in October to at least the cutoff announced in the June bulletin, although the movement will depend on demand and the new annual allocation.

EB-3 and EB-4 offer limited relief

Not every employment-based category moved backwards.

The Final Action Date for EB-3 skilled workers and professionals advanced slightly, from December 15, 2013, to January 1, 2014. The cutoff for the Other Workers category recorded the same movement.

EB-4, covering certain special immigrants, advanced by two months, from July 15, 2022, to September 15, 2022.

Despite the forward movement, EB-3 India remains backlogged by more than 12 years, underlining the long wait faced by Indian professionals in the traditional employment-based green card system.

Employment-based Dates for Filing – India (July 2026)

Filing dates remain unchanged

The Dates for Filing chart remained unchanged for every Indian employment-based category.

The EB-1 filing date stays at December 1, 2023, while EB-2, EB-3 and Other Workers remain at January 15, 2015. EB-4 stays at January 1, 2023, and unreserved EB-5 remains at May 1, 2024.

The filing chart indicates when applicants may begin submitting documents, while the Final Action Dates chart determines when a visa number is available for approval.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services said employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants must use the Final Action Dates chart in July. Applicants seeking to submit Form I-485 must therefore have a priority date earlier than the applicable Final Action Date.

That leaves Indian applicants in EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 unable to file under those categories in July because both have been designated unavailable.

Applications submitted earlier can remain pending, but final green card approvals cannot be issued unless a visa number becomes available.

EB-5 reserved categories remain current

The three EB-5 set-aside categories remain current for all countries, including India and China.

These include investments in rural projects, high-unemployment areas and infrastructure projects. Because they remain current, eligible applicants do not face a priority-date cutoff and may be able to file their immigrant petition and adjustment-of-status application concurrently, subject to USCIS rules.

The set-aside categories now stand out as one of the few employment-based routes without a backlog for Indian applicants, even as the unreserved EB-5 queue remains closed.

Family-sponsored categories show selective movement

While employment-based applicants saw setbacks, some family-sponsored categories for India recorded limited forward movement.

Family-sponsored Final Action Dates – India (July 2026)

The July bulletin offers a more favourable picture for several Indian family-sponsored categories.

The F1 Final Action Date for unmarried adult sons and daughters of US citizens advanced by five months, from September 1, 2017, to February 1, 2018.

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F2B, covering unmarried adult sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents, moved from September 22, 2017, to November 22, 2017. F3, for married sons and daughters of US citizens, advanced from February 15, 2012, to April 15, 2012.

The F2A cutoff for spouses and minor children of permanent residents remained unchanged at January 1, 2025, while F4 India, covering siblings of adult US citizens, stayed at November 1, 2006.

Family-sponsored Dates for Filing – India (June 2026)

The family-sponsored filing chart also recorded selective movement. F1 advanced from October 1, 2018, to January 1, 2019, while F2B moved from March 22, 2018, to June 8, 2018.

F2A remained current, while the F3 and F4 filing dates were unchanged at December 8, 2012, and December 15, 2006, respectively.

For Indian professionals, however, the July bulletin points to mounting pressure as the fiscal year draws to a close. With EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 unavailable and EB-1 moving backwards again, further restrictions cannot be ruled out before visa allocations reset on October 1.