US warns EB-1 green cards for Indians may shut down within weeks

The US State Department warns EB-1 green cards for Indian applicants may become unavailable within weeks due to heavy demand. Read the full details here.

The United States has issued a stark warning that employment-based first-preference green cards for Indian applicants could become unavailable within weeks due to high demand. The State Department noted that heavy usage of EB-1 immigrant visa numbers could exhaust India's annual allocation before the fiscal year ends on September 30. The warning comes as India’s EB-2 category remains unavailable and the EB-3 queue stretches back more than 12 years, leaving many Indian professionals facing long waits for green cards.

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EB-1 green card warning for Indians

The US Department of State has issued a fresh warning over the availability of EB-1 immigrant visas for Indian applicants. It said heavy demand could exhaust India's allocated numbers before the US fiscal year ends on September 30, 2026.

"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," they said.

The State Department added that it would continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments if needed.

“This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly,” they said.

What is EB-1 and why does it matter?

EB-1 is the employment-based first-preference green card category. It covers priority workers, including people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers.

For September 2026, the EB-1 final action date for India is October 15, 2022. Generally, an applicant needs a priority date earlier than the listed date for a visa number to be available for final action.

EB-2 India remains unavailable

The warning is especially important for Indians because other major employment-based green card categories are also under pressure.

The EB-2 India category is listed as “U” in the September Visa Bulletin. The State Department uses “U” to indicate that visa numbers are not authorised for issuance in that category during the relevant period.

EB-2 covers professionals with advanced degrees and people with exceptional ability. The category had already become unavailable for Indian applicants before September and remains so in the latest bulletin.

EB-3 India green card backlog stretches years

The backlog is also severe in the EB-3 India category, which covers skilled workers, professionals and certain other workers.

The EB-3 India final action date for September is January 1, 2014. This means the queue for Indian applicants extends back more than 12 years.

By comparison, the EB-3 final action date is September 1, 2024 for most countries not separately listed. It is January 1, 2022 for mainland China and August 1, 2023 for the Philippines.

EB-5 India category also unavailable

India's unreserved EB-5 investor category is also unavailable for final action in September.

However, EB-5 set-aside categories for rural projects, high-unemployment areas and infrastructure projects remain current for all countries.

What are the September filing dates?

The dates for filing applications provide more room than the final action dates. For Indian applicants, the September filing date is December 1, 2023 for EB-1.

For EB-2 and EB-3, the filing date for India is January 15, 2015.

Applicants seeking adjustment of status inside the US should also check which chart the US Citizenship and Immigration Services authorises for use in a particular month.

Why are Indian green card queues so long?

The pressure on Indian employment-based applicants is linked to high demand and statutory limits on the number of employment-based immigrant visas issued each year.

For fiscal year 2026, the worldwide employment-based preference limit is 186,317. US immigration law also generally sets a 7 per cent per-country limit for family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas, subject to provisions that can affect the final calculation.

The State Department has warned that employment-based visa categories can become unavailable before the end of a fiscal year if annual, category or country-specific limits are reached.

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