Trump Government Warns EB-1 Green Card Could Become Unavailable For Indians If Demand Remains High
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Thousands of Indian professionals waiting for permanent residency in the US could face another setback, with the US State Department warning that the EB-1 employment-based green card category may become unavailable before the end of the current fiscal year if demand from Indian applicants remains high.
The warning has been issued in the September US Visa Bulletin, which states that continued use of EB-1 visa numbers by Indian applicants at the current rate could exhaust the annual limit for the category before the fiscal year ends on September 30.
Why EB-1 Is Under Pressure
The US State Department said it is closely monitoring visa number usage and could make regulatory adjustments if required. The pressure comes from a combination of limited employment-based immigrant visa numbers and strong demand from Indian applicants.
For fiscal year 2026, the worldwide annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas is 186,317. US immigration law also generally applies a 7% per-country limit to family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas, although certain unused visa numbers can be carried forward under specific circumstances.
If the available EB-1 numbers are exhausted, the category could be declared “unavailable” until the next fiscal year.
What Is The EB-1 Green Card Category?
EB-1 is the first-priority category among employment-based US green cards. It covers people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, as well as certain multinational executives and managers.
The category is particularly important for Indian professionals because other employment-based routes already have lengthy backlogs.
For September, the EB-1 India Final Action Date is October 15, 2022. This means Indian applicants with priority dates earlier than that date are eligible to move forward with the final stage of their green card process, subject to the applicable requirements.
EB-2 Remains Unavailable For Indians
The situation is also difficult for Indian applicants under EB-2, a category widely used by professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability.
The September Visa Bulletin lists EB-2 India as “U”, meaning unavailable. The category was also unavailable to Indian applicants in August.
The EB-3 category has an even longer backlog. Its September Final Action Date for India is January 1, 2014, leaving Indian applicants with priority dates after that point facing a queue stretching back more than 12 years.
For comparison, the EB-3 Final Action Date is September 1, 2024, for most countries, January 1, 2022, for China and August 1, 2023, for the Philippines.
EB-5 Also Unavailable For Indian Investors
The EB-5 category for Indian investors is also listed as unavailable under the September Final Action Dates.
However, certain reserved EB-5 categories remain available. These include visas set aside for investments in rural areas, areas with high unemployment and qualifying infrastructure projects.
September Filing Dates For Indians
The dates for filing new applications are ahead of the Final Action Dates in several employment-based categories.
For Indian applicants, the September filing dates are:
- EB-1: December 1, 2023
- EB-2: January 15, 2015
- EB-3: January 15, 2015
However, Indians seeking to adjust their status from within the US must check which Visa Bulletin chart USCIS has designated for accepting adjustment-of-status applications during the month.
The possibility of EB-1 becoming unavailable adds to the uncertainty for Indian professionals already facing significant green card backlogs across the employment-based immigration system.
