The U.S. Department of State has confirmed that the employment-based EB-2 quota for India is now fully exhausted for fiscal-year 2026, rendering the category “unavailable” until 1 October 2026. The announcement—reflected in the June Visa Bulletin and dissected by EB-5 advisory site Beyond EB-5 on 29 May—means no new green cards can be issued to Indians under EB-2 (advanced degree or exceptional ability) for the next four months. The shutdown deepens an already grim backlog: the final-action date had stalled at 1 September 2013, implying a 12-year wait even before numbers ran out. While USCIS will continue accepting adjustment-of-status filings where dates are current, adjudication cannot be finalised without an available visa number.
![U.S. EB-2 Category for India Closes Until FY 2027; EB-5 ‘Rural Reserved’ Remains Wide Open]()
If you need guidance on navigating these shifting visa categories or securing interim travel documents, VisaHQ’s India team can help streamline the paperwork and keep your plans on track—visit https://www.visahq.com/india/ to learn more about their comprehensive support.
Thousands of Indian H-1B holders in the queue now face renewed uncertainty over job mobility, travel and spouse work authorisation. Paradoxically, Congress’s 2022 EB-5 Reform & Integrity Act carved out separate visa pools—20 % for rural, 10 % for high-unemployment projects—that remain “Current” for India. Investors able to deploy USD 800,000 into a qualifying rural project can file an I-526E petition and, if inside the U.S., a concurrent I-485, obtaining work and travel permits within months. Advisories note a 30 September 2026 grandfathering deadline to lock in today’s rules. Indian corporates now face critical talent-planning choices. Options include: (1) maintaining key staff on H-1B extensions while absorbing travel-risks; (2) exploring inter-company L-1 transfers; or (3) supporting executives in self-petition categories such as EB-1 C multinational manager or the EB-5 investment route. Immigration counsel recommend beginning PERM audits early for FY 2027 filings in case next year’s quota again disappears rapidly. Take-away for employees: file any EB-2-based I-485 promptly if your priority date is current under Chart B; renew advance-parole documents well in advance; and assess whether an EB-5 reserved petition could offer a faster, employer-independent path to a green card.
If you need guidance on navigating these shifting visa categories or securing interim travel documents, VisaHQ’s India team can help streamline the paperwork and keep your plans on track—visit https://www.visahq.com/india/ to learn more about their comprehensive support.
Thousands of Indian H-1B holders in the queue now face renewed uncertainty over job mobility, travel and spouse work authorisation. Paradoxically, Congress’s 2022 EB-5 Reform & Integrity Act carved out separate visa pools—20 % for rural, 10 % for high-unemployment projects—that remain “Current” for India. Investors able to deploy USD 800,000 into a qualifying rural project can file an I-526E petition and, if inside the U.S., a concurrent I-485, obtaining work and travel permits within months. Advisories note a 30 September 2026 grandfathering deadline to lock in today’s rules. Indian corporates now face critical talent-planning choices. Options include: (1) maintaining key staff on H-1B extensions while absorbing travel-risks; (2) exploring inter-company L-1 transfers; or (3) supporting executives in self-petition categories such as EB-1 C multinational manager or the EB-5 investment route. Immigration counsel recommend beginning PERM audits early for FY 2027 filings in case next year’s quota again disappears rapidly. Take-away for employees: file any EB-2-based I-485 promptly if your priority date is current under Chart B; renew advance-parole documents well in advance; and assess whether an EB-5 reserved petition could offer a faster, employer-independent path to a green card.
