World

High Demand Could Temporarily Halt EB-1 Approvals for Indians

Published: 8 September 2026 · 1 min read

What Happened

The US State Department has warned that the EB-1 employment-based green card category for Indian applicants could become unavailable before September 30, the end of the current US fiscal year, due to heavy demand. If India’s allocated EB-1 visa numbers are exhausted, new approvals under the category could be temporarily paused until the next fiscal year begins on October 1.

Key Takeaways

The warning adds to the growing challenges faced by Indian green-card applicants. While EB-1 India’s final action date remains October 15, 2022, the EB-2 category is already unavailable, and the EB-3 queue stretches back to January 1, 2014, highlighting the persistent backlog in US employment-based immigration.

Sources

Indian Express, PTC News