Final Action Date (FAD)
August 2026
Unavailable
September 2026
Unavailable
What it allows
USCIS can issue your green card
When USCIS receives your I-140 petition, it assigns a date, known as your priority date, that is unique to your application.
Every month, USCIS releases a visa bulletin with a cutoff date indicating when you can move to the next step in your petition. They also announce whether you must use the Final Action Date chart or the Dates for Filing chart to know if you are eligible to file for adjustment of status (Form I-485).
When the dates are announced, they’re basically saying the system is currently eligible to process only those cases filed before that date. Everyone else in the queue has to continue waiting.
This article is written for applicants who want to know where things currently are and what alternative options they have.
According to the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 India is Unavailable for Final Action. No EB-2 numbers are being issued to India applicants this month. The Dates for Filing cutoff is still 15 January 2015.
USCIS announced that for September 2026, all employment-based (EB-1) visa applicants must use the Final Action Dates chart. Since EB-2 India has no current Final Action Date, no EB-2 India case can be approved this month, whether through adjustment of status of consular processing.
What this means for you;
Note: If you’re not sure where your priority date stands, use this priority date tracker to monitor the Visa Bulletin each month and see when your window might open.
The “Final Action Date” is when USCIS can approve or issue your green card, or a consulate can issue your immigrant visa.
The “Dates for Filing” is an earlier date that allows you to file your Form I-485 before your priority date is current.
For September 2026, USCIS is using the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based categories. Because EB-2 India has no Final Action Date this month, no EB-2 India case can be approved regardless of when the I-140 was filed.
Here’s what the September 2026 visa bulletin shows for India across all employment-based visa categories:
Two things stand out in this table. First, EB-2 India and EB-5 Unreserved India are both unavailable this month, a rare overlap. Second, EB-3 India's Final Action Date of January 1, 2014 is now ahead of EB-2 India. For applicants who filed both an EB-2 and an EB-3 petition, or who are weighing a downgrade, this inversion changes the calculation.
The backlog is so severe because there is a cap on the total number of employment-based green cards a country can receive, regardless of how many applicants come from that country.
The total number of EB visas available worldwide for 2026 is 140,000. With the 7% cap, India has approximately 9,800 visas shared across the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories.
However, this number is very small compared to the large number of skilled Indian workers in the United States. Tens of thousands of Indian nationals file employment-based petitions every year, exceeding the country's available visas and compounding the backlog.
Additionally, each visa issued includes the principal applicant’s spouse and children. Meaning, a family of four uses four visas from India’s annual allocation, further reducing the number of people who can clear the backlog each year.
EB-2 India held a Final Action Date of July 15, 2014 as recently as spring 2026. By August 2026, the category had moved to fully unavailable, and it remained unavailable through September 2026, the final month of the 2026 fiscal year.
The State Department has attributed this to demand in the EB-2 category exceeding annual supply. It has also indicated that other categories, including EB-1 India and EB-5 Unreserved, carry similar risk of retrogression or unavailability before the fiscal year closes on September 30, 2026.
EB-2 India has now been unavailable for two consecutive months, August and September 2026. This shows that the EB-2 visa allocation for 2026 has been fully used.
Every fiscal year, the U.S. government allocates a fixed number of employment-based immigrant visas, which run from October 1 to September 30. Once those numbers are used up for a given country and category, they can no longer issue new visas, regardless of your position in the queue, until the next fiscal year begins..
FY2027 opens on October 1, 2026, when a new supply of employment-based visas becomes available and EB-2 India processing can resume.
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FY 2027 begins on October 1, 2026. This is when a new supply of employment-based visas will be available, allowing applicants to resume processing. Based on historic trends and current data, here’s our forecast for the EB-2 India Priority date;
While all three outcomes are possible, the base scenario is the most likely given recent historical trends.
Note: The forecasts below are not guarantees or legal predictions; they are solely based on current data and trends.
Sometimes, not all available EB-1 visas are used. If that happens, the unused visa numbers can be transferred to EB-2 applicants. This can help to reduce wait times for people in the EB-2 India backlog, but it is impossible to know in advance how many extra visa numbers will be available.
As of January 2026, roughly 27,700 EB-2 adjustment of status applications (Form I-485) were pending. When new visa numbers become available, these applicants will be ahead in the queue. Because so many people are already in line, processing times may remain slow even after new visa numbers become available.
The State Department has already flagged that EB-1 India, EB-2 across all countries, and EB-5 Unreserved could retrogress or become unavailable again before FY2026 closes. If FY2027 opens under similar pressure, a large share of the year's new visas could be used quickly.
Some lawmakers have suggested changing the rules that limit the number of green card applicants from a single country that can receive each year. However, no changes have been approved yet.
Given that EB-2 India closed FY2026 unavailable rather than retrogressing gradually, the most realistic expectation is that FY2027 opens with a fresh date. We will only know the new date when the October 2026 bulletin drops. Applicants with a priority date from 2018 or later should plan for a long wait in years.
According to Beyond Borders’ attorneys, here are five other approaches to keep you moving forward on your green card application;
The difference between the EB-1A and EB-2 wait times is significant. As of September 2026, the EB-1A India Final Action Date is October 15, 2022, while EB-2 India has no Final Action Date at all.
The EB-1A is for individuals with extraordinary ability in their field. To be eligible, you need to meet at least 3 of the 10 criteria from USCIS. Examples include receiving a notable award, featuring in a major publication, or judging the work of others in your field.
If your career has grown significantly since you filed your EB-2 petition, you may already be eligible for EB-1A. The best way to find out is to review your achievements against the EB-1A criteria.
If the EB-2 backlog is delaying your green card plans and you want to switch to an EB-1A visa, it’s best to consult an immigration attorney. Beyond Border specializes in EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-2 NIW petitions for Indian professionals. Book a strategy call to evaluate whether an EB-1A upgrade could move your green card forward by years.
The EB-3 India Final Action Date is January 1, 2014 is now ahead of EB-2 India, which currently has no date. Meaning, if your priority date is at or before January 1, 2014 can file Form I-485 under EB-3 now.
The good news is that you can keep your existing EB-2 priority date if you downgrade to an EB-3. Nonetheless, downgrading also comes with its own risks. If EB-3 India retrogresses after you have downgraded, you may find yourself in a slower category than the EB-2.
Compare your options: EB-2 vs EB-3: Differences, Timing & Strategy (2026)
If your spouse was born outside India, that’s another option to reduce your wait time. In some cases, you can use your spouse’s country of birth instead of your own. This is known as cross-charegeability.
Here’s what it looks like;
If you were born in India but your spouse was born in Canada, the United Kingdom, or another country entirely, and there is little or no backlog, you may be able to move forward with your green card application more quickly than you would under India’s priority date.
But it comes with a few rules: Both you and your spouse must be co-applicants in the same green card application, and a visa number must be available under the spouse’s country. It’s not as straightforward as it sounds, so make sure to consult with an immigration attorney.
Waiting for your green card doesn’t mean you have to stay in the same job the entire time. If you’ve already filed your I-485 and it has been pending for at least 180 days, you can leverage the AC21 Act to change jobs without affecting your green card application.
However, the new role you get must be in the same or a similar occupation as the one listed on your original petition.
It’s important to know that the AC21 does not help you file your I-485 sooner. You must still have a current priority date to submit the application. If you’re considering this option, make sure to speak with an immigration attorney, as the wrong move can affect your case if not structured properly.
Beyond Border is a U.S. employment-based immigration firm that specializes in O1A, EB-1A, EB-2A, NIW, L-1, and H-1B cases.
If you don’t want to be on the queue for so long and are considering other options, we provide you with a structural assessment and case planning that shows your timeline, filing windows, and what other employment-based visa options, whether EB-1A petition or EB-2 NIW self-petition, you’re eligible for. We also offer a dedicated case team and offer same-day advisory where needed.
If you’re already on H-1B status, we also manage H-1B extensions beyond the six-year cap so you can continue working while your green card status matures.
Book a strategy call to evaluate your options and move forward with your petition.
As of early 2026, the Final Action Date for EB2 India sits at approximately 1 September , 2013. Only applicants who filed their I-140 petitions before that date can currently receive green card approvals. All others remain in the queue and cannot receive a green card until dates advance further.
India receives roughly 2,800 to 3,000 EB2 green cards per year under the 7% per-country cap. The global EB2 allocation is approximately 40,000 visas annually, and no single country can exceed 7% of that number regardless of how many qualified applicants are waiting.
No. The National Interest Waiver removes the labor certification requirement and allows self-petitioning, but it has no effect on priority date timelines. Indian EB2 NIW applicants face the same 13 to 17 year wait as employer-sponsored EB2 applicants from India.
Approximately 395,958 approved I-140 petitions are waiting for available visa numbers, with around 90% originating from Indian nationals. That amounts to roughly 356,000 Indian-origin applicants in the backlog, not counting their spouses and dependent children.
Yes, but only when USCIS authorizes use of the Dates for Filing chart, applicants with slightly later priority dates can submit their I-485. This grants access to work authorization and advance parole, but the actual green card won't be issued until the Final Action Date reaches your priority date.
File your EB2 petition now to lock in the earliest possible priority date, then spend the next few years building credentials for an EB1 petition. If the EB1 is approved, you can port your earlier EB2 priority date onto the new case. This is the most practical way to accelerate a timeline that the current system makes very difficult to shorten.
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Email: info@beyondborderglobal.com
