EB-5 Green Card Category Unavailable for Indians in FY2026

EB-5 Green Card category becomes unavailable for Indians in FY2026.

After EB-2, India's per-country limit has been reached in the EB-5 unreserved category for 2026. The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2027) on October 1, 2026. This means the EB-5 unreserved immigrant visa category for India will remain unavailable through September 30. The category limit for this year was reached in the first week of June. Last month, the limit for EB-2 for India was reached. "The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of employment-based preference immigrant visas that may be issued within a fiscal year. Specifically, INA 203(b)(5) provides that the annual limit for EB-5 visas is 7.1 percent of the worldwide employment limit, of which 68 percent is available for unreserved visa categories (C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, NU). Additionally, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 specifies that unused EB-5 reserved visas from FY 2024 may be made available in the EB-5 unreserved categories for FY 2026. Finally, INA 202(a)(2) establishes that natives of any single foreign state may not receive more than seven percent of the total of employment-based and family-sponsored visas, which is prorated among the different visa categories under INA 202(e)," the USCIS said.

EB-5 Green Card

EB-5 Green Card program is for investors to get a Green Card in the US by generating jobs. Under the current USCIS rule, EB-5 investors have to invest at least $800,000 in a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project and must create at least 10 permanent full-time jobs for US workers. There are two categories in EB-5: reserved and unreserved. Rural projects and infrastructure projects qualify for the reserved category and the rest fall in the unreserved category. For example, a hotel business may fall in the unreserved category.

Who is affected by the pause in the EB-5 (reserved) category?

Those who were supposed to get their Green Card in this category in July, August, and September are affected by the pause. They will now have to wait for the next fiscal year, which begins in October, for their turn. Visa numbers getting exhausted months before the financial year ends indicate a higher number of Indians getting Green Cards through this investment pathway. This visa category has a waiting time of around three to five years. EB-2 is the Green Card that many H-1B visa holders apply for, and the demand from India is understandably very high, with a huge waiting time. But EB-5 is also in high demand, the latest Green Card update indicates.