September 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 Holds Current as the Fiscal Year Ends

The September 2026 Visa Bulletin keeps most employment-based categories steady, with EB-2 remaining Current on the Final Action Dates chart for all countries, except India and China. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has again designated the Final Action Dates chart as September’s operative chart for employment-based adjustment of status filings. 

For eligible Rest of World applicants with an approved or pending Form I-140, the green card filing window that opened earlier in the year remains open. Green cards can be approved during this window, though processing timelines still vary case by case.  

September is also the final month of fiscal year 2026, which ends on September 30. The dates held steady, but the Department of State again warns that EB-2, EB-1 India, and the EB-5 Unreserved category could move backward or become unavailable before the fiscal year ends if annual limits are reached. A Current date shows availability today, but it does not guarantee that a category will still have visa numbers on September 30.  

September 2026 Employment-Based Final Action Dates

The table below shows the Final Action Dates for the employment-based preference categories in September 2026. The Final Action Date is the cutoff that controls when a green card can actually be approved or an immigrant visa issued.  

A priority date is the date that fixes an applicant’s place in line, usually set when the underlying petition was filed. Under this bulletin, EB-2 works as a single second-preference category for priority date purposes, covering both EB-2 PERM and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases.  

Category	All (Rest of World and Mexico)	China	India	Philippines
EB-1 (1st)	Current	01 JUL 2023	15 OCT 2022	Current
EB-2 (2nd)	Current	01 SEP 2021	Unavailable	Current
EB-3 (3rd)	01 SEP 2024	01 JAN 2022	01 JAN 2014	01 AUG 2023
Other Workers	01 APR 2022	01 MAY 2019	01 JAN 2014	01 DEC 2021
EB-4 (4th)	15 DEC 2022	15 DEC 2022	15 DEC 2022	15 DEC 2022
Certain Religious Workers	15 DEC 2022	15 DEC 2022	15 DEC 2022	15 DEC 2022
EB-5 Unreserved	Current	01 DEC 2016	Unavailable	Current
EB-5 Rural (Set-Aside)	Current	Current	Current	Current
EB-5 High Unemployment (Set-Aside)	Current	Current	Current	Current
EB-5 Infrastructure (Set-Aside)	Current	Current	Current	Current

Source: U.S. Department of State, September 2026 Visa Bulletin, Volume XI, Number 18. 

Almost every employment-based date held at its August level. The one exception is EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers, which advanced two months to December 15, 2022, for all countries. The larger movement in the September bulletin was on the family-sponsored side, which this article does not cover.  

EB-2 Is Current: What It Means If You Are Inside the U.S.

If you are in the United States in a valid nonimmigrant status such as H-1B, O-1, L-1, F-1, or E-2, the September bulletin keeps an important green card filing opportunity open for eligible Rest of World applicants. Because EB-2 is Current on the Final Action Dates chart, an eligible applicant with an approved or pending Form I-140 may be able to file Form I-485 and apply for a green card from inside the United States, rather than completing consular processing abroad. This process is known as adjustment of status.   

For September, EB-2 is also Current on the Dates for Filing chart. Because USCIS has designated the Final Action Dates chart as the operative chart for employment-based filings this month, that is the chart that controls when an eligible applicant can file. Where eligibility allows, the Form I-140 and Form I-485 can be filed together, which is known as concurrent filing. Concurrent filing also covers EB-2 NIW cases, where the job offer and PERM labor certification requirements are waived and the petition can be self-sponsored or employer-sponsored.  

Once you file, you can request a work permit, the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), and travel permission, known as Advance Parole, in the same package as the Form I-485. There is no need to wait for the I-485 to be accepted first. If visa numbers later become unavailable for your category, USCIS may not be able to approve the green card right away.  

Your I-485 application can remain pending, and your priority date does not change. In most cases, any approved work permit or travel document can continue to be used until it expires, as long as it remains pending and no other issue affects your eligibility.  

What It Means If You Are Outside the U.S.

For applicants processing through a U.S. consulate abroad, a Current Final Action Date affects when an immigrant visa can be issued, not just when documents can be submitted. With EB-2 Current across the Rest of World, no priority date cutoff is holding up consular cases this month. The Form I-140 petition, USCIS adjudication, and National Visa Center (NVC) preparation can all move forward now.  

For consular cases, the Final Action Dates chart governs when a visa can be issued, while the Dates for Filing chart governs when the NVC invites an applicant to submit documents. The Dates for Filing chart is an earlier date that can let some applicants prepare paperwork ahead of a visa number. Our guide to reading the Visa Bulletin explains how the two charts interact. Interview appointments at consulates are limited, and the fiscal year ends on September 30.  

Indian nationals processing abroad should also note the EB-1 India warning described below. Country-specific consular processing restrictions apply to some nationals. Anyone processing abroad should confirm current consular status with counsel before moving forward.  

EB-1 India: The Date Holds, but the Warning Remains

The table below sets the September dates against the risk attached to each one, which is where the story sits this month.  

Category	September 2026	Status this month
EB-2 Rest of World	Current	Available, under category-wide warning
EB-1 India	15 OCT 2022	Unchanged, unavailability warned
EB-2 India	Unavailable	Closed for FY2026
EB-5 Unreserved India	Unavailable	Closed for FY2026
EB-2 China	01 SEP 2021	Unchanged
EB-1 China	01 JUL 2023	Unchanged after August advance
EB-4 (all countries)	15 DEC 2022	Advanced two months
EB-5 Unreserved Rest of World	Current	Available, warning added

The EB-1 priority date for India holds at October 15, 2022, the same cutoff as August. What has not gone away is the warning attached to it. The bulletin states that high demand and number use by India-chargeable EB-1 applicants may make it necessary to make the category unavailable in the coming weeks, if India’s pro-rated limit is reached before the fiscal year ends. A pro-rated per-country limit is the share of the annual total that any single country can use, set at seven percent.  

An unavailable designation would be a hard stop rather than a slower cutoff date. No immigrant numbers would be issued in EB-1 India until the next fiscal year begins on October 1. A pending or approved petition and an established priority date are not affected by such a designation. For Indian nationals with pending or planned EB-1 filings, the open question is timing, which is worth reviewing with counsel.   

Fiscal-Year-End Warnings: EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved 

Two more warnings sit alongside the EB-1 India note, and both turn on the same fiscal-year math. For EB-2, the bulletin says increased demand may make it necessary to retrogress the Final Action Date, meaning move it backward, or make the category unavailable before September 30. The warning applies to the EB-2 category as a whole, including Rest of World, even though EB-2 reads Current today.  

For EB-5 Unreserved, the bulletin adds its own warning that demand may require the date to move back or the category to become unavailable before the fiscal year ends. The warning concerns the Unreserved EB-5 category only. The rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure set-aside categories remain Current across all countries. Neither warning is a change that has taken effect. Both describe what may happen if annual limits are reached.  

The September 30 Deadline Changes How to Read This Bulletin 

Fiscal year 2026 ends on September 30, 2026, and the annual employment-based visa supply resets on October 1. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30, and each year’s immigrant visa numbers are allocated within that window.  

The worldwide employment-based limit for the fiscal year is 186,317. Once a category reaches its share of that total, the Department of State can make it unavailable for the rest of the year, as already happened with EB-2 India and EB-5 Unreserved India.  

September behaves differently from an ordinary mid-year bulletin. A date that reads Current does not prevent a category from using up its allocation later in the month. EB-2 has stayed Current for the Rest of World since May, and we tracked the recent movement in our August 2026 Visa Bulletin analysis. How long Current status holds depends on demand through September 30. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

EB-2 is still Current for my country. Can I file my Form I-485 in September? 

Possibly. Current on the Final Action Dates chart, the operative chart this month, means there is no priority date cutoff for your category. An eligible applicant with an approved or pending Form I-140 can file, though confirming your own eligibility with counsel before filing is worthwhile. 

Why is EB-2 called at risk if the bulletin says Current?  

Current means a visa number is available now to qualified applicants in that category. The Department of State can still move a cutoff date back or make a category unavailable later in the month if demand uses up the FY2026 annual limit. The warning describes that possibility, not a change that has happened.  

What is the current EB-1 priority date for India? 

The September 2026 EB-1 India Final Action Date is October 15, 2022, unchanged from August. The Department of State continues to warn that the category may become unavailable before September 30 if India’s limit is reached.  

Will EB-1 India definitely become unavailable? 

No. The Department of State describes it as a possibility, not a confirmed outcome. Whether it happens depends on demand and number use through the end of the fiscal year.  

Does the new EB-5 warning apply to the set-aside visas? 

No. The September warning concerns the EB-5 Unreserved category. The rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure set-aside categories remain Current in the September bulletin.  

Your Next Step 

At Colombo & Hurd, we help professionals read each Visa Bulletin in context and decide when to file. For those weighing an EB-2 NIW filing this month, our team offers a free EB-2 NIW profile evaluation to help you understand your position before filing. 

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