The September 2026 Visa Bulletin brings little movement for Indian EB-5 investors—but that does not mean there is little to discuss.

India’s EB-5 Unreserved category remains “Unavailable” in the Final Action Dates chart.

The separate Dates for Filing chart continues to list May 1, 2024 for India’s EB-5 Unreserved category.

And all three EB-5 reserved, or set-aside, categories remain Current for India:

• Rural
• High Unemployment
• Infrastructure

On the surface, that looks very similar to August.

But September carries additional significance because it is the final month of fiscal year 2026.

The federal fiscal year ends September 30, after which a new annual allocation of employment-based immigrant visa numbers becomes available for FY 2027. That makes September an important transition point for investors watching visa availability.

The Department of State also includes a specific warning regarding EB-5 Unreserved visa availability this month. It states that sufficient demand and visa-number use in the category could require the government to retrogress a Final Action Date or make the category unavailable before the end of the fiscal year in order to stay within the FY 2026 annual limit.

For Indian EB-5 investors, the category is already unavailable for Final Action. But the broader warning provides important context: demand across the Unreserved pool remains significant, and the Department of State is actively managing the remaining FY 2026 visa supply.

September 2026 EB-5 Final Action Dates

The Final Action Dates chart determines when an immigrant visa number is available for final issuance or when an eligible adjustment-of-status application may receive final approval.

What the September Final Action Chart Tells Us

The Department of State uses three basic indicators in the Visa Bulletin.

“C” means Current. Visa numbers are authorized for qualified applicants regardless of priority date, subject to all other requirements.

A listed date means the category is oversubscribed. Generally, an applicant’s priority date must be earlier than the listed Final Action Date.

“U” means Unavailable or unauthorized. Visa numbers are not currently authorized for issuance in that category.

For India’s EB-5 Unreserved category, September again shows “U.”

That means final immigrant visa issuance is not presently authorized for Indian applicants in the Unreserved EB-5 category.

What it does mean is straightforward:

A final immigrant visa number is not presently available under that category for India.

Without an available visa number, final green card issuance cannot occur.

September Shows No Relief Yet for India Unreserved

India was already unavailable in the August Final Action Dates chart, and September brings no change.

That matters because September is the final month of the federal fiscal year.

The September bulletin confirms that the worldwide employment-based preference limit for FY 2026 is 186,317.

The standard per-country limit is 28,862, although the bulletin notes that after applicable EB-5 carryover visa numbers are included, the per-country figure is 29,136.

India is also identified by the Department of State as one of four oversubscribed chargeability areas, alongside China-mainland born, Mexico, and the Philippines.

For Indian EB-5 investors, the practical issue remains supply versus demand.

An approvable petition cannot create a visa number where none is presently authorized.

September 2026 EB-5 Dates for Filing

The second important number for Indian EB-5 investors remains May 1, 2024.

India’s May 1, 2024 Filing Date Remains in Place

The Dates for Filing chart serves a different purpose from the Final Action Dates chart.

For immigrant visa applicants proceeding through consular processing, the chart can identify when applicants with qualifying priority dates may assemble and submit required documentation to the Department of State’s National Visa Center after receiving appropriate instructions.

For adjustment-of-status applicants in the United States, there is another important step.

USCIS determines whether applicants must use the Final Action Dates chart or whether they may instead use the Dates for Filing chart for that month.

Applicants must determine:

• Which chart USCIS has authorized for employment-based adjustment filings
• Whether the applicant’s priority date qualifies
• Whether the applicant is otherwise eligible for adjustment of status
• Whether other case-specific requirements or restrictions apply

Two Charts, Two Different Questions

The easiest way to understand September is to separate the two charts by what they actually control.

Final Action Dates: Can the government take final action on the immigrant visa or green card?

For India EB-5 Unreserved in September, the answer is no. The category is unavailable.

Dates for Filing: Has the applicant reached a priority-date threshold that may allow an earlier processing or document-submission stage?

For India EB-5 Unreserved, the listed date is May 1, 2024.

For adjustment-of-status cases, USCIS must still authorize use of that chart.

Set-Aside EB-5 Categories Remain Current for India

While India’s Unreserved category remains unavailable for Final Action, the three EB-5 set-aside categories continue to tell a very different story.

All three remain Current for India in both September employment-based charts.

The remaining 68% are allocated to the Unreserved EB-5 pool.

Why Rural EB-5 Continues to Receive Attention

Rural projects receive the largest reserved allocation at 20% of annual EB-5 visas.

They may also qualify for priority processing of the underlying EB-5 petition under the Reform and Integrity Act framework.

That combination has made the Rural category particularly relevant to investors from countries experiencing heavier immigration demand.

But visa availability is only one part of an EB-5 investment decision.

A project being classified as Rural does not tell an investor whether:

• The business plan is realistic
• The capital stack is sound
• Construction financing is secure
• Job creation is sufficiently supported
• The developer has a strong track record
• The regional center has appropriate compliance procedures
• The exit strategy is realistic
• Investor capital is adequately protected within the limits permitted by EB-5 law

Immigration advantages should be evaluated alongside investment risk.

High Unemployment and Infrastructure Categories

The High Unemployment set-aside receives 10% of EB-5 visa numbers.

For some investors, projects within this category may provide access to the reserved visa pool while being located in larger or more familiar commercial markets.

The Infrastructure category receives the smallest allocation at 2%.

Qualifying infrastructure investments must satisfy the specific requirements applicable to that set-aside category.

Both remain current for India in September.

As with Rural projects, however, a Current Visa Bulletin designation is not a financial endorsement.

The State Department Adds an Important EB-5 Warning for September

One of the most important pieces of the September bulletin appears outside the main visa tables.

Under its section specifically addressing Visa Availability in the Employment-Based Fifth Preference Unreserved (EB-5) Category, the Department of State warns that sufficient demand and visa-number use may make it necessary to:

• Retrogress the Final Action Date, or
• Make the category unavailable

before the end of FY 2026 in order to keep visa-number use within the annual limit.

September 30 Is an Important Date

FY 2026 ends on September 30, 2026.

The new fiscal year begins October 1, 2026.

That means a new annual allocation of immigrant visa numbers becomes available.

For an unavailable category such as India EB-5 Unreserved, that naturally raises the question:

Will the category reopen in October?

The answer cannot be determined from the September bulletin.

A new fiscal year provides a new annual visa allocation, but it does not eliminate existing demand.

Pending applicants do not disappear when the calendar moves from September 30 to October 1.

The Department of State still has to manage the new supply against accumulated demand, category limits, per-country restrictions, and expected visa usage throughout FY 2027.

The October Visa Bulletin will therefore provide the first meaningful indication of how the Department of State intends to manage EB-5 visa availability for FY 2027.

A Broader Visa-Availability Warning

The September bulletin also contains a broader warning affecting family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories.

The Department of State reports that immigrant visa issuance rates decreased during FY 2026. It attributes this in part to federal policies implemented since January 2025 and to limited or suspended visa operations at certain posts affected by global events.

As a result, the Department says it advanced filing dates and Final Action Dates across various immigrant visa categories during recent months in an effort to make sufficient visa numbers available for use during FY 2026.

But there is a second side to that equation.

As additional demand materializes, the Department warns that retrogression may become necessary.

Categories may also become unavailable before fiscal year-end if annual, category, or prorated per-country limits are reached.

For investors, this reinforces an important principle:

Visa Bulletin movement is not always linear.

A date moving forward does not guarantee that it will continue moving forward.

A category being current does not guarantee that it will remain current.

And a new fiscal year does not automatically eliminate accumulated demand.

What September Means for Existing Indian EB-5 Investors

Investors already in the India Unreserved queue should continue monitoring their priority dates and case status carefully.

The September unavailable designation does not erase an established priority date.

But it does prevent final visa issuance while the category remains unavailable.

Existing investors should review their circumstances with immigration counsel, including:

• Their established priority date
• Current I-526 or I-526E petition status
• Whether they are pursuing consular processing or adjustment of status
• Which Visa Bulletin chart applies to their situation
• Whether the Dates for Filing chart can presently be used
• Whether documentation should be prepared while waiting for visa availability
• How the October fiscal-year reset could affect their case
• Whether dependent children face Child Status Protection Act or age-out concerns

Families should avoid trying to calculate their immigration timeline from the Visa Bulletin alone.

The bulletin provides category-level information. An individual case can involve additional variables that significantly affect timing.

What September Means for Prospective Indian EB-5 Investors

For prospective investors, September strengthens the argument for evaluating visa category at the beginning of the EB-5 decision-making process rather than treating it as an afterthought.

The investment itself still matters enormously.

But so does the immigration lane the investment occupies.

Immigration Considerations

• Is the project Unreserved or set-aside?
• If set-aside, which category?
• Is the project’s designation properly supported?
• What is the current Visa Bulletin status for India?
• How could visa availability affect the family’s expected timeline?
• Are dependent children approaching an age where timing becomes especially important?

Investment Considerations

• How is the project capitalized?
• How will the required jobs be created?
• What assumptions support job creation?
• What senior financing exists?
• What happens if costs increase or construction is delayed?
• What is the proposed exit strategy?
• What are the major risks to repayment?

Sponsor and Regional Center Considerations

• What is the developer’s track record?
• What experience does the regional center have?
• Have previous projects created sufficient jobs?
• How are investors kept informed?
• What conflicts of interest exist?
• How is compliance with the Reform and Integrity Act addressed?

A project offering access to a current visa category may provide an immigration advantage.

It does not eliminate investment risk.

“Current” Still Does Not Mean Guaranteed

All three set-aside categories remain current for India in September.

That is significant.

But investors should understand exactly what “Current” means.

It means the Visa Bulletin does not presently impose a priority-date cut-off on qualified applicants in that category.

September 2026: Frequently Asked Questions

The Strategic Takeaway

For Indian EB-5 investors, September is a month of stability—but not resolution.

The numbers that matter most remain unchanged:

• India Unreserved Final Action: Unavailable
• India Unreserved Date for Filing: May 1, 2024
• Rural Set-Aside: Current
• High Unemployment Set-Aside: Current
• Infrastructure Set-Aside: Current

But September adds something important: context.

The Department of State is approaching the end of FY 2026 while actively managing demand across employment-based categories. It specifically identifies EB-5 Unreserved as a category where demand could require additional restrictions before fiscal year-end.

That makes October especially important.

For investors already waiting in the Unreserved category, the next bulletin may provide the first indication of what a fresh FY 2027 visa allocation means for India.

For prospective investors, the September bulletin reinforces why EB-5 category selection belongs alongside project quality, source-of-funds preparation, family timing, and financial due diligence when developing an immigration strategy.

Final Thoughts

The September 2026 Visa Bulletin closes FY 2026 without providing relief for Indian investors waiting in the EB-5 Unreserved category.

Final Action remains unavailable.

The May 1, 2024 Date for Filing remains unchanged.

And all three EB-5 set-aside categories remain current.

That creates a clear divide in current visa availability between the Unreserved and reserved portions of the EB-5 program.

The next major checkpoint will be the October 2026 Visa Bulletin and the beginning of FY 2027.

A new fiscal year means new visa numbers.

It does not necessarily mean an empty waiting line.

Indian investors should therefore continue evaluating EB-5 through a wider lens: visa availability, priority dates, source-of-funds readiness, project quality, investment risk, dependent-child timing, and the family’s broader immigration objectives.

The goal is not simply to find an EB-5 investment.

It is to understand how the investment fits into a realistic immigration strategy.