The October 2026 US visa bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, has disappointed Indian applicants, immigration attorneys say. While EB-2 is available again for Indians, its cutoff date is stuck at November 1, 2013.

EB-2 had become unavailable for India in September after all green cards were used up. The return of the category is the only bright spot. EB-1 for India advances to February 1, 2023. EB-3 for India stays at January 1, 2014. The EB-5 unreserved category for India is available again, with a cutoff of December 1, 2023.

Attorney Rahul Reddy said the State Department may still be calculating spillover numbers from the previous year, and more slots could be added in coming bulletins. A clearer picture may emerge by November.

The bulletin was published just two days before the fiscal year ended, adding to the confusion. The October bulletin resets green card numbers each year, but this time offered no indication of how many unused visas would carry over.