Indian Professionals Face EB-1 Visa Freeze Amid Record Demand

The US State Department has signaled that EB-1 green cards for Indian applicants may hit a hard stop before the September 30 fiscal deadline. With demand surging, officials warned that the category could be declared unavailable within weeks, deepening the existing backlog for researchers, executives, and high-skill professionals.

Editorial·September 8, 2026·reads: 1,863

Indian Professionals Face EB-1 Visa Freeze Amid Record Demand

The warning, issued in the September Visa Bulletin, highlights a critical bottleneck for those with extraordinary abilities and multinational managers. Currently, the final action date for Indian EB-1 applicants is locked at October 15, 2022, effectively barring anyone with a later priority date from completing their transition to permanent residency before the budget year closes.

This potential freeze adds to an already constrained immigration landscape. The EB-2 category for advanced degree holders remains entirely unavailable, while the EB-3 queue for professionals faces wait times stretching back 12 years. Even the investor-based EB-5 category has seen its unreserved slots shuttered for the month. While filing dates offer a slightly wider window, the final authority rests with US Citizenship and Immigration Services, leaving thousands of applicants in a state of administrative limbo until the new fiscal cycle begins.