Green card applicants could see new opportunities to file their applications in October as the start of the federal government's 2027 fiscal year brings a fresh supply of immigrant visa numbers and updated cutoff dates. The changes affect family-sponsored and employment-based applicants, as well as people considering the EB-5 immigrant investor program. The federal government's 2027 fiscal year begins October 1.
Each fiscal year, immigrant visa limits reset, allowing the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to resume issuing visas in categories that had reached their annual limits. The fresh supply has allowed dates to advance in several family-sponsored and employment-based categories, although some employment-based categories moved backward to keep visa issuances within quarterly and annual limits.
The reset is particularly significant for some Indian applicants. India's EB-2 category, which had been unavailable in September after reaching its annual limit, reopened with a Final Action Date of November 1, 2013. The unreserved EB-5 category for India also reopened, with a Final Action Date of December 1, 2023.
India's EB-1 Final Action Date also advanced, moving from October 15, 2022, to February 1, 2023. But the October bulletin brought setbacks elsewhere. The EB-2 Final Action Date for most countries, Mexico and the Philippines moved from current to January 1, 2025, while the EB-3 cutoff for most countries and Mexico moved backward from September 1, 2024, to May 15, 2024.
China also recorded significant movement in the employment-based Dates for Filing chart. The EB-3 filing date advanced from January 8, 2022, to April 1, 2024, while the unreserved EB-5 date moved from March 1, 2017, to March 1, 2021. There was movement in family-sponsored categories as well.
The F2A Final Action Date, covering spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents, advanced from August 22 to September 22, 2026, for most countries, including China, India and the Philippines. Immigration attorney Gnanamookan Senthurjothi told Newsweek that the October bulletin represents "meaningful opportunities for Indian green-card applicants," particularly in employment-based categories, but cautioned that applicants should distinguish between the new fiscal year’s reset of visa availability and an actual reduction in the backlog. "The more interesting development for Indians already in the United States is the Dates for Filing chart," Senthurjothi said.
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