As of June 5, 2026, the door has closed. The U.S. Department of State, working alongside U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has officially confirmed that all available immigrant visas in the EB-5 unreserved category for applicants chargeable to India have been issued for Fiscal Year 2026. This is not a backlog — it is a hard stop. No new EB-5 unreserved visas will be issued to Indian nationals until the new fiscal year begins.
For Indian investors who have been watching the warning signs since the May 2026 Visa Bulletin, this announcement is the confirmation they feared. For those caught off guard, the window to act has narrowed dramatically — but it has not closed entirely.
What Exactly Happened — and When
The official announcement came from the U.S. Department of State's travel.state.gov portal. The State Department confirmed that, as of June 5, 2026, it has issued all available immigrant visas in the EB-5 unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, NU) for Indian-chargeable applicants for FY 2026. The announcement was made in coordination with USCIS.
This was not a surprise to those watching closely. The May 2026 Visa Bulletin had already issued a Section E warning that demand from India in the EB-5 unreserved category could force retrogression or render the category temporarily unavailable before the fiscal year's end. That warning has now materialized into reality, and the category is immediately unavailable and will remain closed through September 30, 2026.
The annual limits will reset with the start of FY 2027 on October 1, 2026, at which point embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in this category to qualified applicants.
The Legal Framework Behind the Cap
This isn't bureaucratic fine print — it is federal law. Under INA Section 203(b)(5), the annual limit for EB-5 visas is 7.1 percent of the worldwide employment-based visa limit, of which 68 percent is available for unreserved visa categories. On top of that, INA Section 202(a)(2) establishes that natives of any single foreign state may not receive more than seven percent of the total of employment-based and family-sponsored visas combined.
To make things more complex: the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 allowed unused EB-5 reserved visas from prior fiscal years to be carried forward into the FY 2026 unreserved allocation. That additional supply was factored in — and even with it, India has now exhausted every single available number.
Translation: demand from Indian investors has been extraordinary. And the program has hit its mathematical ceiling for the year.
Who Is Affected — and Who Is Not
The per-country cap exhaustion applies only to India in the unreserved categories. China's EB-5 unreserved Final Action Date remains at September 22, 2016 — meaning Chinese nationals face their own decades-long backlog — while all other countries remain current for unreserved EB-5.
Critically, the reserved set-aside categories — Rural, High Unemployment Area (HUA), and Infrastructure — remain current for all countries worldwide, including India. This is the lifeline that Indian investors must understand right now.
Here is what the cap means practically for Indian applicants:
- Consular processing (Mumbai): U.S. embassies and consulates cannot issue visas in the EB-5 unreserved category during this period. Mumbai, which handles immigrant visa processing for India, has effectively paused these issuances.
- Adjustment of Status (AOS) inside the U.S.: USCIS will continue to accept I-485 filings that were current under the June 2026 Visa Bulletin, but no approvals can be issued until a visa number becomes available after October 1, 2026.
- Already-filed I-526E petitions: Investors who have already filed retain their priority date. The priority date determines their position in the queue and is fully preserved.
The September 30, 2026 Grandfathering Deadline: A Parallel Urgency
The visa cap is urgent. But there is a second deadline Indian investors cannot afford to miss — and it intersects directly with this development.
Indian nationals who file an I-526E petition in a reserved category before September 30, 2026, will be grandfathered under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, protecting them from future program lapses and ensuring adjudication under current rules. The grandfathering protection does not require a visa to be issued before the deadline — only that the petition be properly filed.
After September 30, 2026, the EB-5 program becomes significantly more expensive. The Reform and Integrity Act requires USCIS to adjust the minimum investment for inflation beginning January 2027. Analysts project that minimum investment thresholds could rise to approximately $1.2 million for standard projects and around $900,000 for Targeted Employment Area (TEA) projects. Today, the minimum investment stands at $1,050,000 for standard projects and $800,000 for TEA/Rural/High Unemployment projects. In Indian rupees, that translates to approximately ₹8.75 crore and ₹6.65 crore respectively at current exchange rates — a figure that will climb further post-reset.
Filing before September 30, 2026 locks in both the current investment amount and grandfathering protections. After that date, both advantages disappear.
The Reserved Categories: India's Clear Path Forward
The EB-5 reserved set-aside categories — Rural, High Unemployment Area, and Infrastructure — remain current for India as of June 2026 and are entirely unaffected by this per-country cap exhaustion. This is not a footnote. This is the strategy.
These categories offer faster processing times and help investors from high-demand countries like India bypass traditional backlogs. For an Indian investor who has been considering EB-5, the message is clear: pivot immediately to the reserved categories. The unreserved route is closed for now. The reserved route is open.
Indian H-1B, L-1, and F-1 visa holders currently in the United States may also file Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) concurrently with Form I-526E if filing under a current reserved category — gaining Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and Advance Parole while the petition is pending. This is a significant practical advantage that does not require waiting until October.
One additional note for Indian investors: RBI and LRS (Liberalised Remittance Scheme) rules govern outward fund transfers from India. TCS (Tax Collected at Source) on LRS remittances can affect both timing and cash flow. Early planning on the financial and compliance side is not optional — it is essential.
What SaathiVisa Recommends
Act in the next 30 days. Not 60. Thirty.
Here is our specific, actionable guidance for Indian EB-5 investors:
- Pivot to reserved categories immediately. Rural, High Unemployment Area, and Infrastructure set-asides are current for India. If you have been targeting an unreserved project, speak with your attorney today about switching to a qualifying set-aside project. Do not wait for October.
- File your I-526E before September 30, 2026. This is the grandfathering deadline. A petition filed before this date locks in today's investment thresholds ($800,000 / $1,050,000) and protects you from post-reform requirements. Every week of delay is a risk.
- If you are inside the U.S. on H-1B, L-1, or F-1 status, explore concurrent I-485 filing under a current reserved category. Getting your EAD and Advance Parole in hand while your green card is processing is a game-changer for your family.
- Start your LRS/FEMA compliance planning now. Fund transfers from India to the U.S. involve regulatory steps that take time. Don't let compliance bottlenecks delay a filing you've already decided to make.
- Do not panic about October 1, 2026. The unreserved category does reset on October 1, 2026, when FY 2027 begins. If your only option is the unreserved category, mark that date and prepare your filing in advance — but do not lose the September 30 grandfathering deadline in the meantime.
FAQ: What Indian Investors Are Asking Right Now
Q: I already filed my I-526E. Is my case affected?
No. Your priority date is preserved. Investors who have already filed an I-526E retain their position in the queue. The cap exhaustion delays when a visa number is assigned — it does not cancel or invalidate your petition.
Q: Can I still invest in EB-5 right now, or do I have to wait until October?
You can absolutely invest and file now — but only through a reserved category (Rural, High Unemployment, or Infrastructure). These set-asides are fully open and current for India. The unreserved category is the only one that is paused. Consular processing for reserved categories at the U.S. Embassy is unaffected.
Q: What happens on October 1, 2026?
The annual EB-5 visa limits reset with the start of FY 2027 on October 1, 2026. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in the unreserved EB-5 category for Indian nationals. However, post-October applicants will not be protected by the September 30 grandfathering deadline, and investment thresholds are expected to rise in January 2027.
Sources: U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov), USCIS, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Erickson Immigration Group, EB5USA. This article reflects publicly available information as of June 16, 2026.