September 2026 Visa Bulletin Released

The Dept. of State released the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, the final Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2026. USCIS will continue to accept employment-based Adjustment of Status applications under the Final Action Dates chart for September. For employment-based immigrant visa categories, the Final Action Dates remain largely unchanged from August, with limited advancement occurring in the EB-4 category for Certain Religious Workers.

Of particular importance, the Dept. of State has also warned that continued high demand and visa number usage could cause certain employment-based categories to retrogress or become unavailable before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2026. This includes EB-1 India, EB-2, and EB-5 Unreserved categories.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED (EB) PRIORITY DATE SUMMARY FOR FINAL ACTION DATES 

USCIS confirmed that it will honor the Final Action Dates chart for purposes of eligibility to file an Adjustment of Status application. The Final Action Dates are as follows:

EB-1, First Preference Category

• EB-1 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will remain current.
• EB-1 China will hold steady at July 1, 2023.
• EB-1 India will maintain a filing cutoff date of October 15, 2022.

EB-2, Second Preference Category

• EB-2 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will remain current.
• EB-2 China will maintain a filing cutoff of September 1, 2021.
• EB-2 India will continue to be unavailable through September 30, 2026.

EB-3, Third Preference Category (Professional and Skilled Workers)

• EB-3 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and Mexico) will maintain a filing cutoff date of September 1, 2024.
• EB-3 China will hold steady at January 1, 2022.
• EB-3 India will maintain a filing cutoff date of January 1, 2014.
• EB-3 Philippines will remain at August 1, 2023.

Other Workers

• Other Workers (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and Mexico) will continue to remain at April 1, 2022.
• Philippines will remain at December 1, 2021.
• China will hold steady at May 1, 2019
• India will continue to maintain a filing cutoff date of January 1, 2014.

EB-5: Fifth Preference Category (Immigrant Investors)

• For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China will maintain a filing cutoff date of December 1, 2016 and India will continue to be unavailable through September 30, 2026. All other countries will remain current.
• The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.

Individuals with a priority date that is before the published cut-off date may file an Adjustment of Status application based on the dates outlined above.

WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS EXPECT?  

The September Visa Bulletin notes that most employment-based categories remain the same from August with limited advancement occurring in the EB-4 category for Certain Religious Workers. September 30th marks the end of Fiscal Year 2026. Visa number availability can become particularly volatile at the end of the fiscal year as the Dept. of State works to remain within annual and per-country numerical limits. Given the potential for unavailability or retrogression in several employment-based categories as articulated by the Dept. of State, Employers should not assume that a category listed as available on September 1 will necessarily remain available throughout the entire month and should pay careful attention to announcements by the Dept. of State and USCIS regarding visa unavailability or retrogression as FY 2026 comes to a close.

In particular, Indian nationals face two significant issues in September:

• EB-1 India remains at October 15, 2022, but the Dept. of State warns that the category could become unavailable before the end of the September
• EB-2 India is unavailable, preventing Adjustment of Status filings or final immigrant visa issuance or adjustment approval in this category in September

Accordingly, Employers with affected employees should continue maintaining underlying nonimmigrant status and work authorization where appropriate rather than relying solely on anticipated green card adjudication.

Additionally, the Dept. of State has cautioned that EB-2 and EB-5 unreserved categories may retrogress or become unavailable before the end of September, with availability likely resuming when the new fiscal year starts in October.

Employers are advised to work closely with immigration counsel to identify employees who may be impacted by changing filing opportunities, including potential retrogression and visa unavailability to ensure filing opportunities are not missed due to changing visa availability as the fiscal year ends.

For additional information, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.

Inez Macedonio