Green Card alert: Major development for Indian applicants as October visa bulletin released – Know what has changed

October Visa Bulletin Reopens Key Employment-Based Paths for Indian Green Card Applicants

Indiadailyupdate.com – The October 2026 Visa Bulletin opens the new 2027 fiscal year with important movement for many people seeking US permanent residence, particularly Indian employment-based applicants. Two categories that were unavailable in September are once again open, while the cutoff in the EB-1 category for India has moved forward.

The changes create fresh opportunities for applicants whose priority dates fall before the newly published Final Action Dates. At the same time, the bulletin includes setbacks in some other employment-based classifications, leaving the overall picture uneven.

EB-2 and Unreserved EB-5 Return to Availability for India

India’s EB-2 category is available again after being closed in September. EB-2 generally covers professionals with advanced degrees as well as individuals who can demonstrate exceptional ability in their field.

For October, India’s EB-2 Final Action Date is November 1, 2013. Applicants with priority dates earlier than that date may now be eligible to move toward final adjudication of their green card cases, provided they satisfy all other immigration requirements.

The unreserved EB-5 investor category for India has also reopened. Its October Final Action Date is December 1, 2023. This category had likewise been unavailable during September, so its return is a significant development for qualifying investors and their family members.

Final Action Dates matter because they determine when an immigrant visa can be issued or when USCIS can grant final approval of an adjustment-of-status application. A priority date must be earlier than the listed cutoff for the relevant country and category before a case can reach that final stage.

India’s EB-1 Cutoff Moves Forward

Indian applicants in EB-1 also received favorable news. The category’s Final Action Date advanced from October 15, 2022, to February 1, 2023.

EB-1 is intended for priority workers. It includes certain people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and some multinational executives or managers. Although the advancement does not make every Indian EB-1 applicant current, it expands the group that may be able to proceed with final green card processing.

For applicants waiting in long employment-based backlogs, even a few months of movement can be consequential. It may affect whether a pending case becomes eligible for final review, whether an employer needs to prepare additional documentation, or whether an applicant should closely monitor filing instructions for the month ahead.

Family-Based F2A Category Also Sees Progress

The F2A family-preference category showed improvement as well. This classification includes spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents.

For most countries, including China, India and the Philippines, the F2A Final Action Date moved from August 22, 2026, to September 22, 2026. Mexico saw a larger advance, with its date shifting from August 22, 2025, to March 22, 2026.

These dates should be read carefully because the Visa Bulletin separates categories by country and visa type. A movement in one column does not necessarily apply to another. Applicants should use their own priority date, country of chargeability and immigration category when assessing whether the October bulletin affects their case.

Mixed Movement Elsewhere in Employment-Based Immigration

Not every change was positive. As the State Department sought to manage annual visa issuance levels, some employment-based categories affecting most countries, Mexico and the Philippines moved backward.

One notable setback involved National Interest Waiver applicants outside India. The Final Action Date for that group retrogressed to January 1, 2025. Retrogression can delay final approval for applicants who had expected their cases to become current sooner, even when their petitions remain otherwise valid.

Former senior USCIS official Ricky Murray described the October bulletin as containing “the bad,” “the good,” and “the curious.” He highlighted both the reopening of India’s EB-2 and unreserved EB-5 categories and the retrogression affecting National Interest Waiver cases outside India.

The curious is the entire DV section is missing on the October bulletin.

Murray said the missing Diversity Visa section does not conclusively establish what will happen next, but it offers little reassurance to people hoping the Diversity Visa lottery program will continue operating through 2027.

Late Publication Raises Practical Concerns

The timing of the bulletin’s release also drew concern. Murray said affected applicants had fewer than two days to prepare and submit petitions or applications to USCIS before the relevant deadline.

That demand is impractical and largely unachievable.

His concern focused on the distinction between sending materials by the end of a month and USCIS actually receiving them by September. Immigration filings often involve employer records, civil documents, legal review, filing fees and other supporting materials, making short preparation windows difficult for many applicants.

Applicants should also distinguish between the Visa Bulletin’s Final Action Dates and filing-related instructions issued by USCIS. The bulletin sets the government’s visa availability framework, while USCIS determines which chart adjustment-of-status applicants may use in a particular month. Eligibility can therefore depend on both the published dates and USCIS filing guidance.

For Indian nationals in EB-2, EB-5 or EB-1, October brings a meaningful opening after September’s constraints. Still, visa availability can change from month to month. Applicants with priority dates close to a cutoff should keep records current, watch future bulletins closely and seek case-specific guidance before making decisions based on a single month’s movement.