Read, Digital Desk : The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced recently that per-country quota for the EB-2 category for India has been reached for FY 2026.
In its announcement, the DHS directed all its Embassies and Consulates not to issue EB-2 visas to Indians for the remaining part of the current fiscal year.
When will it begin?
According to a notification from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the annual quota resets with the beginning of new fiscal year (FY 2027) on October 1, 2026. “On and after that date, Embassies and Consulates will again be able to issue immigrant visas to qualified applicants in that category,” the order said.
What is an EB-2 visa?
The EB-2 visa is an employment-based immigrant visa category that enables foreign nationals to obtain a green card (permanent residence) on the basis of their educational, occupational and skill-based qualification or achievement.
As USCIS explains, second-priority petitions are accompanied by a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) approved and signed Form ETA-9089 (Application for Permanent Employment Certification) or, where labor certification applications were filed utilizing the DOL’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system on or after June 1, 2023, an approved and signed ETA-9089 (Final Determination – Permanent Employment Certification Approval).
What did the DHS announce?
The Department of State, working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has issued all immigrant visas available to natives of India in the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of immigrant visas that can be issued in any one fiscal year in employment-based preferences. In particular, section 203(b)(2) establishes that EB-2 visas will receive an annual quota of 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment cap.
Additionally, INA 202(a)(2) stipulates that a maximum of 7% of worldwide employment-based and family-sponsored preference immigrant visas are available to natives of any one foreign country. These preferences are proportioned (pro-rated) among the various EB-based and FB-based visa categories under INA 202(e).
Since all EB-2 immigrant visas allocated for India in FY2026 have already been issued, no immigrant visas may be issued to Indian natives under this category for the remainder of this fiscal year.
The annual quotas for this category reset on October 1, 2026, when the new fiscal year (FY 2027) begins, and visas may again be issued to eligible applicants at embassies and consulates.
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