India EB-5 Backlog in 2026: Why Unreserved Is Unavailable but Reserved Categories Are Current
India's EB-5 unreserved visa numbers are exhausted for FY2026, while the reserved EB-5 categories remain current. The difference is the visa pool.
One-Minute Answer
India EB-5 Unreserved is unavailable for the rest of FY2026, but the reserved EB-5 categories are still current in the September 2026 Visa Bulletin. The reason is simple: they are different visa pools.
DOS says all available FY2026 EB-5 Unreserved immigrant visas for applicants chargeable to India had been issued as of June 5, 2026. That is a visa-number limit, not a closure of every EB-5 route for Indian-born investors.
What U Means
The Visa Bulletin uses U when numbers are not authorized for issuance. For India EB-5 Unreserved, FY2026 visa supply is already used. The annual limits reset on October 1, 2026, but a new fiscal year does not erase demand already waiting for numbers.
Reserved EB-5 is separate. The post-RIA set-asides reserve 20% of annual EB-5 visas for rural projects, 10% for high-unemployment area projects, and 2% for infrastructure projects. In September 2026, all three are listed as Current for India.
Research snapshots
India needs a visa-pool read, not one backlog label
Unreserved and reserved EB-5 draw from different allocations. These static views summarize the September 2026 Visa Bulletin and India I-526E demand, then link back to the live Research views.
EB-5 visa pool split and India status
September 2026 Final Action Date status. U means unavailable; C means current. Open the interactive visa-timeline context in Green Card Backlog.
Allocation percentages come from the Department of State September 2026 Visa Bulletin. Status is shown for India final action dates only.
India reserved-category demand shift
USCIS form-reported I-526E receipts for country of birth India. FY2026 is Q1 only. Explore the interactive country/category data in EB-5 Visa Demand.
Three clocks, one EB-5 path
A current category answers only the visa-number gate. Compare the full path in Green Card Backlog.
Petition gate
I-526E review and project filing context
USCISVisa-number gate
Category and country availability
DOSGreen-card gate
Adjustment or consular processing
AOS/NVCFiling-demand source: Official I-526/I-526E receipt file, FY2026 Q1. The full Research dashboard includes source workbook notes, country filters, and USCIS queue context.
What The Data Shows
USCIS receipt data shows India demand moving toward reserved categories. India rural I-526E demand rose sharply from 115 receipts in FY2023 to 1,173 in FY2025. FY2026 is only a Q1 snapshot in the current dataset, but it already shows 407 India rural I-526E receipts.
High-unemployment area demand also grew, from 258 India I-526E receipts in FY2023 to 569 in FY2025, with 184 in FY2026 Q1. That does not predict a cutoff date by itself; receipts are not the same as approved visa demand, and derivative family members also use visa numbers.
How To Read 2026
Current is not the same as fast. It means there is no posted cutoff date right now. Visa availability is only one clock; I-526E adjudication, project execution, job creation, source-of-funds documentation, and the final adjustment or consular step still matter.
The practical workflow is: confirm the visa pool, check the country/category demand, then evaluate the project. For India EB-5 in 2026, the headline is not open versus closed. It is unreserved versus reserved, and watch demand, not just the label.
Sources
- DOS India EB-5 Unreserved notice
- DOS September 2026 Visa Bulletin
- USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data
- Congressional Research Service EB-5 overview
EB5.FYI is informational only and does not provide investment, immigration, tax, or legal advice. EB-5 decisions should be reviewed with qualified professionals.