Washington: Indian families seeking permanent residency in the US have received some relief, with visa cut-off dates advancing significantly in several family-sponsored categories in September. However, there has been little movement for Indian applicants under the EB-1 employment-based category.
According to the September Visa Bulletin, the F-1 category, covering unmarried adult sons and daughters of US citizens, saw the final action date for India and China move from December 15, 2018, to January 22, 2020.
The September bulletin is the final one for the current fiscal year, with new annual visa numbers becoming available from October 1.
F-2B sees nearly 20-month jump
One of the biggest gains came in the F-2B category, which covers unmarried adult sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents. For India, China and most other countries, the final action date moved from January 1, 2018, to August 22, 2019 — an advance of nearly 20 months.
The F-2A category, covering spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents, also moved forward for India, China and the Philippines, with the final action date advancing from July 22, 2026, to August 22, 2026.
The F-3 category, covering married sons and daughters of US citizens, also recorded a substantial movement. Its final action date for India, China and most countries advanced from May 15, 2012, to October 22, 2014, a shift of more than two years.
EB-1 applicants face uncertainty
For Indians under the EB-1 category, which includes people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers and certain multinational executives, the September final action date remains October 15, 2022.
The Visa Bulletin warned that heavy demand and high usage of EB-1 numbers by applicants from India could lead to the category becoming temporarily unavailable later in the month if India’s annual limit is reached before the fiscal year ends.
For fiscal year 2026, the family-sponsored preference immigrant limit is 226,000, while the worldwide annual limit for employment-based preference immigrants is 186,317.
