Washington: Indian families waiting for US permanent residency received a significant boost in the latest visa bulletin, with several family-sponsored categories seeing substantial movement in their cut-off dates, while Indian professionals seeking EB-1 visas saw little change.

The September Visa Bulletin, the final one for the US government's 2026 fiscal year, moved the Final Action Date for India and China in the F-1 category from December 15, 2018, to January 22, 2020.

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The F-1 category covers unmarried adult sons and daughters of US citizens.

The development is particularly significant for Indian applicants who have been waiting for years for their priority dates to become current. The September bulletin marks the end of the current fiscal year, with fresh annual immigrant visa numbers becoming available from October 1.

The US government's fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30.

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However, Indian professionals in the employment-based EB-1 category have received little relief, with the cut-off date remaining at October 15, 2022.

The US government also cautioned that high demand from Indian applicants could result in the EB-1 category becoming unavailable before the end of the fiscal year.

"High demand and number use by aliens chargeable to India in the EB-1 visa category may necessitate making the category unavailable in the coming weeks if India's pro-rated limit in the EB-1 category is reached before the fiscal year ends. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly," the visa bulletin said.

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The EB-1 category covers priority workers, including people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, as well as certain multinational corporate executives and managers.

For an immigrant visa number to be available for final action, an applicant generally must have a priority date earlier than the applicable cut-off date, along with meeting other eligibility requirements.

Family-sponsored categories see major movement

Indian families also benefited from movement in several other family-sponsored preference categories.

The F2A category, covering spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents, advanced by one month for most countries, including India, China and the Philippines. The Final Action Date moved from July 22, 2026, to August 22, 2026.

The biggest movement came in the F2B category, which covers unmarried adult sons and daughters of US green card holders.

For applicants from India and China, the Final Action Date jumped from January 1, 2018, to August 22, 2019, nearly 20 months of movement in a single Visa Bulletin.

The F3 category, covering married sons and daughters of US citizens, also saw a significant advance.

For this category, the Final Action Date moved from May 15, 2012, to October 22, 2014, representing roughly 29 months of forward movement.

New visa numbers available from October

The September bulletin is particularly important because it closes the 2026 fiscal year. New annual immigrant visa numbers will become available from October 1, potentially allowing further movement in some categories.

The fiscal year 2026 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants is 226,000.

The worldwide annual level for employment-based preference immigrants is 186,317. The per-country limit for preference immigrants is seven per cent of the combined annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, amounting to 28,862. The dependent area limit is two per cent, or 8,247.