US Department of Homeland Security issues update India Per-Country limit reached in EB-2 category; tells embassies and consulates to not issue visas in ...

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that all available Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) immigrant visas for applicants from India have been issued for fiscal year 2026.

In its latest update, the DHS said that embassies and consulates will no longer issue EB-2 visas to Indian applicants for the rest of the current fiscal year. The annual limits, as stated in the DHS announcement, will reset with the start of the new fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2026. “Since all available EB-2 visas for applicants chargeable to India in FY 2026 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these cases for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2027) on October 1, 2026,” the agency said.The government further explained that US immigration law places yearly limits on employment-based immigrant visas. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, EB-2 visas account for 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based visa limit. The law also sets a seven percent cap for applicants from any single country across employment-based and family-sponsored visa categories.

Here’s what DHS said in its announcement

The State Department, working in close collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has issued all available immigrant visas in the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category for applicants chargeable to India for fiscal year (FY) 2026. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of employment-based preference immigrant visas that may be issued within a fiscal year. Specifically, INA 203(b)(2) provides that the annual limit for EB-2 visas is 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment limit. Additionally, INA 202(a)(2) establishes that natives of any single foreign state may not receive more than seven percent of the total of employment-based and family-sponsored visas, which is prorated among the different visa categories under INA 202(e).Since all available EB-2 visas for applicants chargeable to India in FY 2026 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these cases for the remainder of the fiscal year. The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2027) on October 1, 2026. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in this category to qualified applicants.