EB2 India Priority Date 2026: The Road to Unavailable
Published 2026-08-08 · Sources: U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, USCIS
Photo: Global Residence Index via UnsplashIf you are watching the eb2 india priority date august 2026, here is the blunt version: it is U (Unavailable). The category spent two years crawling forward, touched 15JUL14 in May 2026, and then slammed shut in July. This is the india eb2 unavailable 2026 moment Indian applicants feared. Below is exactly what the verified bulletins recorded, and why the cutoff vanished.
The verified India EB-2 timeline
| Bulletin | India EB-2 Final Action Date |
|---|---|
| Aug 2024 | 15JUL12 |
| Jan 2025 | 01OCT12 |
| Jul 2025 | 01JAN13 |
| Aug 2025 | 01JAN13 |
| Jan 2026 | 15JUL13 |
| Mar 2026 | 15SEP13 |
| May 2026 | 15JUL14 |
| Jul 2026 | U (Unavailable) |
| Aug 2026 | U (Unavailable) |
From August 2024 to May 2026 the cutoff crept from a 2012 date toward a 2014 date — real, if painfully slow, progress of roughly six months of priority-date clearance per year. Then the numbers ran out and the line went dark.
What “U” actually means for you
When a category shows U (Unavailable), no priority dates in it are current for that month. You cannot file or be granted final action on Form I-485, and you cannot receive an immigrant visa, under India EB-2 until the bulletin either reopens the category or sets a new cutoff. This is ordinary retrogression mechanics, not a statute changing underneath you. The annual employment-based ceiling is about 140,000 visas (plus any unused family-based numbers), and the per-country cap of 7% of the worldwide total is what concentrates the India and China employment backlogs into the numbers you see above.
Reading the movement
The steady climb through early 2026 was numbers being released as the fiscal year rolled forward. The drop to U shows that demand from India EB-2 — including a large volume of National Interest Waiver filers, who share the same EB-2 pool — outran the numbers available for the year. We have seen this movie before in other India employment categories. The category will almost certainly reopen in a later bulletin, but the exact month and the cutoff it reopens with are anyone’s guess until the State Department publishes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the India EB-2 cutoff in August 2026?
In the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, India EB-2 is listed as U (Unavailable). That means no India EB-2 final action dates are current that month; the category has exhausted its annual employment-based numbers.
How did India EB-2 move before it closed?
Verified Final Action Dates advanced from 15JUL12 in Aug 2024 to 15JUL13 in Jan 2026, 15SEP13 in Mar 2026, and 15JUL14 in May 2026, before retrogressing to U in Jul 2026. The full timeline is in the table above.
Why did India EB-2 go Unavailable?
Annual employment-based visa numbers are finite. Strong demand from India EB-2 (including NIW filers) consumed the available numbers for the fiscal year, so the category closed until numbers are replenished in a later bulletin.
Should I consider an EB-3 filing while EB-2 is U?
If your priority date is earlier than the EB-3 India cutoff (01JAN14 as of Aug 2026), a concurrent or downgrade EB-3 filing may let you proceed. This is a strategic decision that should be reviewed with a licensed attorney.
When will India EB-2 reopen?
That is an estimate, not a guarantee. Retrogressed or closed categories typically reopen in a subsequent bulletin, sometimes with a new cutoff, depending on unused-number carry-over and demand.