United States | EB-5 unreserved visa limit met for India

The State Department announced that, as of June 5, 2026, all available immigrant visas in the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) unreserved category for applicants chargeable to India have been issued for fiscal year (FY) 2026.

Key takeaways:

Visa limit set by Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA states the annual limit for EB-5 visas is 7.1% of the worldwide employment limit, of which 68% is available for unreserved visa categories (C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, NU).  According to the announcement, the INA establishes that “natives” of any single foreign state may not receive more than 7% of employment-based and family-sponsored visas.

Unused EB-5 reserved visas from FY 2024 made available. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 specifies that unused EB-5 reserved visas from FY 2024 may be made available in the EB-5 unreserved categories for FY 2026.

Annual limits reset Oct. 1, 2026. All EB-5 unreserved visas for Indian applicants have been used for FY 2026. Embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. The annual limits will reset on Oct. 1, 2026, for the start of FY 2027. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing EB-5 unreserved visas to qualified Indian applicants.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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