The India EB-5 visa limit for 2026 was reached for the unreserved category as of June 5, according to a June 10 State Department announcement. All available FY2026 EB-5 unreserved immigrant visas for applicants chargeable to India had been issued, stopping further issuance in those categories until the fiscal-year reset on October 1. Reserved EB-5 categories are legally distinct.
What exactly became unavailable?
The announcement applies to the unreserved EB-5 categories, not every form of EB-5 visa allocation. State identifies the unreserved classifications as including C5, T5, I5, R5, RU and NU.
The EB-5 program also contains statutorily reserved visa allocations for certain qualifying investments, including rural areas, high-unemployment areas and infrastructure projects.
Why the distinction matters
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides EB-5 with 7.1% of the worldwide employment-based preference limit. State says 68% of that EB-5 allocation is available for unreserved categories, while 32% is reserved under the statutory set-aside structure.
Additionally, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act affects how certain unused reserved numbers can flow into later fiscal-year unreserved availability. Those mechanics make EB-5 number allocation more complicated than a single nationwide quota.
What happens to pending cases?
Exhaustion of the fiscal-year visa allocation does not, by itself, mean an underlying I-526 or I-526E petition is denied. It means a visa number cannot be issued from the exhausted India unreserved allocation during the remainder of FY2026. Petition adjudication, visa-number availability and final immigrant-visa or adjustment approval are separate stages.
An investor should review the actual status of their petition and immigration application rather than treating a general visa-number announcement as an individual decision.
When does the limit reset?
State said annual limits reset with FY2027 on October 1, 2026. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing unreserved EB-5 visas to qualified applicants chargeable to India, subject to visa availability. Again, “limits reset” does not mean every pending case becomes immediately current.
Future Visa Bulletins determine the applicable final-action dates.
Why this matters for Indian investors
India has become a significant EB-5 market, but investment-immigration decisions involve considerably more than waiting for a visa number. Investors must consider source-of-funds documentation, qualifying investment requirements, project risk, immigration eligibility and timing.
Hypothetical example
An Indian-born investor has an approved unreserved EB-5 petition and is documentarily ready for an immigrant visa. If no India unreserved visa number remained in FY2026, the consulate could not issue that immigrant visa merely because the underlying petition had already been approved.
Once FY2027 begins, the applicant must still be eligible under the applicable Visa Bulletin and satisfy all remaining requirements.
Reserved versus unreserved cases
An applicant associated with a qualifying rural set-aside petition may occupy a different visa category from an older unreserved investor.
| Issue | Before June 5 | After June 5 |
|---|---|---|
| India unreserved EB-5 | Numbers remained | FY2026 numbers exhausted |
| Reserved EB-5 | Separate allocation | Not what announcement exhausted |
| Reset | — | Oct. 1, 2026 |
FAQ
Are all EB-5 visas unavailable for Indians? No; the announcement concerns unreserved categories.
When do FY2027 limits reset? October 1.
Does petition approval guarantee a visa number? No.
India exhausted its FY2026 unreserved EB-5 allocation, but reserved categories and underlying petition adjudications remain legally distinct.
