US exhausts EB-2 green card quota for India in FY2026

The United States has used up all available EB-2 employment-based green card numbers for Indian nationals for fiscal year 2026, according to official data. The EB-2 category covers professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability.

The quota exhaustion means no new EB-2 green cards can be issued to Indian applicants until the start of the next fiscal year in October 2026. This is a recurring issue due to the per-country cap that limits green cards from any single nation to 7% of the total annual employment-based quota.

Indian nationals, who make up a large share of EB-2 applicants, face the longest wait times among all countries. Many have been in the green card backlog for years, and the annual quota exhaustion further delays their permanent residency.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has not announced any special measures to address the backlog. Legislative proposals to increase the per-country cap have not advanced in Congress.