Green Card Update Brings Gains for Applicants-List of Changes

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin allocates new immigrant visa numbers for fiscal year 2027, signaling gains for several green card applicants. The most significant movement appears in employment-based categories for applicants from India. The update notes that two categories have reopened to visa number availability, and it also reports changes to the cutoff dates for India in the applicable priority-date charts. Such shifts reflect the annual reallocation of visa numbers across employment-based and other family-based and employment categories as the government manages demand and supply for FY 2027. For Indian applicants, the reopening of two categories and the revised India cutoff may affect when a person can file for adjustment of status or consular processing. Individuals should consult the published Visa Bulletin for their specific category (for example, EB-2 or EB-3) and country of chargeability to determine whether their priority date is now current or could move closer to being current in the coming months. The bulletin serves as a barometer for prospective applicants in the Indian diaspora, highlighting that movement is uneven across categories and that careful review of dates is required for planning. Backlogs persist for many Indian applicants in several EB categories, so changes may take time to translate into immediate filing opportunities.