# US visa bulletin September 2026: family green cards advance for Indians 2026-08-22T14:21:42+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The US Department of State's September 2026 Visa Bulletin shows forward movement for family-sponsored green card applicants from India but no relief for employment-based categories. The Times of India reports that the Final Action Date for F1 visas moved to January 22, 2020 from December 15, 2018, and F2A also advanced. However, for employment-based categories, EB-2 and EB-5 remain unavailable for India, EB-1 is stuck at October 15, 2022, and EB-3 remains at January 1, 2014. Livemint reports that the Dates for Filing chart offers more generous dates: EB-1 India at December 1, 2023, EB-2 India at January 15, 2015, and EB-3 India at January 15, 2015. The State Department has warned that EB-1 India may become unavailable before the fiscal year ends due to high demand. The new fiscal year begins October 1, and the October bulletin will bring fresh numbers for EB-2 and EB-5 for Indians. Family-sponsored F2A category is particularly favourable: the Dates for Filing chart is current for all countries including India. For DV-2026 lottery winners, September is the final month to obtain diversity visas, with eligibility ending September 30. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources report the same facts neutrally. The Times of India leads with good news for family-based applicants, while Livemint provides more detailed breakdowns of filing dates for each category. The key implication is that employment-based green card applicants, especially H-1B holders in EB-3, face multi-year backlogs. The October 1 reset will likely open EB-2 and EB-5 for India, but EB-1 may become unavailable before that. Watch the State Department's weekly updates for EB-1 availability through September. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight factual reporting of visa bulletin changes - livemint.com (neutral report) Comprehensive but neutral wire-style reporting This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-23T17:57:21+00:00. Tags: EB-2, green card, H-1B, US State Department, Visa Bulletin Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/us-visa-bulletin-september-2026-good-news-for-family-based-no-relief-for-employment-green-card-applicants-from-india/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/us-visa-bulletin-september-2026-good-news-for-family-based-no-relief-for-employment-green-card-applicants-from-india/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/