The September 2026 Visa Bulletin Is Now in Effect — But Some U.S. Green Card Quotas Could Run Out Before September 30
September has begun, which means the U.S. Department of State’s September 2026 Visa Bulletin is now in effect.
But this month is different.
September is the final month of U.S. fiscal year 2026, and the State Department has issued a clear warning: some immigrant visa categories may reach their annual numerical limits before September 30.
If that happens, the affected category may immediately become “Unavailable.” That means no additional visa numbers can be authorized, even though the fiscal year has not technically ended yet.
Why September matters
U.S. family-preference and employment-based immigrant visas operate under annual numerical limits. For FY2026, the Department of State has determined that the worldwide employment-based preference limit is 186,317, while the family-sponsored preference limit is 226,000.
These numbers are divided among different preference categories and are also subject to applicable country limits. When a category reaches its statutory maximum, DOS cannot simply continue issuing visas until September 30. Instead, the category must become unavailable.
What does the September bulletin look like for Vietnam?
Vietnam falls under the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column. For September 2026, employment-based Final Action Dates include:
EB-1: Current
EB-2: Current
EB-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals: September 1, 2024
EB-3 Other Workers: April 1, 2022
EB-4: December 15, 2022
EB-5 Unreserved: Current
EB-5 Set-Asides: Current.
At first glance, Current categories may look reassuring. But Current does not mean the government has permanently reserved a visa number for every pending applicant. It means visa numbers are currently authorized for qualified applicants. Availability can change if the category reaches its numerical limit.
DOS specifically warns about EB-2
The September Bulletin contains an explicit warning regarding EB-2. The Department says sufficient demand and increased visa-number use may make it necessary either to retrogress the Final Action Date or make EB-2 unavailable before the end of FY2026.
Get Gary Duc Tran’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
That is particularly relevant to applicants from countries such as Vietnam where EB-2 is currently Current. A category that is Current on September 1 could theoretically become unavailable later in September if its annual allocation is exhausted.
EB-5 Unreserved faces the same risk
The Department issues a similar warning for EB-5 Unreserved. Demand may force DOS to retrogress the category or make it unavailable before September 30 in order to keep visa use within the statutory FY2026 limit. Vietnam’s EB-5 Unreserved category is currently Current. The Rural, High-Unemployment and Infrastructure set-asides are also Current.
EB-1 India could become unavailable within weeks
For EB-1 applicants chargeable to India, the warning is even more specific. DOS says high demand may require making EB-1 India unavailable “in the coming weeks” if the country’s applicable prorated limit is reached before the end of the fiscal year.
This illustrates an important feature of the Visa Bulletin: Publication of a September date does not guarantee that the same availability will remain through September 30.
What does “Unavailable” actually mean?
The Visa Bulletin uses three basic signals. “C” means Current.
A specific date means only applicants with a Priority Date earlier than that date can receive a visa number. “U” means Unavailable — visa numbers are not authorized for issuance. When a numerical limit is reached, DOS states that it must immediately stop honoring further number requests.
This does not apply to every U.S. visa
It is also important not to overstate the warning. The United States is not “running out of visas” generally. The Visa Bulletin concerns numerically limited immigrant preferences.
Tourist visas, student visas and other nonimmigrant categories do not operate under these Final Action Date tables. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are also not subject to the annual preference limits in the same way as family-preference immigrants.
October starts a new fiscal year — but that does not guarantee a major jump
FY2026 ends on September 30. FY2027 begins October 1, bringing a new annual allocation of immigrant visa numbers.
However, that does not mean every backlog automatically disappears or every Final Action Date moves forward dramatically. DOS must still account for accumulated demand, pending applications, category limits and country limits when setting October dates.
The bottom line
For September 2026, applicants should be watching two things at the same time: their Priority Date and whether visa numbers remain available in their category.
The September Visa Bulletin is now effective, but the final month of the fiscal year can be particularly volatile. For EB-2, EB-5 Unreserved and other heavily used categories, a case being Current today does not necessarily guarantee that the category will remain available through September 30.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for September 2026.
