India, Oct. 2 -- The new US fiscal year has brought fresh Green Card numbers for Indian applicants, reopening an employment-based category that had run out of visas and moving the cutoff dates in several key categories. At the same time, the US is expanding social-media screening for some visa applicants from October 1, while immigration-related health coverage rules are also changing.

For Indians waiting for employment-based Green Cards, the biggest development is the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first bulletin of fiscal year 2027. The US State Department's new allocation restores availability in categories that had become unavailable at the end of fiscal year 2026.

India's EB-2 category is again available after the State Department...