Rules & regulations · Official sources only

NRI Updates

The rule changes that affect life between India and Florida — OCI cards, passports, Indian taxes, remittances, property and US green-card dates. Every entry is checked against the official government source before it appears here; anything we cannot verify does not get listed. Spot an error? Tell us.

Latest verified updates

US Rules ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

Proposed: USCIS may stop deferring to prior approvals on H-1B extensions

Status: Proposed — not in effect

DHS has proposed removing the rule that tells USCIS officers to defer to a prior approval when an employer files an I-129 extension for the same worker on the same facts. If finalized, every H-1B, L-1 and other I-129 extension would be reviewed fresh on current evidence — likely meaning more Requests for Evidence. This is a proposal only: nothing changes unless a final rule is issued. Public comments are open until November 13, 2026.

Who it affects: Workers extending H-1B and other I-129 status — Indian H-1B holders in the green-card backlog renew most often

Effective: Proposal published October 14, 2026 — comments close November 13, 2026

Official source: Federal Register — DHS proposed rule, Docket USCIS-2026-0529 ↗

US Rules ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

October 2026 Visa Bulletin: India's green-card dates as FY2027 opens

Status: Current bulletin

The State Department's October 2026 bulletin — the first of fiscal year 2027 — sets India's employment-based final action dates at February 1, 2023 (EB-1), November 1, 2013 (EB-2) and January 1, 2014 (EB-3). EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved (December 1, 2023) reopen after ending September as unavailable. The bulletin's Dates for Filing for India stand at July 1, 2024 (EB-1) and January 15, 2015 (EB-2 and EB-3) — check the USCIS filing-chart page for which chart applies this month.

Who it affects: Indian-born green-card applicants in EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and EB-5

Effective: October 2026

Official source: U.S. Department of State — Visa Bulletin ↗

US Rules ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

$100,000 H-1B entry payment extended for another year, to September 2027

Status: In effect

A presidential proclamation signed September 18, 2026 extends the H-1B entry restriction for a further 12 months: a specialty-occupation worker entering the US from abroad still needs a petition accompanied by a $100,000 payment, unless a discretionary national-interest exception is granted. The extension took effect September 21, 2026 and runs until September 21, 2027. The proclamation notes the fee had already been paid on more than 700 petitions in its first year.

Who it affects: Employers hiring H-1B workers from outside the US — and the Indian professionals who make up most H-1B approvals

Effective: September 21, 2026 (runs to September 21, 2027)

Official source: Federal Register — Presidential Proclamation (Sep 2026) ↗

Money & Remittances ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

The summer's high-rate window on NRI deposits has closed

Status: In effect

For part of summer 2026 the RBI had lifted the interest-rate ceilings on fresh FCNR(B) deposits of 3–5 years and on NRE deposits of 3 years and above, letting banks bid up rates for NRI money. The RBI's Third Amendment Directions of August 25, 2026 ended that window early — on August 31, 2026 instead of September 30 — so the normal ceilings apply again. If you were quoted an unusually high NRI deposit rate in June–August, it is no longer available on new deposits.

Who it affects: NRIs placing or renewing FCNR(B) or NRE term deposits

Effective: Window closed August 31, 2026

Official source: Reserve Bank of India — Interest Rate on Deposits Directions, Third Amendment 2026 ↗

OCI & Documents ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

OCI cards are now digital: e-OCI launched, booklets phased out for new cards

Status: In effect

India launched the electronic OCI (e-OCI) card on June 30, 2026. From now on, only the digital e-OCI is issued — to new applicants and to existing cardholders alike. You can download yours from the OCI portal or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app, and you no longer need to carry the physical card at immigration. Existing physical booklets remain valid and continue to be accepted.

Who it affects: All OCI cardholders and new OCI applicants

Effective: June 30, 2026

Official source: Embassy of India — official e-OCI notice ↗

Money & Remittances ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

SNRR rupee accounts opened up: the 'business interest in India' test is gone

Status: In effect

An RBI amendment to the FEMA deposit regulations (Notification No. FEMA 5(R)(6)/2026-RB) removed the condition that an SNRR account holder must have a business interest in India. Any person resident outside India may now open, hold and maintain a Special Non-Resident Rupee (SNRR) account with an authorised dealer in India, its branch outside India, or a branch in an IFSC in India.

Who it affects: NRIs and other non-residents who need a rupee account for India-linked transactions

Effective: June 18, 2026

Official source: Reserve Bank of India — FEMA (Deposit) Regulations ↗

Taxes ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

A new Income-tax Act replaced the 1961 Act on April 1, 2026

Status: In effect

The Income-tax Act, 2025 is now India's tax law, replacing the six-decade-old Income-tax Act, 1961. It rewrites the law in simpler language — rules cut from 511 to 333, forms from 399 to 190 — and replaces 'previous year' and 'assessment year' with a single 'Tax Year'. Tax rates and policy are unchanged. NRIs with Indian income file under the new Act from tax year 2026-27; earlier years remain under the old Act.

Who it affects: NRIs and OCIs with taxable income or filings in India

Effective: April 1, 2026

Official source: Press Information Bureau — Ministry of Finance ↗

Money & Remittances ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

Money sent from India for education or medical care now draws 2% TCS, not 5%

Status: In effect

Union Budget 2026 cut the Tax Collected at Source on LRS remittances for education and medical treatment from 5% to 2% (on amounts above the ₹10 lakh yearly threshold), and set a flat 2% — with no threshold — on overseas tour packages, down from 5% and 20%. TCS paid is not an extra tax: the sender claims it as credit when filing their Indian return.

Who it affects: Families in India sending money abroad — including to students and relatives in Florida

Effective: April 1, 2026

Official source: Ministry of Finance — Union Budget 2026-27 ↗

Property ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

Buying property from an NRI seller: TDS now runs on the buyer's PAN — no TAN needed

Status: In effect

When a resident bought property from a non-resident seller, the buyer previously had to obtain a TAN (Tax Deduction Account Number) just to deposit the tax deducted on the payment. From April 1, 2026, that TDS is deposited through the resident buyer's PAN-based challan instead — removing a registration step from a very common NRI property sale.

Who it affects: Anyone buying property in India from an NRI seller, and NRI sellers

Effective: April 1, 2026

Official source: Ministry of Finance — Union Budget 2026-27 highlights (PIB) ↗

US Rules ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

The H-1B lottery is gone: cap selection is now weighted by wage level

Status: In effect

A USCIS final rule replaced the random H-1B cap lottery with wage-weighted selection, in force from the FY2027 registration season. Each registration is entered in the selection pool by the job's Department of Labor wage level — 4 entries at Level IV, 3 at Level III, 2 at Level II and 1 at Level I — while each worker still counts only once against the cap. Higher-paid roles now have materially better selection odds; entry-level roles have worse.

Who it affects: Every employer filing cap-subject H-1B registrations — and Indian professionals, the program's largest group

Effective: February 27, 2026

Official source: Federal Register — USCIS final rule, 90 FR 60864 ↗

OCI & Documents ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

PIO cards no longer work for travel to India — conversion to OCI is the only route

Status: In effect

Indian immigration posts stopped accepting PIO (Person of Indian Origin) cards for entry and exit after December 31, 2025, and the Embassy of India has confirmed there will be no further extension. Anyone still holding a PIO card must convert it to an OCI card through the formal online application — conversion is not automatic — or travel on a regular visa issued by an Indian mission.

Who it affects: Remaining PIO cardholders who never converted to OCI — often long-settled families and older relatives

Effective: PIO acceptance ended December 31, 2025

Official source: Embassy of India, Washington DC — PIO cardholders notice ↗

OCI & Documents ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

Every new Indian passport is now a chip-enabled e-passport

Status: In effect

The Ministry of External Affairs has completed the Passport Seva 2.0 rollout: the upgraded system went live across India on May 26, 2025, and at Indian embassies and consulates worldwide on October 28, 2025. All newly issued passports are now e-passports with an embedded RFID chip holding the holder's data and biometrics to ICAO standards. Your existing passport stays valid until its printed expiry — you receive the e-passport when you next apply or renew, including at the consulate serving Florida.

Who it affects: Indian citizens applying for or renewing a passport, in India or abroad

Effective: Announced November 12, 2025

Official source: Ministry of External Affairs — Passport Seva ↗

Travel ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

Flying to India on a foreign passport? The e-Arrival Card is mandatory — paper forms are gone

Status: In effect

India has replaced the paper disembarkation card with a digital e-Arrival Card. Every foreign national — including OCI cardholders, who were brought into the requirement on October 4, 2025 — must submit it online within 72 hours before arriving in India; Indian passport holders are exempt. Paper cards stopped being accepted on March 31, 2026. The form is free: file only on the official portal or the Su-Swagatam app, and ignore any site that charges for it.

Who it affects: OCI cardholders and everyone entering India on a foreign passport

Effective: October 1, 2025

Official source: Bureau of Immigration — Indian Visa Online ↗

Travel ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

India's foreigners law is now a single Act — in force since September 1, 2025

Status: In effect

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 consolidated India's foreigners law into one statute, repealing and replacing four older laws: the Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act 1939, the Foreigners Act 1946 and the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 2000. It also puts the immigration tracking system (IVFRT) on a statutory footing, including reporting duties that touch foreign nationals and OCI cardholders staying in India.

Who it affects: Foreign nationals and OCI cardholders entering or staying in India — and the hotels and institutions hosting them

Effective: September 1, 2025

Official source: India Code — Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (Act 13 of 2025) ↗

Consular Services ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

For Florida, Indian consular services run through Atlanta — and only via VFS Global

Status: In effect

Florida falls under the Consulate General of India, Atlanta, and the consulate does not accept applications directly — by walk-in or by post. Passport, visa, OCI and citizenship-renunciation services for US residents run solely through VFS Global's Indian Consular Application Centres, and since August 1, 2025 miscellaneous attestation services in the US are also processed through VFS rather than by post to the Embassy. US passport applicants now apply on the Passport Seva 2.0 (GPSP) portal and upload their documents there before submitting through VFS.

Who it affects: Florida-based NRIs and OCI holders needing passport, OCI, visa, renunciation or attestation services

Effective: Standing arrangement (attestation via VFS since August 1, 2025)

Official source: Consulate General of India, Atlanta ↗

Money & Remittances ✓ Verified Oct 22, 2026

Moving money between your NRE, NRO and SNRR accounts is now expressly permitted

Status: In effect

A new Regulation 9 in the FEMA (Deposit) Regulations (inserted by Notification No. FEMA 5(R)(5)/2025-RB) expressly permits transfers between repatriable rupee accounts — NRE, NRO and SNRR — giving NRIs a clearer route to consolidate balances spread across their Indian accounts. The usual repatriation rules and limits for taking money out of India still apply.

Who it affects: NRIs holding balances across NRO, NRE or SNRR accounts — rent, sale proceeds, Indian income

Effective: January 15, 2025

Official source: Reserve Bank of India — FEMA (Deposit) Regulations ↗

This page is a verified reference summary, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules change — confirm the details on the official source before you act. New entries are added only after the underlying government document has been checked. Planning the trip itself? Our Flights to Kerala guide covers the verified routings from Miami.

Frequently asked questions

Do OCI cardholders have to file India's e-Arrival Card before flying to India?

Yes. Every foreign national — including OCI cardholders — must submit the free e-Arrival Card online within 72 hours before arriving in India, on the official portal (indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival) or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app. Indian passport holders are exempt, and paper disembarkation cards are no longer accepted.

Is the $100,000 H-1B payment still in effect?

Yes. A presidential proclamation signed on September 18, 2026 extended the H-1B entry restriction for another 12 months, so a specialty-occupation worker entering the US from abroad still needs a petition accompanied by the $100,000 payment — it now runs until September 21, 2027, unless a discretionary national-interest exception is granted.

Can I still travel to India on a PIO card?

No. Indian immigration posts stopped accepting PIO (Person of Indian Origin) cards for entry and exit after December 31, 2025, and the Embassy of India has confirmed there will be no further extension. Convert the PIO card to an OCI card through the formal online application — conversion is not automatic — or travel on a regular visa.

Can I move money between my NRO and NRE accounts?

Yes. Regulation 9 of the RBI's FEMA (Deposit) Regulations expressly permits transfers between repatriable rupee accounts — NRE, NRO and SNRR — so balances can be consolidated across your Indian accounts. The usual repatriation rules and limits still apply when taking money out of India.

Where do Florida residents apply for an Indian passport, OCI card or visa?

Florida falls under the Consulate General of India, Atlanta, and the consulate does not accept applications directly. Passport, visa, OCI and renunciation services run only through VFS Global's Indian Consular Application Centres; US passport applicants first apply on the Passport Seva 2.0 (GPSP) portal and upload their documents there.