&w=3840&q=100)
EB-5: Visa dates for Indian investors jump 6 months, Green Card line clears
'For Indian applicants who've been waiting in a lengthy queue, this forward movement offers renewed hope,' Vinay Kumar, director – estate and succession planning at Client Associates told Business Standard. 'The reserved categories, including rural and high unemployment areas, remain current, and applicants in these usually receive their green cards within two to three years.'
The EB-5 visa programme, which allows foreign investors to obtain US permanent residency, has become increasingly popular among Indian families seeking a direct route to a green card.
What is the EB-5 visa?
The EB-5 visa is a US immigrant investor programme under the employment-based fifth preference category. It allows foreign nationals to invest a minimum of $800,000 (around ₹7 crore) into a qualifying US business, provided it creates or preserves at least 10 jobs for American workers.
The visa covers the investor, their spouse, and unmarried children under the age of 21. Upon approval, the family receives US green cards.
Record backlog spurs shift to investor route
The jump in priority dates comes at a time when the backlog for other US visa categories has grown sharply. As of July 2025, more than 11 million cases were pending across the US immigration system, including applications from Indian H-1B workers and family-based green card hopefuls.
'With the record backlog crushing hopes for other categories, EB-5 has become the fastest and most assured route to US permanent residency,' Piyush Gupta, vice president for India and Middle East at CanAm Enterprises told Business Standard. 'The six-month jump in priority dates is a welcome development for Indian investors.'
Why the dates moved forward
In April 2025, the EB-5 Unreserved final action date for India was pushed back due to high demand. However, the August 2025 bulletin notes that unused family-sponsored visas are now available to be reallocated to employment-based categories, including EB-5. This allowed the Department of State to move India's Final Action Date to November 15, 2019.
The EB-5 Unreserved category includes investments made outside of designated high-unemployment or rural areas. USCIS cautioned that if the annual cap for EB-5 Unreserved is reached, the category could be made 'unavailable' again with immediate effect.
Surge in Indian EB-5 demand
According to the American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA), demand from Indian nationals has grown sharply since April 2024, driven in part by stricter US controls on student and temporary work visas under President Donald Trump.
'In the first four months of FY2025 alone, Indian applicants filed more than 1,200 I-526E petitions across reserved categories—more than any prior full year,' Nicholas Mastroianni III, president and CMO of United States Immigration Fund (USIF), which runs EB-5 regional centres in the US, told Business Standard.
Data published by the AIIA under the Freedom of Information Act shows that Indian EB-5 petition filings since October 2022 have exceeded 1,790.
Year-wise Indian EB-5 filings
FY2020: Around 290
FY2021: 80–100 (due to COVID-19 impact)
FY2022: Over 1,100 (after Reform and Integrity Act)
FY2023: Around 650–700
FY2024: Around 600–700
FY2025 (October 2024 to January 2025): Over 1,200
'If this pace continues, India could cross 2,000 filings by the end of FY2025,' said Mastroianni.
Why Indians prefer EB-5 over H-1B or student visas
'There's growing uncertainty around temporary visa statuses,' said Gupta. 'With EB-5, investors have a more direct, secure alternative.'
One factor making the route more appealing is the concurrent filing option. 'Applicants already in the US—such as students—can file their EB-5 petition and green card application at the same time,' Gupta said. 'This allows them to stay, work and travel while their case is processed.'
Mastroianni added, 'It's not just about faster green cards. EB-5 means freedom from H-1B lotteries, employer dependence and annual visa renewals. It gives families more control.'
No reliance on lottery systems
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
15 minutes ago
- Economic Times
As 50% US tariff looms, 6 key steps that can safeguard Indian economy
Even as downside risks from Donald Trump's punitive tariffs on Indian exports to the US loom, the government may need to take some immediate to medium-term measures to protect the economy. Economists and industry chambers have suggested a bevy of steps that can protect exporters and provide them temporary relief. They have also suggested measures that can boost India's manufacturing competitiveness. From the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chipping
The Print
29 minutes ago
- The Print
Will convey displeasure to US over Munir's nuclear threat from American soil—Centre tells House panel
MPs who attended the meeting said Misri told the Lok Sabha Committee on External Affairs headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor that New Delhi's position remains that BRICS was not an anti-Western grouping but should be seen instead as a 'non-Western grouping'. The committee, it is learnt, was told by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri that US President Donald Trump's imposition of steep tariff on Indian exports was not just a response to New Delhi's purchase of Russian crude oil but could also be connected to its presence in BRICS. New Delhi: The Centre told a parliamentary committee Monday that New Delhi will convey to Washington DC its displeasure over Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, delivering nuclear threats from the soil of the United States, sources told ThePrint. Sources said Misri told the MPs that India would not tolerate such nuclear blackmail. ThePrint exclusively reported on 10 August that Munir, speaking at an event in the US, said, 'we are a nuclear nation, if we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us.' 'India's position will be conveyed to the US,' sources quoted Misri as having said. Misri is also learnt to have told the panel that the US's trade deficit with India may also have been a trigger for Trump, who first announced the imposition of 25 percent tariff on Indian exports to the US and later raised it to 50 percent citing the 'direct or indirect import of Russian oil'. The foreign secretary is learnt to have added that India will not cross certain 'red lines'—a reference to US's demand for India to open up its agriculture and dairy sectors—in its trade negotiations with Washington. 'The three issues that India believes could have acted as a trigger for Trump are purchase of Russian crude oil, trade deficit and India's presence in the BRICS multilateral grouping. India's position is very clear. Misri said New Delhi never considered BRICS to be an anti-Western bloc but believes it can be categorised, if at all, as a non-Western bloc,' an MP who was part of the meeting told ThePrint. Sources in the Indian establishment have previously argued that New Delhi's sale of processed Russian crude oil was necessitated by various European countries, who stopped importing from Moscow, becoming dependent on supplies from India. Apart from Misri, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was also present in the meeting that lasted over three hours. The officials told the MPs that the latest developments would not have any impact on India's 'friendship' with the US. 'Trade is just one aspect of India-US relations. There are many positives also,' one official is learnt to have told the committee. The officials added that India's trade relations, including defence purchases, would not be affected by Trump's announcements. In response to questions from MPs, they underlined that India is not trying to 'enhance' or recalibrate its relations with China or Russia in light of the US President's remarks and announcements. (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: Proxy pushback: After Rajnath, now Gadkari & Venkaiah; BJP is running out of patience with Trump
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir threatens to target RIL's Jamnagar refinery
NEW DELHI: In his bellicose speech where he threatened to nuke India, Pakistan army chief Asim Munir put a target on Reliance Industries Ltd's refinery - the world's largest single-site refining complex - at Jamnagar in Gujarat in case of any future military conflict with New Delhi, indicating for the first time the intent to hit India's economic assets, especially oil installations. Speaking at a formal dinner at Tampa, Florida, in the US, Munir referred to a social media post with a Quranic verse along with the picture of RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani to say he authorised it during the recent conflict with India "to show them what we will do the next time", media reports quoting those present at the closed-door event said. While this set off chatter about Munir threatening the richest Indian, with a net worth of over $115 billion heading the oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate, narration in the verse from Surah Al-Fil (The Elephant), the 105th chapter of the Quran, can be interpreted as an aerial attack in modern warfare. According to open source information, the verse refers to the 'Year of the Elephant, approximately (570 CE), when Abraha, the ruler of Yemen, led an army with elephants to destroy the Kaaba. Allah then sent flocks of birds carrying stones of baked clay, which struck and destroyed Abraha's army. India continuously evaluates military and other threats to its sensitive economic installations, especially those located in border states or considered within range of Pakistan air attacks. In the past, there have been separate reports from intelligence agencies about threats to such installations, particularly the RIL refinery, from Pakistan-based terror groups. Munir chose Ambani to make his threat because the RIL chief symbolises India's economic power and potential. Though there are other oil installations and assets that may be considered vulnerable, the sheer size of the Jamnagar complex makes it the showstopper in India's refining sector with an annual capacity of processing 33 million tonnes of crude, or 12% of India's total refining capacity. It is a major exporter of refined petroleum products.
