EB-5 Visa Warning: India Faces Possible Green Card Retrogression And Delays In 2026
New Delhi: Indian investors pursuing US permanent residency through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program have received a clear alert from the latest US Visa Bulletin. The May 2026 bulletin, released last week, warned that high demand and increased usage by Indian applicants in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories could soon force retrogression of the final action date or make the category unavailable. This would help keep visa issuances within the annual limit for fiscal year 2026.
Visa retrogression happens when the US Department of State rolls back a category’s priority date due to more applications than available visas, leading to extended waiting periods for green cards. This marks the first such direct caution for India in the EB-5 unreserved category during FY 2026.
The EB-5 program enables foreign nationals to secure a US green card by investing in a new commercial enterprise that generates at least 10 full-time jobs for American workers. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 can also qualify. The minimum investment amount varies depending on whether the project is in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or a non-TEA location.
Immigration experts shared insights with Business Standard. Sukanya Raman, immigration attorney and country head at Davies & Associates, noted that EB-5 petitions from Indians have risen significantly over the past decade, accelerating after the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) of 2022. She highlighted that concurrent filing allows those already in the US on non-immigrant visas to obtain work authorization and travel documents quickly, turning EB-5 into a popular pathway for professionals and entrepreneurs.
Rohit Turkhud from CSG Law pointed out that the warning currently applies only to the unreserved category, though reserved categories (rural, high unemployment, and infrastructure) could also see cut-offs as early as June 2026. Nicholas A Mastroianni II, President and CEO of US Immigration Fund (USIF), advised monitoring the monthly Visa Bulletin, particularly Section E for unreserved concerns and USCIS charts for adjustment of status eligibility.
FOIA data cited by Mastroianni shows India accounted for roughly 22 per cent of about 13,520 EB-5 petitions filed worldwide between April 2022 and July 2025, making it the second-largest user after China. Demand drivers include long backlogs in EB-2 and EB-3 categories (with India’s final action dates in July 2014 for EB-2 and November 2013 for EB-3), recent H-1B and H-4 policy changes, and the September 30, 2026 sunset deadline for certain provisions.
Experts stressed that filing the I-526E investor petition before any cut-off is critical to secure one’s place in the queue, even if concurrent green card filing becomes unavailable later. India currently remains “Current” in the reserved categories under the May 2026 bulletin.
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