EB-4 Visa Program Paused for FY25: What It Means for Indians

The US government recently announced that they have given out all the Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) visas they can for this year (fiscal year 2025). This means they won’t be giving out any more of these visas until October 1, 2025. That’s when the new year for these visas starts (fiscal year 2026).

This news affects people from different countries, including India, who are trying to get a green card (permanent residency) through the EB-4 visa. Basically, if you were hoping to get an EB-4 green card soon, you’ll have to wait until next October.

The EB-4 visa is for specific types of workers. It’s mainly for:

• Religious workers: Like priests or ministers coming to work for a religious organization.
  
• Special immigrants: This is a category for certain specific groups of people.
  
• International broadcasters: People who work as reporters or presenters for news companies that broadcast around the world.
  

The US government has rules that limit how many green cards they can give out each year for people coming to work. A small percentage of these work-based green cards (about 7%) are for EB-4 visas.

To be able to get an EB-4 visa, you have to fit into one of these special categories, like:

• Religious Workers: As mentioned before, people in religious jobs.
  
• Broadcasters: People working for international news companies.
  
• Doctors: Doctors who agree to work in areas of the US that need more doctors, or who have a special exception to a rule about living in their home country for a while after training.
  
• Employees of International Organizations: People who work for big global groups like the United Nations or the World Bank and are coming to the US to continue that work.
  
• Armed Forces Members: People who are serving or have served in the US military for a long time and have a good record.

What does this mean for people from India who want EB-4 visas?

• No more visas now: If you’re from India and want an EB-4 green card, you have to wait until October 1, 2025, when they start giving out these visas again for the new year.
  
• Embassies can’t process applications: US embassies and consulates around the world have been told to stop processing EB-4 visa applications for the rest of this year.
  
• Longer wait times: Because they’ve stopped giving out visas for now, it might make the waiting times longer for people who are already in line to get an EB-4 green card.
  
• Other options: If you were hoping for an EB-4 visa, you might want to think about other types of US visas, like EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 visas (which are for other kinds of workers), the H-1B visa (for skilled workers), or family-based green cards.

When will EB-4 visas start again?

You can apply for EB-4 visas again starting on October 1, 2025. If you are eligible, you can expect the process at US embassies and consulates to start up again around that time.

In short, the US has used up all its EB-4 visas for this year. If you were planning to apply or were waiting for one, you’ll need to wait until October 2025. This affects people from India and other countries who are seeking these specific types of work-based green cards.