While application numbers had already risen between 2023 and 2024, immigration experts have noted that the latest spike has raised concerns within the United States immigration system. Analysts suggest that the surge is not primarily driven by first-time investors seeking migration through capital deployment, but by Indian professionals already residing in the United States who are frustrated by prolonged waiting periods, in some cases spanning more than a decade, under existing employment-based green card categories.
Piyush Gupta of CanAm Enterprises, a multinational investment firm specialising in EB-5 facilitation, explained that the program is increasingly being viewed as an alternative pathway to permanent residency. He stated, “The idea of investing about USD 1 million, approximately 94 million Indian rupees, through EB-5 is seen as an easier alternative to years of uncertainty. Many applicants are professionals who have been in the United States for over a decade. What they lack is permanency, and EB-5 addresses that gap directly.”
Under the EB-5 program, applicants are required to invest USD 800,000, approximately 75 million Indian rupees, in designated reserved categories such as rural areas, high unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects. For investments outside these designated categories, the required amount is USD 1.05 million.
The sharp rise in Indian applications has been significant enough for USCIS to formally highlight the trend in its May visa bulletin. The bulletin warned that increased usage by Indian nationals in unreserved EB-5 visa categories could lead to retrogression or even temporary unavailability of the category in order to remain within the annual statutory limits for fiscal year 2026.
“The increased usage by India in EB-5 unreserved visa categories may make it necessary to retrogress or render the category unavailable to keep usage within the maximum allowed under the fiscal year 2026 annual limit,” the bulletin stated.
Adding to uncertainty, experts have noted that the current EB-5 framework is valid only until September 2027 unless reauthorised by the United States Congress. “If not reauthorised, there may be a complete lapse of the visa category,” said Haley Davidson, a United States-based immigration analyst.
Meanwhile, a Hyderabad-based real estate businessman exploring the EB-5 route noted growing interest in reserved investment categories. “Currently, applications filed before May 2022 under the unreserved category are being processed. That is why many of us are considering reserved categories. However, they come with their own conditions, which we are still evaluating,” he said.
The surge in applications underscores mounting pressure on the United States immigration framework, highlighting how long-standing employment-based visa backlogs are increasingly pushing residents toward investment-based permanent residency pathways.
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