US Visa Bulletin May 2025: Massive Setback for Indian Green Card Holders

For Indian immigrants who are willing to secure permanent membership in the U.S., the May 2025 visa bulletin has shown no meaningful forward movement across key employment-based categories. The bulletin shows growing backlogs, particularly for Indians under H-1B and EB visa categories.

The EB-5 unreserved category turned out to be the biggest disappointment for India. The cutoff date now has been pushed back by more than six months. It now stands at May 1, 2019. This retrogression delays processing for thousands of Indian investors who were previously eligible.

The current scenario means that only those applicants with a current EB-5 priority date earlier than May 1, 2019, can proceed with their applications, leaving others with years of additional wait time.

Not just EB-5; even other categories don't look good for India. EB-1 remains stagnant at February 1, 2022. EB-2 holds at January 1, 2013, and it extends one of the longest waiting periods in the employment-based system. Only EB-3 shows some hope with an advanced cutoff date now set to April 15, 2013.

On the other hand, EB-4 remains entirely unavailable. This is not positive news for Indian investors, as it means a prolonged period of uncertainty. The backlog continues to stretch across years, and in some cases, over a decade, despite attempts at immigration reform.