This US visa can help you get Green Card faster
What's the story
The EB-5 visa program has become a popular way to secure a Green Card in the US. It is now trending among investors across the world.
According to an American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA) report, demand for these visas has been on the rise since April 2024.
The data shows that this trend is common to all Targeted Employment Area (TEA) categories and country groups.
Procedure
EB-5 visa application process explained
The AIIA report throws important light on visa backlogs and estimated waiting times in reserved visa categories.
Form I-526 is for the EB-5 immigrant investor visa; Form I-526E is for foreign investors seeking a US Green Card through the EB-5 program by investing in a USCIS-approved regional center.
This data helps applicants understand general visa processing trends and plan accordingly.
Investor statistics
Indian investors account for significant share of EB-5 petitions
During the time period of April 1 2022- January 31 2025, Indians made about 18% (1,790) of the total I-526/I-526E petitions.
Most of them were in the Rural (847) and High Unemployment (HUA) set-aside category (883).
A handful (60) were in the Other category.
This shows a high level of interest among Indian investors in these particular visa categories.
Wait times
Significant wait times for high unemployment and rural visas
The AIIA report said there was demand for 10 times as many High Unemployment visas and four times as many Rural visas, compared to their annual visa supply numbers.
If these visas were issued on first-come-first-serve basis with no country limit, it would mean about 10-year wait time for high unemployment and four-year wait time in rural areas, for investors with priority dates after January 2025.
Way
Unreserved visa category offers faster approval
Indian EB-5 investors can choose to apply under the unreserved category after getting I-526E approved.
According to the AIIA report, this could be cleared within five years, making it the soonest available visa for India-born investors in 2025.
This alternative route gives the Indian investors a faster option to attain US residency through the EB-5 program.