May 2025 Visa Bulletin: Indian and Chinese Nationals Remain Current Under EB-5 “Set Aside” Categories

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program was introduced in the 1990s by Congress as a program to bring in foreign investment and create US jobs. It has been reauthorized by Congress and continues to attract foreign investors and stimulate the US economy. It has been particularly attractive for Indian and Chinese nationals who are typically able to obtain US permanent residency much faster through EB-5 than other green card avenues.

Most recently, following the May 2025 Visa Bulletin release, the US Department of State has confirmed that all nationalities, including India- and China-born nationals, will remain “current” through certain expedited regional center projects, and can benefit from quick processing times and fast green card issuance. These include EB-5 regional center-affiliated projects in rural and high unemployment areas. These reserved categories have not yet been subject to retrogression, and since their introduction, have supported faster processing and green card issuance, regardless of country of birth.

This continued “current” status marks a significant advantage for investors from historically backlogged countries. Under standard employment-based green card categories, nationals of India and China often face multi-year delays due to per-country limits and visa number oversubscription. As a result of the recent, positive trends of the Visa Bulletin, including the most recently published May Visa Bulletin, the EB-5 reserved visa set-aside timelines are opportune for foreign investors to explore the program now. In contrast to other employment-based mechanisms, EB-5 applications remain lightning-fast.

At this time, we recommend prospective investors quickly file an initial EB-5 petition (I-526E application) and, where eligible, a concurrent adjustment of status application, to seize expedited green-card issuance opportunities that are currently available.

Need to know more? 

For questions related to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program, or to initiate an EB-5 application, please contact Partner Rahul Soni at [email protected] or Senior Associate Kimberly Tracey at [email protected].

This blog was published on April 15, 2025, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.