North India Statesman
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The US State Department has released a visa bulletin for next month i.e. May 2025. This bulletin is a major setback for Indians waiting for H-1B and Green Card. Bulletin states that there has been a sharp decline in employment-based fifth priority (EB-5) category for Indians. India EB-5 is lagging behind more than six months in the unreserved category. This means that now it will take longer to get a green card. Earlier, this category was applicable, under which Indians were allowed to apply for a green card without any delay. Now only those people whose priority date is before 1 May 2019. The remaining applicants will be caught in the growing pending cases.
According to the May Visa Bulletin, there has been no change in the employment-based fifth priority (EB-1) category. The cutoff date of EB1 for India is February 2022. For China, it is 8 November 2022, while the EB1 category for all other countries is still going on. There has been no change in employment-based fifth priority (EB 2) category. India’s cutoff date is scheduled on 1 January 2013. China’s EB2 cutoff date is 1 October 2020. Additionally, the EB2 cutoff date for all other countries is 22 June 2023.
EB4 and EB5 Categories
India’s cutoff date for employment-based fifth priority (EB-3) category has been extended slightly further to April 15, 2013. There is no change for China and it is November 2020. The EB3 cutoff date for all the remaining countries in the US remains unchanged on January 1, 2023. The cutoff date for India in the EB3 other labor category is exactly 15 April 2013. The cutoff date for China is April 2017. The EB3 other labor cutoff date for the remaining countries is 2021.
Employment-based fifth priority (EB4) category is ‘unavailable’ for all countries. All immigrant visas of this category have been used for this financial year. Therefore, it is likely that it will not be available before the start of the new financial year on 1 October 2025. India’s unreserved cutoff date for the EB5 category has been extended to 1 May 2019. China’s unreserved cutoff date remains unchanged on 22 January 2014. EB5 continues for all the remaining EB5 categories and other countries.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept employment-based status adjustment applications from foreign nationals whose priority date is taken before the final action date given in the visa bulletin. This means that if an applicant’s priority date is earlier, he can apply.
