Amid US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, the American dream of thousands of Indians seems to be fading. The US Department of State recently released its Visa Bulletin for May 2025, which brought more bad news for Indian H-1B and green card hopefuls, as it shows a significant retrogression in the employment-based fifth preference (EB-5) category for Indians.
Per the document, the EB-5 Unreserved category visa for Indians would move backward by over six months to May 1, 2019. China, on the other hand, remains on January 22, 2014.
“High demand and number use by India in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories, combined with increased Rest of World demand and number use, made it necessary to further retrogress the India final action date to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2025 annual limits,” the bulletin said.
What May Visa Bulletin Say About Other Categories
Employment-Based, First Preference (EB-1) Category: There is no change for the EB-1 category as the cutoff date for India remains at February 2, 2022, while for China, it remains November 8, 2022. All other countries will continue to be current in the EB1 category.
Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Category: The EB-2 category will also remain unchanged for Indians and Chinese nationals. For India, the cutoff date remains January 1, 2013, while for China it remains October 1, 2020. The EB2 cutoff date for all other countries remains June 22, 2023.
Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Category: In the EB-3 category, India’s cutoff date advances by two weeks, to April 15, 2013, while that of China remains November 1, 2020. The cutoff date of other countries remains at January 1, 2023.
EB-3 Other Workers: In the EB-3 other workers category for Indians, the cutoff date matches with the EB-3 category on April 15, 2013. For China, the cutoff date is April 1, 2017, while for all other countries, the date remains unchanged at May 22, 2021.
“The fiscal year 2025 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7 per cent of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2 per cent, or 7,320,” the bulletin added
What Does Retrogression Of Visa Mean
The US Department of State issues a monthly visa bulletin which lists the cut-off dates for visa availability for different nationalities. It determines which applicants are eligible to submit their applications for adjustment of visa status or are eligible for permanent residency.
Applicants with a priority date before the cut-off date mentioned in the most recent bulletin are typically eligible to apply for permanent residency.
Visa retrogression occurs when more people apply for a visa in a particular category or country than there are visas available for that month. Retrogression typically occurs toward the end of the fiscal year as visa issuance approaches the annual category or per-country limitations.
Trump’s Immigration Policies
Ever since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, immigration has once again become the focal point in US politics, with the Republicans’ “America first” agenda shaping the discussion around who could enter the US or stay there and under what conditions. While the Trump administration has cracked down on illegal immigration, its policies are also influencing high-skilled immigration.