Shamini 
(C): Twitter
The June 2025 Visa Bulletin from the U.S. Department of State provides little optimism for Indian nationals in the green card queue. Demand continues to grow but the Final Action Dates did not move significantly for employment based cases as applicants are still dealing with more than 12 year waits.
Visa Updates Related to Employment-Based Immigration
- EB-1 (Priority Workers)- India remains unchanged at February 15, 2022 with no advancement for extraordinary ability applicants.
- EB-2 (Advanced Degrees)- Remaining on January 1, 2013 leaving certain technology professionals with decade-plus delays.
- EB-3 (Skilled Workers)- Made a slight advance to April 15, 2013 from March.
- EB-5 (Investors)- Unreserved category on May 1, 2019. Rural/High Unemployment categories remain “Current” providing some relief.
Highlights of the Family-Sponsored Visa
- F1 (Unmarried Children of U.S. Citizens): June 8, 2016
- F2A (Spouses of Permanent Residents): Final Action Date at January 1, 2022; Filing Date February 1, 2025
- F4 (Siblings of U.S. Citizens): June 15, 2006
What’s Taking So Long?
India is still encountering visa prorating. There is a cap of 7% on the total visas allocated for each country and there are over 1 million applicants from India, nearly all petitions belong to EB-2 and EB-3 categories. We are seeing limited spillover from unused visas due to previous restrictions and policies that result in longer delays.
SIV Update
The FY 2024 NDAA may affect SIV eligibility for certain U.S. government employees and their family members abroad.
With no immediate relief in the future, Indian green card aspirants will continue to face one of the world’s most complex and backlogged immigration systems.
