India has overtaken China as the leading source of EB-5 investor filings for the first time in fiscal 2026, driven by tighter access to unreserved categories and changing economic and migration patterns, signalling a significant shift in the US immigration landscape.
India has moved ahead of China in new EB-5 investor filings, marking a notable shift in a programme long dominated by Chinese applicants. IIUSA data cited by The American Bazaar show 668 Indian investors filed petitions in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, compared with 649 from China, an early sign that the balance of demand is changing. The broader picture, however, is more complicated: Indian applicants are now facing tighter access in the unreserved EB-5 route, even as some set-aside categories remain open. According to recent industry updates, the unreserved category for India has been exhausted for fiscal 2026, leaving investors to look to alternative channels.
Several forces appear to be driving the shift, according to Huimin Jenny Zhan, founder and chief executive of Beyond International, in an interview with The American Bazaar. Zhan pointed to a tougher H-1B environment, stronger economic growth in India and rising wealth among Indian tech workers in the United States. She said anxiety around a proposed $100,000 H-1B fee, later struck down by a federal court in June, pushed some workers to seek a more durable route to permanent residence. She also argued that Indian professionals, especially those in Silicon Valley, are increasingly able to fund EB-5 investments through salaries, bonuses, stock grants and retirement accounts.
The appeal of the EB-5 reserved categories lies in timing and flexibility. Industry updates from EB5Status and EB5 Investors say the rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure set-asides remain current for all countries, including India, while the standard unreserved category has been fully used for Indian applicants this year. That matters because the reserved options can allow concurrent filing and, in some cases, quicker access to work and travel documents. For families already in the United States on H-1B or student visas, that can mean a faster route to stability and fewer limits on changing employers or starting a business.
Zhan said the rural set-aside is drawing growing interest because it receives twice as many visa numbers as the high-unemployment category. That wider availability is especially important for Indian investors, who continue to face long waits in most employment-based immigration lines. By contrast, the reserved EB-5 routes remain open even as the unreserved channel has shut for the rest of fiscal 2026, according to industry alerts and guidance tied to the State Department’s visa bulletin. For now, India’s rise in EB-5 filings looks less like a one-off and more like a response to a changing immigration market, stronger household wealth and a search for a clearer path to a green card.
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