In a giant hit for Indian techies, the approval price for the visa that is among the routes to US inexperienced playing cards has seen a pointy drop. The approval price for Indian candidates has come right down to 35% within the first half of FY26, in contrast with 49.1% for the total FY25.The approval price for EB-1A, the US inexperienced card class meant for people with extraordinary capability, has dropped sharply in FY26, with Indian candidates bearing a major share of the influence, in response to a number of immigration specialists who spoke to ET.Information from US immigration platform Boundless Immigration, primarily based on USCIS figures, present that Indian candidates filed 14,250 EB-1A petitions in FY25. Of those, 6,993 have been permitted whereas 1,474 have been rejected. Within the first two quarters of FY26 for which knowledge is obtainable, Indians submitted 7,316 petitions, with 2,571 approvals and 1,131 denials.
India, China hardest hit
Xiao Wang, co-founder and CEO of Boundless Immigration instructed ET that the decline has been notably pronounced amongst expertise professionals from India, adopted by Chinese language candidates, who collectively account for the most important volumes of EB-1A filings.Additionally Learn | How Trump’s policies are turning US dream into a nightmare for Indian students, H-1B visa & green card aspirantsThis drop comes amid tighter scrutiny of skilled-worker immigration underneath the Donald Trump administration. Over the previous yr, the Trump administration has launched a number of measures aimed toward proscribing skilled-worker immigration, notably involving H-1B visa holders, amongst whom Indians make up one of many largest beneficiary teams.The more durable surroundings is now additionally being felt by expert staff searching for everlasting residency within the US via the inexperienced card system.Though EB-2 stays essentially the most extensively used pathway for H-1B visa holders, people who can reveal extraordinary capability – together with executives working for multinational firms – could pursue the EB-1A class in the event that they meet at the least three of the ten standards prescribed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Companies.The EB-1A route usually takes about 3-4 years, in contrast with a ready interval of practically 15 years underneath the EB-2 class.
Why the change?
“The chief driver here’s a shift in govt coverage. The present administration has adopted a noticeably hostile posture towards immigration, and that mandate is clearly being applied through adjudicators who at the moment are demanding an unreasonably excessive bar be met,” stated Joel Yanovich, Senior Lawyer, Ganey Legislation Group. He careworn that the rise in rejections doesn’t replicate a decline within the high quality of candidates or any change within the regulation.Wang stated the EB-1A course of appeared extra simple in early 2025, when candidates may moderately count on to qualify by assembly the rules and presenting proof underneath three of the ten prescribed classes. That method, he stated, is more and more proving inadequate.“Now there’s extra proof that two of the standards: ‘Performing in a number one or vital function for distinguished organizations’ and ‘Commanding a excessive wage relative to others in your discipline’ are table-stakes, that they should be sturdy, with the necessity of another that’s of top quality,” he identified.Additionally Learn | Harsh reality for H-1B visa returnees: Changed Indian IT hiring landscape, lower salaries and fewer jobsUS-based immigration lawyer Rajiv Khanna stated the federal government has made the adjudication course of exceptionally tough, though at the least one courtroom has discovered the methodology being utilized to be incorrect.Yanovich described the present temper amongst candidates as a mixture of fatigue and pragmatism.“Choices are extremely slim, particularly for Indian nationals caught within the large EB-2 and EB-3 backlogs. Some are leaving the US to work for a multinational overseas for a yr as a supervisor or govt to allow them to qualify for the EB-1(C) class. For many who can afford it, EB-5 stays a fantastic possibility, and we’re seeing an enormous rush of Indian candidates proper now,” he stated.Wang stated there has additionally been a noticeable enhance in enquiries from individuals contemplating a transfer to Canada, the UK or a return to India. “Canada’s International Expertise Stream and the UK’s International Expertise visa are more and more on the desk for Indians, particularly,” he stated.
