Charles Foster Discusses EB-5 Green Card Deadline

Foster, a Houston-based immigration attorney with five decades of experience, said the current employment-based green card backlog for Indian nationals could stretch 20 to 30 years, far longer than the 13 years stated in the visa bulletin. He attributed the delay to a 7% per-country cap that Congress has not updated since 1990, a limit that disproportionately affects high-demand countries like India.

The EB-5 investor visa program, which requires an $800,000 investment in a targeted employment area, offers a faster route with no per-country cap. Foster described it as a five-year loan that returns principal plus interest, while granting permanent residency to the investor and immediate family. However, the program is set to sunset on September 30, 2026, after which the rules could change without grandfathering protections for new investors.

Foster also flagged a Trump administration proposal to convert EB-5 into a non-refundable $1 million gift program, which he called legally baseless but a sign of the administration's intent. He advised investors to choose regional center projects with a proven track record, noting that direct investments in one's own business carry higher risk of failure.

Beyond EB-5, Foster said H-1B visa approval odds may be as low as 30% due to the 65,000 annual cap and stricter scrutiny. He criticized a recent policy memo making adjustment of status 'rare and exceptional,' predicting lawsuits across federal districts. He called the current Congress the worst on immigration in his memory, citing a faction that opposes all immigration, not just undocumented entry.