New Delhi: Indians are more and more counting on funding alternatives moderately than household connections to safe entry into the US. The once-dominant family-based route for Indians is shrinking, permitting neighbours like Bangladesh and Pakistan to tug forward.
From January to Could this yr, Bangladesh overtook India in family-preference visas, issuing 3,887 visas in comparison with India’s 3,828. Two years in the past, India had cleared 7,571 family-preference visas, virtually double this yr’s tally, highlighting a steep decline within the route’s availability since 2023.
Spousal visas inform an excellent starker story. Pakistan issued three 3,235 IR1/CR1 visas, greater than twice India’s 1,558. Bangladesh adopted with 1,411 spousal visas, primarily IR1 approvals. Simply two years in the past, India had issued almost double the variety of spousal visas than Pakistan, with 840 approvals.
The regional shift means that Indian households are both delaying their US plans or progressing extra slowly, whereas neighbours traditionally behind in family-based migration are accelerating forward.
Employment-based pathways additionally present combined outcomes. Expert employee (E-3) approvals fell to 143 within the January-Could interval, down from 277 two years in the past. Superior diploma (E-2) approvals rose to 65, almost double the 2023 determine, whereas extraordinary capability and first-preference (E-1) approvals halved to 102 in comparison with 2023.
The squeeze is compounded by US President Donald Trump’s just lately introduced 100,000 greenback annual charge for H-1B visas, which is anticipated to disproportionately have an effect on Indian candidates. H-1B approvals for India had already dropped by greater than a 3rd since 2023, in keeping with a Moneycontrol evaluation, with the decline beginning in President Joe Biden’s remaining yr.
In the meantime, the capital-driven I-5 investor route is surging in Southeast Asia quicker than in India. Vietnam emerged as a standout, with 5 547 investor approvals in 2025, in comparison with India’s 292. Two years in the past, India led Vietnam with 220 approvals towards Vietnam’s 149.
South Asia’s migration map is altering quick. India’s conventional family-focussed circulation is slowing, whereas investment-driven entries and regional rivals are shaping a brand new dynamic. The numbers reveal extra than simply visas; they sign shifting priorities, rising competitors and the rising significance of capital in crossing US borders.