US Immigration Attorney Outlines Global Visa Pressures and EB‑5 Opportunities at Chennai Seminar !

US Immigration Attorney Outlines Global Visa Pressures and EB‑5 Opportunities at Chennai Seminar ! 

Chennai, February 5, 2026 – The Law Offices of Nadadur S. Kumar successfully conducted an exclusive seminar at Taj Coromandel, Chennai, focusing on the rapidly evolving U.S. immigration landscape and strategic options for Indian students, professionals, investors and families. The in-person session addressed pressing issues across student visas, work visas, visitor visas and the EB-5 investor programme, against a backdrop of heightened global scrutiny on immigration and a newly announced Indo–US trade agreement.

“Immigration today is at the centre of political and economic debate worldwide, and India is exceptional in how deeply it is affected. From student and work visas to long green card backlogs, Indian applicants face unprecedented scrutiny and delays, which is why understanding alternative pathways like the EB-5 investor programme has become more critical than ever,” said Mr. Nadadur S. Kumar, a leading U.S. immigration attorney with over 40 years of experience.

Mr. Kumar noted that while the recently announced Indo–US trade agreement does not currently include specific immigration provisions, it represents only the first chapter of a broader framework and is expected to positively influence overall economic sentiment and bilateral engagement. He underlined that immigration remains a politically sensitive subject globally and is likely to be addressed in later phases of trade negotiations, particularly after key electoral cycles in the United States.

During the seminar, Mr. Kumar noted that while formal rules for F-1 student visas have not changed significantly, consular scrutiny has tightened sharply, with greater focus on university quality, past immigration history and prior refusals, making a well-prepared first application crucial and repeat attempts after denial harder to succeed. He stressed the importance of clean records and cautious social media behaviour, and outlined proposed steep fee increases for H-1B filings from outside the U.S. and a weighted lottery favouring higher wages and advanced degrees – a shift that benefits large employers and highly skilled professionals while adding pressure on smaller firms.

In contrast, L-1 intracompany transferee policies remain relatively stable, even as B-1/B-2 visitor visas face longer wait times and closer vetting. A major focus was the EB-5 immigrant investor programme as a strategic alternative to employment-based green cards, where Indians often wait 5–20 years; under recent reforms, minimum investments are 800,000 dollars in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) and 1,050,000 dollars for standard projects, with EB-5 now allowing eligible Indians in the U.S. to adjust status domestically, obtain work authorisation and Social Security within months, travel on advance parole, and often secure conditional green cards in about two years (two to three years from abroad), especially in reserved TEA, rural and infrastructure categories that are currently “current,” while USCIS-approved regional centres manage job creation and compliance for investors who do not wish to run day-to-day U.S. businesses.

Attendees engaged in an interactive Q&A session covering individual scenarios for students, working professionals, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth investors evaluating EB-5 as a route to U.S. permanent residency. Many participants expressed appreciation for the clarity provided on complex topics such as visa denials, long wait times, policy uncertainty and the comparative merits of different immigration pathways.

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About the Law Offices of Nadadur S. Kumar:

The Law Offices of Nadadur S. Kumar is a full-service U.S. immigration law firm founded in 1993 by Nadadur S. Kumar, a prominent advocate for immigrant rights and former Dean of Foreign Students at USC and UCLA. With over three decades of experience and a diverse, service-oriented team, the firm handles all areas of U.S. visas and citizenship—including non-immigrant and immigrant visas, family- and employment-based petitions, EB-5 investor programs, asylum, VAWA and more. Based in Los Angeles, the practice is known for its integrity, personalized attention, pro bono work, and successful representation of clients ranging from multinational corporations and universities to individual families and religious organizations.