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Key Insights on EB-5 Visa Backlogs from Bernie Wolfsdorf and Charlie Oppenheim

Jan 24, 2025 | Investor Visas

The February Visa Bulletin continues to show no backlogs for EB-5 set-aside categories. However, experts are closely monitoring potential changes as demand grows.

Bernie Wolfsdorf, a leading EB-5 attorney, highlighted the processing delays at USCIS and DOS, stating, “There are more than enough petitions in the pipeline to use up the existing quota, but because USCIS and DOS have been slower in processing, the Final Action Date has not been established.”

Charlie Oppenheim, WR Immigration’s Director of Visa Consulting and former State Department Director of Visa Control, shared that while Final Action Dates for India and China may be established by summer, they could remain current until the end of Fiscal Year 2025.

For more in-depth analysis, read the full article published by EB5Investors here.

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Bloomberg Article: Revival of the EB-5 Visa Program

The EB-5 visa program coveted by many wealthy overseas investors is being revived after changes aimed at curbing abuses. The EB-5 visa program has attracted $37 billion in foreign investments since 2008 and the queue of wealthy applicants from China to India is growing. Earlier this year, the Biden administration signed a law that steps up audits and site visits to deter fraud, while also creating a path for some to skip the backlog of cases if they’re willing to invest in rural areas or places with high unemployment. Roughly 100,000 EB-5 visa applicants with some $15 billion in committed investments had been in limbo since the program lapsed, trade group Invest in the USA estimates. The fresh rules are unleashing pent-up demand. Bernie Wolfsdorf, WR Immigration’s Managing Partner and a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said his firm has been working overtime and hiring new staff to adjust to demand from countries like India, which has eclipsed the number of petitions filed from China. Drawing such investors could help prevent a brain drain, since many wealthy emigrants’ children study at top US schools, he said. Read the entire Bloomberg article here.

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