Client Payment Portal

October 2024 Visa Bulletin Released – What It Means for EB-5 Investors

Sep 11, 2024 | Immigration Updates, Investor Visas

By Joey Barnett and Charlie Oppenheim

The Department of State has just released the October 2024 Visa Bulletin, and it shows very good news for the new Reform and Integrity Act EB-5 program and for Chinese and Indians waiting in line under the prior EB-5 program. Here is some preliminary thoughts from WR Immigration on the new October 2024 Visa Bulletin.

First, it is predicting that the reserved visa categories, that is rural, high unemployment and infrastructure will remain open for most, if not all of FY2025 which starts in a few weeks on October 1, 2024, and ends September 30, 2025. Despite strong demand and the possibility of a final action date cutoff being established, applicants from China and India and all other countries will continue to be able to concurrently file adjustment of status applications under the reduced investment of $800,000 for the next few months, and possibly for most of 2025. This is a huge advantage as they get 5 year work and travel permits and those on H-1Bs are no longer tied to their employers.

Second, applicants from China and India who applied under the old EB-5 program also see considerable forward movement in the waiting lines. The China waiting line had been stuck in 2015 since there were several “surge” filings that year due to possible price increases or program subsets. In addition, the waiting line was impacted by over-demand, Covid delays, and the program lapse. The good news is the Final Action Date (chart A) advanced from December 15,2015 to July 15, 2016, a full 7 months. While it can advance or retrogress based on monthly visa availability, this is a huge leap forward. This means that persons from China who filed adjustments under the date for filing (chart B) with filing dates up to July 15, 2016, can now be approved by USCIS, and persons waiting abroad can expect to be issued green cards. For Indian nationals in the waiting line the news is even better. The Final Action Date or chart A moved a over a year from December 1, 2020, to January 1, 2022, which will allow many Indians to obtain their conditional green cards. The news is all good and 2025 will likely be another excellent year for the new EB-5 program that has brought in over $4.5 billion in investment and created thousands of new jobs.

For more information and insight, please click here to register for our next Chatting with Charlie: EB-5 Investor Outlook on Thursday, September 26th.

Related Posts:

10 Things to Know About the New EB-5 Reform Act

By:  Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP On March 8, 2018, a draft of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa and Regional Center Program Comprehensive Reform Act (the “EB-5 Reform Act”) was released.  This new proposal is similar to earlier congressional reform attempts but also includes new provisions that would dramatically affect the EB-5 industry – both in the short-term and long-term.  If passed, the Act would authorize the EB-5 Regional Center Program – currently set to expire on May 23, 2018 – until September 30, 2023.  This longer-term extension is welcome news, as it would provide the certainty that the EB-5 industry has lacked during the past few years. As of the publication of this blog, it does not appear that the EB-5 Reform Act has been formally introduced into Congress for debate or discussion.  Nevertheless, it’s possible that the legislation will be attached to the Omnibus bill that would fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year, which is expected to be released this week.  It’s likely that if the EB-5 Reform Act is not passed in the next couple weeks, any legislative reform to the EB-5 Program before September 30, 2018 is unlikely. In summary, this may be […]

Read More

Immigration Update

In the news this issue you’ll read about the refugee cap being raised, withdrawal of a Trump administration proposed rule regarding biometrics use, and relief for asylum applicants waiting for work authorization. President Biden Raises Refugee Cap to 62,500 in FY 2021 President Joe Biden revised the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for fiscal year (FY) 2021, with a goal of 125,000 admissions for FY 2022. The announcement followed criticism after he announced plans to keep the number of refugee admissions at 15,000 this fiscal year primarily because of logistical concerns. President Biden said that the “sad truth is that we will not achieve 62,500 admissions this year. We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years.” He said that “we are going to rebuild what has been broken and push hard to complete the rigorous screening process for those refugees already in the pipeline for admission.” Details: “Statement by President Joe Biden on Refugee Admissions,” White House, May 3, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/05/03/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-refugee-admissions/ DHS Will Withdraw Proposed Rule on Expanding Biometrics Collection Use Coming out today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to withdraw a proposed rule concerning the use and collection of biometrics […]

Read More