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Last week, the Department of State released the monthly visa issuance data for October 2023. Now that we have the statistics for the first month of FY2024, we can analyze the data and identify trends in EB-5 visa usage in this new fiscal year, during where we anticipate that over 22,305 visas are available for the EB-5 category (14,169 visas under the unreserved category and a total of 8,136 visas under the reserved categories).
EB-5 Visa Issuance in FY2024 (Consular Processing Only)
During the first month of FY2024, a total of 1,383 EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing, all under the unreserved category. The monthly EB-5 visa issuance in October represented an outstanding 325% year-over-year increase from the last fiscal year. This growth in visa number usage is particularly promising, given that 14,169 EB-5 visas are available under the reserved category in FY2024. According to the latest data, none of the reserved EB-5 visa numbers had been utilized as of October 2023.
Country-Specific EB-5 Visa Issuance Trends
China: In October 2023, 397 EB-5 visas were issued to Chinese applicants, constituting 28% of the total EB-5 visa issuances during the first month of FY2024. The U.S. Consulate Office in Guangzhou processed 384 EB-5 visas during October, reflecting an impressive 386% year-over-year increase (see Table 1 at the full report). Given the historically high number of EB-5 visa numbers available in the unreserved category for FY2024, the operational capacity of the Guangzhou Consulate Office plays a crucial role in clearing the existing EB-5 visa backlog for Chinese applicants.
India: Only 31 EB-5 visas were issued to Indian applicants via consular processing during October 2023, representing an 80% decrease year over year (see Table 2 at the full report). However, considering that a relatively high percentage of Indian EB-5 investors obtain their green card through adjustment of status (AOS) with USCIS, a lower number of EB-5 visa issuances via consular processing in October may not necessarily indicate an overall low EB-5 visa usage among Indian applicants due to the lack of AOS data.
It’s also important to note that only 9 EB-5 visas were issued from the Mumbai Consulate Office, suggesting that the majority of Indian applicants who received their EB-5 visas in October reside outside India.
Vietnam: In October 2023, a total of 844 EB-5 visas were issued to Vietnamese applicants. The number of EB-5 visa issuances in that single month has already surpassed the total number of EB-5 visas issued to Vietnamese nationals in the entire fiscal year of 2022 and any other fiscal years in the past (see Table 2 at the full report). Under the per-country cap, we estimate that only 992 EB-5 visas are allotted to each country for the unreserved category in FY2024. With 844 visa numbers already being utilized in October, it’s likely that EB-5 visa issuance for Vietnamese investors could be very limited for the rest of this fiscal year. However, it’s important to highlight that Vietnamese EB-5 applicants are not subject to any cut-off date according to the current Visa Bulletin.
Rest of the World: In addition, 17, 10, and 10 EB-5 visas were issued to applicants from Venezuela, Taiwan, and South Africa, respectively. The U.S. Consular Offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and London, U.K., processed the third and fourth highest number of EB-5 visas in October (see the tables on page 2 of the full report) – we suspect that India-born EB-5 investors residing in those areas could be contributing to those volumes of EB-5 visa processing.
EB-5 Visa Data Dashboard
Explore the latest trends and statistics on EB-5 visa usage by visiting IIUSA’s EB-5 Visa Data Dashboard at: https://iiusa.org/eb5-visa-data-dashboard/
