EB-5 Visa Issuance in May FY2025: Continued Slowdown in Both Reserved and Unreserved Categories

Last week, the U.S. Department of State released its monthly visa issuance data for May 2025, revealing a continued slowdown in overall EB-5 visa issuance. A total of 452 EB-5 visas were issued in May, including 381 Unreserved visas and 71 Reserved visas, of which 56 were in the Rural Area category and 15 in the High Unemployment Area (HUA) category. This marks the second consecutive month of decline in total EB-5 visa issuance, following a peak in March when 1,614 visas were issued in a single month.

Overview: Fiscal-Year-To-Date Usage vs FY2025 Visa Availability

During the first eight months of FY2025, 72% of the available Unreserved EB-5 visas have been utilized through consular processing. In contrast, only 9% of available visas in the Rural Area category and 8% in the HUA category have been issued (see Table 1).

At the current pace of visa usage, it is expected that all Unreserved EB-5 visas will be fully utilized by the end of FY2025. However, as of the end of May, over 90% of the Reserved Rural and HUA visa numbers remain available, with only four months left in the fiscal year. Although visa issuance through Adjustment of Status (AOS) remains unknown, all of the Reserved EB-5 categories are expected to remain “Current” for the remainder of the fiscal year. Moreover, it is likely that a substantial portion of these Reserved visa numbers will go unused in FY2025.

It is also important to note that FY2025 visa availability includes 2,286 Rural Area visas and 1,143 HUA visas that were carried over from FY2024. However, as of the end of May, only 402 Rural and 166 HUA visas have been issued. Depending on visa usage through AOS, it is highly likely that a portion of these carryover Reserved visas will remain unused in FY2025. As a result, according to the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA), any unused carryover visas from FY2025 will be lost to the respective Reserved EB-5 visa categories and reallocated to the Unreserved category in FY2026.