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Earlier this month, the Department of State released the monthly visa issuance data for December 2023. Between October 1st and December 31st, 2023, more than 2,420 EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing, representing an increase of 81% year over year. Applicants from China, Vietnam, and India remained the largest investor groups to receive an EB-5 visa in FY2024, accounting for nearly 88% of the total number of EB-5 visas issued in the first quarter.
EB-5 Visa Issuance in FY2024 (Consular Processing Only)
During the first three months of FY2024, a total of 2,421 EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing, marking an 81% year-over-year growth compared to the same period in FY2023. This growth in EB-5 visa issuance is particularly important, given that 14,169 EB-5 visas are available under the reserved category in FY2024. However, considering the State Department’s long-standing practice of targeting a 27% visa usage rate in the first quarter of each fiscal year, only 17% of unreserved EB-5 visas available in FY2024 were actually used in Q1, which suggests a shortfall in year-to-date visa usage by this measure.
Overall, the productivity of U.S. Consular Offices in processing EB-5 visas is critical to leveraging the unprecedentedly high visa availability in FY2024 to effectively reduce the current visa backlog for pre-RIA EB-5 investors from China and India.
According to the latest data, all of EB-5 visa issuance via consular processing between October 1 and December 31, 2023 is for the unreserved category
Country-Specific EB-5 Visa Issuance Trends
Applicants from China, Vietnam, and India continue to represent the largest investor groups to receive EB-5 visas, collectively accounting for nearly 88% of all EB-5 visa issuance in the first quarter of FY2024. Particularly, over 46% of the EB-5 visas issued in FY2024 so far were received by Vietnamese applicants, with more than 1,120 visas processed in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
For more detailed analyses by country, please refer to the sections below.
CHINA: Between October and December 2023, 767 EB-5 visas were issued to Chinese applicants, accounting for 32% of the total EB-5 visa issuances during the first quarter of FY2024. The U.S. Consular Office in Guangzhou, China processed 712 EB-5 visas in Q1, marking a significant 76% year-over-year increase (see Table 1 at the full report). The operational capacity of the Guangzhou Consular Office plays a crucial role in clearing the existing EB-5 visa backlog for Chinese EB-5 visa applicants in FY2024.
INDIA: Only 229 EB-5 visas were issued to Indian applicants via consular processing between October and December 2023, marking a 45% decline 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 so far in FY2024 may not necessarily indicate an overall low EB-5 visa usage among Indian applicants due to the lack of AOS data.
Additionally, the U.S. Consulate Office in Mumbai, India processed only 184 EB-5 visas in Q1 FY2024, indicating that 45 (or 20%) Indian applicants who received their EB-5 visas reside outside India.
VIETNAM: Between October and December 2023, a total of 1,127 EB-5 visas were issued to Vietnamese applicants, accounting for 47% of the worldwide EB-5 visa issuance during Q1 FY2024. The productivity of the U.S. Consular Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam saw a remarkable 1,024% year-over-year increase in processing EB-5 visas between October and December 2023 (see Table 3 at the full report). In October alone, 844 EB-5 visas were issued to Vietnamese-born applicants, nearly reaching the EB-5 per-country limit in FY2024 (992 visas under the unreserved category). However, Vietnamese applicants continued to receive their EB-5 visas in November and December, with 139 and 144 visas issued in those two months, respectively. It’s important to highlight that Vietnamese EB-5 applicants are not subject to any cut-off date according to the current Visa Bulletin (March 2024).
REST OF THE WORLD: Additionally, applicants from Taiwan, South Africa, and Venezuela constituted the 4th, 5th, and 6th largest investor groups to receive EB-5 visas during the first quarter of FY2024, with 70, 29, and 20 EB-5 visas issued to these applicants, respectively. The U.S. Consular Offices in Taipei, London, Johannesburg, and Hong Kong processed the most EB-5 visas outside of Ho Chi Minh City, Guangzhou, and Mumbai (see Figure 2 on page 3).
Furthermore, applicants from South Korea have consistently ranked among the top five largest investor groups to receive EB-5 visas in recent years (ranked No. 4 in FY2023 with 416 EB-5 visas issued). However, only 6 EB-5 visas were issued to South Korean applicants during the first quarter of FY2024.
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/
