IIUSA published a new comprehensive report titled: EB-5 Visa Bulletin Analysis – Special Insights from the U.S. Department of State and the Quantitative Perspectives from IIUSA on the Movement of EB-5 Final Action Dates for Chinese Visa Applicants.
IIUSA members can download the full report here.
This report analyzed comprehensive datasets from multiple government agencies and included exclusive insights from the Visa Control Office at the U.S. Department of State. We intended to inform EB-5 industry stakeholders of the moving parts behind the significant movement of the China EB-5 final action date (FAD) in March 2020..
Since May 2015 when EB-5 visa applicants from China began to be impacted by visa backlog, the China EB-5 Final Action Date (FAD) has advanced 744 days in the last 6 years. While the movement of the China FAD was very limited between FY2018 and FY2019 (only advancing 129 days during that two-year period), the advancement of the China FAD in FY2020 has been much more promising. In particular, in March 2020, the China FAD advanced 165 days in just one month (see Figure 1).
Among others, our key findings include:
- The limited movement of the China FAD in FY2018 and FY2019 could largely be due to a combination of the large volume of Chinese visa applicants who filed their I-526 petitions in FY2014 and FY2015 and the recent growth in demand of EB-5 visas from all countries other than China. We estimate that China FAD could advance in an increasingly faster pace after it reaches September 30, 2015, when the cluster of most backlogged Chinese visa applicants would have received their visa numbers. Click here for more details and data.
- The low response rate in the past 5 months where eligible Chinese EB-5 visa applicants did not bring their cases to final actions in a timely manner has contributed to the rapid advancement of the March China FAD. See the full report here for more details.
- The significant March China FAD advancement was also a result of an increased availability of “otherwise unused” EB-5 visa numbers in FY2020. The number of all EB-5 visa applicants from non-backlogged countries waiting at NVC decreased by 47% year-over-year, hence more “otherwise unused” EB-5 visas were available to Chinese applicants who have been waiting at the front of the visa queue (see the full report here for more details).
- We estimate that potentially 9,000 Chinese EB-5 visa applicants could become eligible to schedule an EB-5 visa interview thanks to the significant advancement of the March China FAD. Click here for full analysis. That said, while Chinese applicants should remain cautiously optimistic on the future movement of the China FAD, it is recommended that eligible Chinese investors act promptly, and contact their immigration professionals to bring their EB-5 visa applications to final actions.
IIUSA members can download the full report here.
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