The U.S. Department of State has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for May 2021, unveiling the new EB-5 cut-off dates for visa applicants from backlogged countries for the upcoming month.
So far in fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 – May 2021), the EB-5 final action dates for Vietnamese applicants advanced a total of 198 days; while the cut-off dates for EB-5 applicants from mainland China did not have any movement at all due to the closure of the Consulate Office in Guangzhou (see the figure below).
EB-5 FINAL ACTION DATES (CHART A)
The May Visa Bulletin revealed the following final action dates for EB-5 visa applicants:
- Mainland China: August 15, 2015
- No movement since the September 2020 Visa Bulletin;
- Vietnam: February 15, 2018
- Advanced 62 days from the April 2021 Visa Bulletin, a record-high monthly advancement in FY2021;
- Advanced a total of 198 days so far in FY2021
- All Other Countries: Current
- EB-5 visa applicants not from China or Vietnam continue to be able to receive their EB-5 visa number in May 2021 and can file an immigration visa application or adjustment of status application immediately after the approval of their I-526 petition without any delay.
(Chart A on the May 2021 Visa Bulletin)
EB-5 DATES FOR FILING (CHART B)
The dates for filing of the EB-5 visa category on the May 2021 Visa Bulletin remain unchanged from the previous Visa Bulletins:
(Chart B on the May 2021 Visa Bulletin)
USCIS announced that, in May 2021, the agency will not accept dates for filing for adjustment of status applications of the employment-based categories. That means, qualified EB-5 applicants must continue to “use the Final Action Dates chart (Chart A) in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for May 2021” to file their adjustment of status application.
VISA SERVICES OPERATING STATUS UPDATE
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect visa services in U.S. consulate offices around the world, the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China recently updated its website, announcing that the office’s immigrant visa services “are operating normally”:
Immigrant visa services at our U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou are operating normally. For information about immigrant visa services, please visit U.S. Consulate Guangzhou’s immigrant visa website here. For information about visa services at other U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide, please visit usembassy.gov.
After suspending its routine visa services for more than eight months, the reopening of the Consulate Office in Guangzhou is critical to allow eligible applicants in mainland China to utilize the allocated EB-5 visa numbers and start clearing out the frontend of the EB-5 visa backlog.
