This week, the U.S. Department of State published the monthly Visa Bulletin for October 2022.
The latest visa bulletin establishes a final action date for Indian-born EB-5 applicants under the unreserved visa categories starting on October 1st, 2022; while it also unveils that the cut-off dates for China-born EB-5 applicants will move back to March 22, 2015, retrogressing 275 days from the September Visa Bulletin.
The EB-5 cut-off dates for all other applicants will remain as “current” in the upcoming month.
EB-5 FINAL ACTION DATES (CHART A)
The October Visa Bulletin reveals the following final action dates for EB-5 visa applicants:
- Applicants associated with unreserved EB-5 visa categories:
- Mainland China: March 22, 2015 (retrogressing 275 days from the last visa bulletin);
- India: November 8, 2019 (the first final action date since July 2020);
- All Other Countries: “Current”;
- Applicants associated with an EB-5 project within the reserved EB-5 visa categories:
- All Countries: “Current”;
(Chart A on the October 2022 Visa Bulletin)
EB-5 DATES FOR FILING (CHART B)
In October, the date for filing of the unreserved EB-5 categories for Chinese nationals remain to be January 1st, 2016. Indian-born EB-5 applicants under the unreserved visa categories will be subject to a date for filing as December 08, 2019. It is the first time ever in the EB-5 history that a date for filing is established for Indian investors.
Dates for filing for all other EB-5 applicants will remain “current” in October 2022.
(Chart B on the October 2022 Visa Bulletin)
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON EB-5 VISA AVAILABILITY
The October Visa Bulletin also offers the following insights about EB-5 visa availability in FY 2023 and the factors that lead to the EB-5 visa retrogression in October:
E. RETROGRESSION OF CHINA-MAINLAND BORN FINAL ACTION DATE AND IMPOSITION OF INDIA FINAL ACTION DATE IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE UNRESERVED CATEGORIES (INCLUDING C5, T5, I5, AND R5)
It was necessary to retrogress the final action date for the China-mainland born Employment-Based Fifth Preference unreserved categories due to heavy demand for numbers, primarily for visa issuances abroad. In addition, sufficient India demand has materialized in the Employment-Based Fifth Preference unreserved categories to require the imposition of a final action date for October. Heavy China-mainland born and India demand along with lower visa number availability for FY-2023 as compared to FY-2021 and FY-2022 has made these corrective actions necessary to keep number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2023 annual limits. The situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments made accordingly.
