(Click here to read and download the full report in PDF format)
On August 16, the State Department announced that all Unreserved EB-5 visa numbers had been fully used for FY2024.[1] As a result, only 22 EB-5 visas were issued in September 2024, the last month of FY2024. However, U.S. consulates worldwide were able to issue more EB-5 visas starting in October, as additional visa numbers became available with the beginning of FY2025. Overall, FY2024 was a historic year for the EB-5 Program, marked by several key milestones, including:
- A total of 12,055 Unreserved EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing, a record-high visa usage in the history of the EB-5 Program.
- U.S. Consulate Office started to issue Reserved EB-5 visas for the first time since the introduction of these new visa categories by the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA). Although only four Reserved EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing in FY2024, this marked the first tangible impact of these new categories.[2]
The U.S. Consular Office in Guangzhou played a crucial role in processing EB-5 visas throughout FY2024, issuing 8,079 visas, which accounted for 67% of the worldwide total. Additionally, the Ho Chi Minh City Consulate processed 1,454 EB-5 visas in FY2024, including the issuance of four (4) Reserved EB-5 visas associated with the High Unemployment Area category.
EB-5 Visa Issuance in FY2024 (Consular Processing Only)
As shown in Figure 1 below, monthly visa issuance reached its peak between May and August 2024, with 6,086 visas (over 50% of the full-year total) processed during these four months alone. Only 22 EB-5 visas were issued in September 2024, likely due to the exhaustion of Unreserved EB-5 visas by the end of the fiscal year.
In total, 12,055 Unreserved EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing in FY2024, marking the highest visa issuance level in the history of the EB-5 Program. Additionally, FY2024 was the first year in which Reserved EB-5 visas were issued, with a total of four visas associated with High Unemployment Areas processed via consular channels in August 2024.
Country-Specific EB-5 Visa Issuance Trends
Applicants from Mainland China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, and South Korea continued to comprise the largest investor groups receiving EB-5 visas in FY2024, collectively accounting for 93% of all EB-5 visa issuances (see Figure 2).
Nearly 8,080 EB-5 visas were processed at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, representing 67% of all EB-5 visa issuances worldwide.
See below for the analysis of the major EB-5 investor markets:
MAINLAND CHINA: In FY2024, 8,311 EB-5 visas were issued to Chinese applicants, all under the Unreserved category, accounting for 69% of total EB-5 visa issuances via consular processing worldwide. Additionally, as shown in Table 1 at the PDF report, the percentage of EB-5 visas issued to applicants from China has been increasing since FY2020, which is a positive trend for reducing the existing backlog of pre-RIA Chinese applicants.
The U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, played a crucial role in ensuring that all available EB-5 visas were fully utilized within the fiscal year. This consulate was particularly productive in the second half of FY2024, issuing over 5,450 EB-5 visas between April and September 2024, more than double the visa issuance of the first half of FY2024.
INDIA: In FY2024, a total of 733 EB-5 visas were issued to Indian applicants via consular processing, all within the Unreserved category. EB-5 visa processing for Indian applicants remained low in most months of FY2024, except for December 2023 and August 2024, during which 132 and 159 visas were issued, respectively (see Table 2 at the PDF report). However, given that a relatively high percentage of Indian EB-5 investors obtain their green cards through adjustment of status (AOS) with USCIS, the lower number of EB-5 visa issuances via consular processing in FY2024 may not necessarily reflect an overall low EB-5 visa usage among Indian applicants, as AOS data is not included.
Data from the DOS also indicates that only 568 EB-5 visas issued to Indian applicants were processed at the Mumbai Consulate, suggesting that 163 Indian applicants (or 23%) who received their EB-5 visas in FY2024 reside outside of India.
VIETNAM: In FY2024, 1,467 EB-5 visas were issued to Vietnamese applicants, accounting for 12% of worldwide EB-5 visa issuances for FY2024. Notably, the first-ever Reserved EB-5 visas were issued to Vietnamese applicants at the Ho Chi Minh City Consulate in August 2024 – these four (4) Reserved visas were processed under the High Unemployment Area category. No other Reserved EB-5 visas were issued via consular processing in FY2024, apart from those processed in Ho Chi Minh City (see Figure 3 at the PDF report).
Overall, in FY2024, after issuing 845 visas in October 2023 alone, the volume of EB-5 visa processing at the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City decreased significantly (see Table 3 at the PDF report).
REST OF THE WORLD: Applicants from Taiwan, South Korea, and South Africa comprised the 4th, 5th, and 6th largest investor groups to receive EB-5 visas in FY2024, with 476, 239, and 119 visas issued to applicants from these respective countries. The U.S. Consulates in Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg processed the most EB-5 visas outside of Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, and Mumbai (see Figure 2).
It’s worth highlighting that the Consulates in Hong Kong, Montreal, London, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi are the top locations that processed more EB-5 visas than the number of visas received by applicants who were born in those markets/countries. This data trend indicates that those cities could be a hub where foreign-born EB-5 investors reside.
(Click here to read and download the full report in PDF format)
EB-5 Visa Data Dashboard – Now Updated with New Data & Reserved Visa Information!
IIUSA is excited to announce that our popular EB-5 Visa Data Dashboard has been updated with more data and insights. Key updates include:
- EB-5 Visa Availability by Fiscal Year and Category: The updated dashboard now features a section displaying the number of EB-5 visas available in each category, including Unreserved, Rural Area, High Unemployment Area, and Infrastructure by fiscal year.
- Year-to-Date Usage of Reserved EB-5 Visas: The updated data dashboard now includes a new section where you can view the latest number of Reserved EB-5 visas issued via consular processing, broken down by type (Rural Area, High Unemployment Area, and Infrastructure) and by applicants’ country of birth. This comprehensive feature ensures you stay fully informed of the latest Reserved visa usage.
- Exploring Historical Visa Usage by Investment Type for Any Country: The updated data dashboard now includes a tool that enables you to select any country and view the number of EB-5 visas issued to applicants born in that country, broken down by investment type (RC, TEA, Reserved, etc.). This new resource provides key insights into investors’ preferences in EB-5 investments.
- New, More Organized Design: The updated data dashboard has been redesigned to consolidate its layout and display in-depth data more efficiently. With this new design, you can view all EB-5 visa-related statistics in the following six sections:
- Overall EB-5 Visa Usage
- EB-5 Visa Availability
- EB-5 Visa Usage (Unreserved Category)
- EB-5 Visa Usage (Reserved Categories)
- Country-Specific EB-5 Usage by Investment Type
- Country-Specific EB-5 Usage via Adjustment of Status vs. Consular Processing
EXPLORE THE UPDATED EB-5 VISA DATA DASHBOARD NOW
[1] See the State Department’s website for more details: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/annual-limit-eb5.html
[2] We expect that more Reserved EB-5 visa numbers were used by USCIS via AOS, but the actual number is not available until the DOS publishes the report on immigrant visa usage.
