The U.S. Department of State has just published the October 2024 Visa Bulletin, bringing encouraging news for those involved in the EB-5 program under the new Reform and Integrity Act, as well as Chinese and Indian applicants still waiting under the previous EB-5 program. WR Immigration has provided some initial commentary on the recent developments.
Reserved Visa Categories Remain Open
One of the key takeaways is the continued availability of reserved visa categories—rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure-related—for most or all of the upcoming fiscal year (FY2025), which begins on October 1, 2024, and runs until September 30, 2025. Despite growing demand and the potential for a final action date cutoff, applicants from China, India, and other nations will still be able to file for adjustment of status under the reduced investment amount of $800,000 for the next few months, and possibly for much of 2025. This allows applicants to benefit from five-year work and travel permits, and those on H-1B visas are no longer tied to their current employers, providing them with much-needed flexibility.
Significant Progress for Chinese and Indian Applicants
Chinese and Indian applicants who applied under the previous EB-5 program are also seeing substantial progress. The backlog for Chinese applicants, which has been stuck in 2015 for several years due to factors like increased filings, over-demand, and program delays caused by COVID-19, has finally moved forward. The Final Action Date (Chart A) for Chinese applicants has advanced from December 15, 2015, to July 15, 2016—marking a seven-month leap. This progress means that Chinese nationals who filed adjustments based on the Date for Filing (Chart B) with filing dates up to July 15, 2016, can now be approved for green cards by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Similarly, Chinese applicants waiting abroad can expect to receive their green cards soon.
For Indian nationals, the news is even more favorable. The Final Action Date for Indian applicants has shifted significantly, moving from December 1, 2020, to January 1, 2022—an advancement of over a year. This change will allow a large number of Indian nationals to obtain their conditional green cards.
Overall, these updates indicate that FY2025 is shaping up to be another strong year for the EB-5 program, which has already brought in more than $4.5 billion in investments and created thousands of new jobs.
For additional information and a deeper dive into these developments, WR Immigration invites interested individuals to join their upcoming webinar, “Chatting with Charlie: EB-5 Investor Outlook,” on Thursday, September 26.