Everything you need to know about the November 2023 Visa Bulletin.
Indian EB-1 and EB-2 Applicants Still Face Long Delays
Chinese and Indian EB-5 Categories Stand Still
No Change in Dates for Filing
Quick Path to U.S. Residency with EB-5: Get Employment Authorization and Travel Permit in Days
Indian EB-1 and EB-2 Applicants Still Face Long Delays
The EB-1 visa category for Indian applicants has seen pronounced delays in recent months.
Although progress was finally seen in October — where the cutoff date advanced from January 1, 2012, to January 1, 2017 — there is no change for November’s Visa Bulletin, leaving the category with a nearly seven-year backlog.
Similarly, the cutoff date for Indian EB-2 applicants remains at January 1, 2012. This means that the hundreds of thousands of Indian EB-2 applicants who filed their petitions on or after this date are now ineligible for visas.
As of December 31, 2022, USCIS had 381,757 approved EB-2 I-140s waiting for visa availability. Approximately 92% of these applicants are Indian. This means that Indian EB-2 applicants may face wait times that exceed 50 years.
Indian EB-1 and EB-2 applicants will continue to face excessive wait times that can jeopardize the immigration status and benefits of dependent children. In the time it takes an Indian applicant to receive approval, their dependent children may exceed the age limit of 21 and no longer qualify as visa beneficiaries.
With recent EB-5 applicants receiving Form I-526E approval in less than 12 months, the EB-5 program stands as a promising alternative to the EB-1 and EB-2 visas.
Chinese and Indian EB-5 Categories Stand Still
China and India — two of the largest EB-5 markets — have seen surges in petition filings since the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (the “RIA”) was signed into law.
Both countries are subject to lengthy waiting times in the unreserved EB-5 categories. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made progress in clearing these backlogs in October’s Visa Bulletin, with the final action dates for China and India advancing to October 1, 2015 and December 15, 2018, respectively.
As of the latest Visa Bulletin for November 2023, these dates remain unchanged, meaning only EB-5 applicants who filed their I-526E petitions prior to these dates are eligible for a visa.
All other countries remain listed as “Current” for the unreserved EB-5 category, meaning their applicants are eligible to receive a Green Card regardless of their priority date.
No Change in Dates for Filing
Whereas a posted final action date dictates which EB-5 applicants are eligible to receive a Green Card, the date for filing determines which EB-5 investors can apply for a Green Card. As of the November 2023 Visa Bulletin, the dates for filing have not changed from the previous bulletin.
In the unreserved EB-5 category, the dates for filing for China and India are January 1, 2017, and April 1, 2022, respectively. All other reserved and unreserved categories remain marked as “Current”.
Quick Path to U.S. Residency with EB-5: Get Employment Authorization and Travel Permit in Days
Under the RIA, 32% of the annual EB-5 visa pool is reserved for projects in targeted employment areas (TEAs) and certain infrastructure projects. Of this portion, 20% are set aside for rural TEA projects, 10% for high-unemployment TEA projects, and the remaining 2% for infrastructure projects.
These reserved visa categories are still marked as “Current” across the Visa Bulletin, meaning there is no processing backlog. Indian and Chinese EB-5 investors who qualify for a reserved visa are not subject to their nation’s assigned cutoff date, meaning they can completely avoid the lengthy waiting times they may face with an unreserved EB-5 visa.
However, there is a limited supply of reserved EB-5 visas each year, meaning these categories can become backlogged as well. The larger supply of set-aside rural visas makes it a safer option, as applicants have a better chance of obtaining one before the supply is exhausted. As an added benefit, USCIS has stated they will grant priority processing to the petitions of rural TEA investors.
The EB-5 program also offers an exciting benefit that can expedite the immigration process. Holders of non-immigrant visas (such as H-1B, L-1, E-2, and F-1) are eligible for concurrent filing when they apply for an EB-5 visa. This means they can adjust their immigration status alongside filing their I-526E petition and even apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) and travel permit while their petition is being processed.
By utilizing concurrent filing, EB-5 investors can get the ability to live, work, and freely travel in and out of the U.S. A recent investor in an EB5AN project got an EAD and travel permit in only 60 days.
For more information on avoiding backlog-related delays in your immigration journey, schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.
