The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the Visa Bulletin for December 2023 with little movement across the board.
Final Action Dates
Dates for Filing
A Quicker Path to U.S. Green Cards With EB-5
Beginning the EB-5 Immigration Process
Final Action Dates
The above chart indicates the employment-based final action dates for the December 2023 Visa Bulletin. These are cutoff dates that dictate whether an immigrant visa is available and a Green Card may be issued to the applicant. If an individual’s priority date — the date on which they filed their visa petition— falls before the final action date in their category, they are eligible for a Green Card and can move forward with their application.
For EB-5 investors, their visa petition is Form I-526E.
China and India remain the only nations with backlogs in the unreserved EB-5 visa category. With no change from the November 2023 Visa Bulletin, these final action dates fall on October 1, 2015, for Chinese applicants and December 15, 2018, for Indian applicants.
Furthermore, the reserved EB-5 categories remain “Current” for all nations, meaning there is no cutoff date for applicants in those categories.
As of December 2023, EB-5 investors in the reserved categories are free to move forward with their cases as soon as they receive I-526E petition approval. Read on to discover how reserved EB-5 visa categories can help you get a U.S. Green Card faster.
Chinese EB-2 and EB-3 Categories Advance Slightly
The final action dates for the Chinese EB-2 and EB-3 visa categories have progressed slightly. EB-2 has moved from October 1, 2019, to October 22, 2019, while EB-3 has advanced from January 1, 2020 to January 22, 2020.
Dates for Filing
Whereas the final action dates dictate who is eligible to receive a Green Card, dates for filing determine when EB-5 investors with I-526E approval can subsequently apply for their Green Cards. As is the case for the Final Action Dates chart, the December 2023 Dates for Filing chart shows no movement from the previous month’s Visa Bulletin.
China and India are the only nations with EB-5 dates for filing, which are set at January 1, 2017, for China and April 1, 2022, for India.
Again, the reserved EB-5 categories in this chart remain marked as “Current,” meaning applicants may apply for their Green Cards at any time and are not subject to a cutoff date.
A Quicker Path to U.S. Green Cards With EB-5
Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, 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% is set aside for rural TEA projects, 10% for high-unemployment TEA projects, and the remaining 2% for infrastructure projects.
As of December 2023, 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 bypass the lengthy waiting times they may face with a non-TEA EB-5 visa. On top of that, USCIS grants priority processing to the I-526(E) petitions of rural investors.
However, it is important to keep in mind that there is a limited number of reserved visas each year, meaning these categories can also become backlogged. Therefore, the larger supply of set-aside rural visas makes it a safer option for Chinese and Indian nationals; applicants who invest in a rural TEA project will have the best chance of getting a set-aside visa before the supply is exhausted.
As another major benefit of the EB-5 program, foreign nationals who reside in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas — such as the H1-B, L-1, E-2, and F-1 categories — can immediately adjust their immigration status via concurrent filing. For H-1B workers or holders of other visas close to expiration, this is one of the very few options to quickly change their immigration status and remain in the United States.
In addition, concurrent filing lets EB-5 investors apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) and travel permit, allowing them to work and travel anywhere in the nation while awaiting adjudication. An investor in EB5AN’s Twin Lakes project got an EAD in only 60 days.
Beginning the EB-5 Immigration Process
Investing in a reserved visa EB-5 project provides Chinese and Indian investors with a much faster path to a U.S. Green Card than the standard EB-5 process and many other visa categories. This is especially the case for Chinese and Indian nationals who already live in the United States.
As mentioned before, there is a limited number of set-aside visas available. To ensure eligibility, we encourage Chinese and Indian nationals to start planning their EB-5 investments as soon as possible.
For practical insights on how to go about the EB-5 process, watch our interview series featuring testimonials from investors in EB5AN projects.
The unrestricted benefits of an EB-5 Green Card—full employment authorization, freedom to travel, and more—can be yours faster than ever before.
For further guidance on the quickest way to enjoy the benefits of EB-5 immigration, schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.
