Everything you need to know about the January 2024 Visa Bulletin.
Final Action Dates
Dates for Filing
A Quicker Path to U.S. Green Cards With Reserved EB-5 Visas
Embarking on the EB-5 Immigration Process
Final Action Dates
The above chart indicates the employment-based final action dates for the January 2024 Visa Bulletin. These dates determine whether an immigrant visa is available to be issued to an applicant. If an applicant’s priority date—the date on which they filed their I-526 petition—falls before their corresponding final action date, they may move forward with their application.
China and India remain the only nations with assigned final action dates for EB-5 investors. For the first time since October 2023, these dates have finally advanced. China’s final action date has advanced from October 1, 2015, to December 8, 2015.
India has enjoyed a more substantial leap, moving nearly two years from December 15, 2018, to December 1, 2020.
The reserved EB-5 categories remain “Current” for all nations, meaning there is no cutoff date for investors in those categories.
As of January 2024, EB-5 investors who qualify for reserved visas are free to move forward with their immigration process as soon as they receive I-526E petition approval.
Read on to discover how set-aside EB-5 visas can help you get a U.S. Green Card faster.
Chinese and Indian EB-1 Categories Advance
The EB-1 final action dates for China and India have both jumped forward from the previous month’s bulletin. China’s has moved from February 15, 2022, to July 1, 2022, while India’s has leaped over three years from January 1, 2017 to September 1, 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 apply for their Green Cards.
China and India remain the only nations with dates for filing in the EB-5 category, with no change from the December 2023 Visa Bulletin. China’s is set on January 1, 2017, and India’s falls on April 1, 2022.
Indian and Chinese dates for filing have advanced in the EB-1 category as well, moving from August 1, 2022, to January 1, 2023, for China, while India’s has jumped from July 1, 2019, to January 1, 2021.
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 Reserved EB-5 Visas
Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, 32% of the annual EB-5 visa pool is reserved for projects in targeted employment areas (TEAs) and certain infrastructure projects; 20% is set aside for rural TEA projects, 10% for high-unemployment TEA projects, and the remaining 2% for infrastructure projects.
As of January 2024, 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 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. For example, an investor in EB5AN’s Twin Lakes project got an EAD in only 60 days.
Embarking on the EB-5 Immigration Process
By qualifying for a reserved EB-5 visa, Chinese and Indian nationals can immigrate to the U.S. much faster than the standard EB-5 process and many other visa categories.
However, 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 real-life examples of how to go about the EB-5 process, including finding an immigration attorney and selecting a project, watch EB5AN’s investor interview series.
We also encourage you to schedule a free consultation with EB5AN and find out if EB-5 is right for you.
