EB-5 Investment Immigration: New-Policy EB-5 to Start Visa Bulletin Retrogression Soon in 2025!
EB-5 Investment Immigration: New-Policy EB-5 to Face Visa Bulletin Retrogression Soon in 2025!
Attorneys:Attorney Jeff Zhengquan Xie,Attorney Jiarui Yin,Attorney Qian Zhao,Attorney Haochun Ling
The U.S. Department of State has just released the Visa Bulletin for January 2025, confirming that visa quotas for new-policy EB-5 investment immigration applications remain available in January 2025.
However, the U.S. Department of State has issued an unusual supplementary statement, noting that due to the growing number of new-policy EB-5 applications and the rising approvals of Form I-526E petitions, a growing number of EB-5 applicants are completing the immigration process. As a result, it will be necessary to step up monitoring of the visa numbers reflected in Chart A and Chart B to prevent new-policy EB-5 immigration quotas from exceeding the annual cap.
This is not a positive sign for investment immigration applicants who have not yet filed their Form I-526E!
It is an especially serious warning for EB-5 applicants born in mainland China!
This alert from the U.S. Department of State implies that EB-5 applications filed by mainland Chinese-born applicants may face visa bulletin retrogression very soon!
The new-policy EB-5 investment immigration quotas consist of 1,000 slots for projects in high-unemployment urban areas, 2,000 slots for rural projects, and 200 slots for infrastructure projects. These quotas have been available since the summer of 2022, with vacancies remaining at least until January next year. Collectively, these are referred to as EB-5 set-aside quotas.
Please note: These EB-5 set-aside quotas are allocated to applicants from all countries worldwide. No single country may use more than 7% of the total immigration visa quotas.
Nevertheless, an overview of the overall new-policy EB-5 applications reveals that 80% of applicants are from mainland China.
What does this indicate?
It shows that new-policy EB-5 applicants born in mainland China have been utilizing the annual new-policy EB-5 immigration visa quotas designated for other countries—because many countries have few or no applicants filing new-policy EB-5 petitions.
Once mainland China exhausts its 7% allocation of new-policy immigration quotas, and the new-policy EB-5 set-aside quotas for other countries are also nearly depleted, mainland Chinese-born applicants will be the first group to face visa bulletin retrogression.
Although the supplementary statement from the U.S. Department of State only mentions the initiation of quota monitoring for new-policy EB-5 set-asides and does not specify a timeline for the onset of retrogression, theoretically, the U.S. Department of State could announce as early as January 2025 that new-policy EB-5 applications will face retrogression starting from February 2025 at the earliest!
If this scenario materializes, what impact will it have on new-policy EB-5 applicants?
The concurrent filing window in the U.S. will close in February 2025 for EB-5 applicants born in countries whose set-aside quotas have been exhausted. Once retrogression is announced, all applicants will enter a waiting queue for visa availability. Applicants from countries with a higher volume of EB-5 filings will face longer waiting periods for visa quotas.
For those currently preparing to file EB-5 applications and who qualify for concurrent filing in the U.S., January 2025 will be their only remaining window of opportunity to submit concurrent petitions. Time is running out for applicants planning to pursue concurrent filing in the U.S.!
If concurrent filing is successfully completed within January 2025, applicants will no longer need to worry about maintaining legal status in the U.S. They can expect to receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole in approximately 4–5 months. However, the timeline for obtaining conditional permanent residency will still depend on the extent of visa bulletin retrogression and the adjudication speed of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The projection that new-policy EB-5 set-aside applications will face retrogression as early as February 2025 remains speculative for now. Even if retrogression does not take effect in February next year, it is only a matter of time before set-aside quota retrogression kicks in. The only actionable step we can take is to file EB-5 applications as soon as possible. Regardless of when retrogression officially begins, early filing means securing an earlier position in the waiting queue.
The above overview is prepared by XIE LAW OFFICES,LLC. to provide legal information to the Chinese community. It is primarily for academic discussion purposes and does not constitute legal advice on specific cases. If you already have legal representation, please consult your own attorney, who is familiar with the details of your case. Clients of Xie & Associates Law Firm, as well as readers who have not yet retained legal counsel, may contact Attorney Xie for specific legal questions. If you wish to reprint this document, please do so in full without any deletions, and clearly indicate the source.
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