Employment-Based Immigration: Massive Changes in Visa Bulletin for April 2025; New Policy EB-5 Applications Still Have Quotas Available
Significant Changes in the April 2025 Visa Bulletin; Quotas Still Available for New-Policy EB-5 Applications
Attorneys:Attorney Jeff Zhengquan Xie,Attorney Jiarui Yin,Attorney Qian Zhao,Attorney Haochun Ling
According to the April 2025 Visa Bulletin just released by the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center, the visa backlog for old-policy EB-5 investors (those who filed the $500,000 investment applications before March 2022) will retrogress by approximately two and a half years.
What has caused such a substantial retrogression for old-policy EB-5? It should be related to the rising number of filed and adjudicated new-policy EB-5 applications, as well as the growing volume of EB-5 petitions submitted by investors born in countries other than mainland China and India.
It remains uncertain whether the May Visa Bulletin will bring improvements to the old-policy EB-5 backlog. If the number of new-policy EB-5 filings and adjudications keeps rising, and applications from investors of non-Chinese and non-Indian birth continue to grow, there may be no significant improvement in the old-policy EB-5 backlog situation.
This drastic retrogression of the old-policy EB-5 visa bulletin serves as a reminder: for families where parents are the principal applicants and children are derivative applicants, it is imperative to explore alternative options. For instance, promptly filing a new-policy EB-5 application in the child’s name would be advisable. The surging new-policy EB-5 applications, the growing number of petitions from investors of other nationalities, and the $5 million "Gold Card" program advocated by Trump will all add pressure on old-policy EB-5 investors who have been waiting diligently for years. Ultimately, this may result in children aging out and being unable to immigrate to the U.S. alongside their parents.
Of course, if both the old-policy EB-5 principal applicants and their children have already paid the NVC fees, there is no need to worry about the children aging out. Specific circumstances should be confirmed with your retained immigration attorney.
On the bright side for EB-5 investment immigration: despite the massive retrogression of the old-policy EB-5 backlog, the new-policy EB-5 applications (i.e., the $800,000 investment program) remain unaffected and still have visa quotas available in April. It is evident that readers planning to file new-policy EB-5 applications should make every effort to submit their petitions as soon as possible. For those currently residing in the U.S., concurrent filing of the EB-5 immigrant petition and Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) is permissible, which can resolve immigration status issues in one go.
In terms of other employment-based immigration categories, there is mixed news:
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Good News: For employment-based second-preference (EB-2) applicants born in mainland China, the visa bulletin will advance by nearly five months in April, moving to October 1, 2020. For employment-based third-preference (EB-3) applicants of Chinese birth, the bulletin will also advance three months, to November 1, 2020.
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Bad News: Unexpectedly, the employment-based first-preference (EB-1) visa bulletin for mainland Chinese-born applicants has remained stagnant, still stuck at November 8, 2022.
However, there is another piece of bad news: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also confirmed that mainland Chinese-born applicants may only file Form I-485 based on the dates listed in Chart A of the Visa Bulletin. USCIS will no longer accept Form I-485 filings based on Chart B.
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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