The U.S. State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced that all available EB-5 unreserved visas for fiscal year (FY) 2024 have been issued. This development impacts foreign investors seeking to establish commercial enterprises in the United States.
Understanding the EB-5 Visa
The EB-5 Visa is a U.S. immigration program that grants permanent residency to foreign investors who invest in U.S. businesses. To qualify for the EB-5 visa, the investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers, promoting economic growth.
Breakdown of EB-5 Visa Allocation
The EB-5 visa program is a pathway for qualified immigrants who invest in U.S. businesses, creating jobs in the process. The program’s annual visa allocation is set at 7.1% of the global employment limit. This total is divided into reserved and unreserved categories:
- 68% of visas are unreserved and available for general applicants.
- 20% are reserved for investors in rural areas.
- 10% is reserved for those investing in high-unemployment areas.
- 2% are reserved for infrastructure projects.
Unused set-aside visas in these categories can carry over for one fiscal year. After that, they are added to the unreserved visa pool for the third fiscal year.
Key Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases
The U.S. Visa Bulletin for September highlights important dates for filing employment-based applications:
- 5th Unreserved Visa Category:
- China-mainland born: Final Action Date: December 15, 2015
- India: Final Action Date: December 1, 2020
- Dates for Filing:
- China-mainland Born: January 1, 2017
- India: April 1, 2022
Also Read: EB-5 Visa vs. H-1B Visa: Which One Is Right for You?
Impact on EB-5 and EB-3 Visa Applicants
The Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visas are designed to encourage investment in U.S. businesses that create jobs. Due to the cap set by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the number of these visas is limited each fiscal year.
With all EB-5 unreserved visas for FY 2024 now issued, embassies and consulates will halt issuing visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. A similar situation applies to the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) categories, where all legally available visas for FY 2024 have also been issued.
The annual cap for EB-3 visas is 28.6% of the global employment limit, with no more than 10,000 visas available in the EW category.
Resetting of Annual Limits
The annual limits for both EB-5 and EB-3 visas will be reset on October 1, 2024, when the new fiscal year (FY 2025) begins. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in these categories to eligible applicants.
Conclusion
The exhaustion of EB-5 and EB-3 unreserved visas for FY 2024 underscores the strong demand for these immigrant visas. Investors and applicants are encouraged to plan accordingly, keeping an eye on the reset date in October 2024 for new opportunities.
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