News

Washington, DC, April 19, 2022: The Department of State (DOS) released the May 2022 Visa Bulletin and it brings welcome news for EB-5 investors.

All EB-5 visas are listed as having “Current” Final Action Dates (List A) for all countries except for the People’s Republic of China. EB-5 China continues to have a 22 November 2015 cut-off date for regional center investments.

Dates for Filing (List B) are all listed as Current, except for List B Mainland China which has a cut-off date of December 15, 2015.

Visa Categories Now Adapted to New Law

Interestingly, DOS has sub-divided the EB-5 category into 5 new sub-categories that include the new Act’s reserved categories:

1.- EB-5 Unrestricted Visas (labeled C5 and T5).
2.- EB-5 Unrestricted Visas for Regional Centers (labeled I5 and R5)
3.- EB-5 Rural Set Aside, comprising 20% of available EB-5 visas.
4.- EB-5 High Unemployment, comprising 10% of available EB-5 visas.
5.- EB-5 Infrastructure, comprising 2% of available EB-5 visas.
6.- EB-5 Direct Investments.

Final Action Dates Effective Immediately

Effective immediately, EB-5 Final Action Dates stated in the May 2022 Visa Bulletin apply.

Notes to the Visa Bulletin

Note D to the May 2022 Visa Bulletin deals specifically with re-authorization of the EB-5 regional center program. Note D confirms that DOS:

1.- Has resumed processing visa applications based on approved Employment-Based Fifth Preference Regional Center petitions that were filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021.
2.- Has created two pools of EB-5 visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One pool of numbers is ‘reserved’ for certain set-aside categories while the remaining available numbers remain ‘unreserved’.
3.- Chart A for Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Categories reflect final action dates for May that are effective immediately for the month of April.
4.- The Employment-Based Fifth Preference Unreserved (C5, T5, and all others) is Current for all countries; the Employment-Based Fifth Preference Unreserved (I5 and R5) categories are Current for all countries except China-mainland born, which is subject to a 22NOV15 final action date; and all set-aside categories are Current for all countries.

Warning on EB-5 China for June 2022

The DOS warns that it may become necessary to establish a China-mainland born final action date and application filing date for the C5 and T5 categories as early as June to keep number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2022 annual limits if sufficient demand materializes.

Donoso & Partners, a leading immigration law firm based in Washington, D.C., will continue to report on developments regarding the immigration law and policy through our news section of donosolaw.com.