The cut-off date for U.S. EB-5 investment immigration for investors from mainland China is May 1, 2013. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) only processes cases for mainland investors whose priority dates are before April 2013. Many investors have approached Worldway under the mistaken belief that the EB-5 visa backlog will take 2-3 years. In fact, this is a major misunderstanding of the EB-5 visa backlog among many investors. Worldway immigration experts will provide a detailed analysis of what the EB-5 backlog is and how the backlog time should actually be calculated.
A visa backlog refers to a situation where, when visa quotas are tight, the Department of State's Visa Office sets a fixed "cut-off date" each month. The priority date of an I-526 application approved in that month is compared against this date. If the Priority Date on your I-526 receipt notice is earlier than May 1, 2013, you are not affected by the backlog. If the priority date on the receipt notice is later than May 1, 2013, even if your I-526 has been approved, you may still face backlog issues if you have not yet completed the interview process and obtained your visa.
First, the U.S. investment immigration visa backlog actually refers to the time an investor spends waiting in line for a visa at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou after their I-526 has been approved; it is predicated on the approval of the investor's I-526. In other words, only after an investor's I-526 has been approved are they eligible to wait for a visa and qualify to enter the visa backlog queue; this is a prerequisite for the U.S. investment immigration visa backlog. In short, a U.S. investment immigration backlog does not mean that U.S. investment immigration has been suspended. The backlog only applies after I-526 approval; however, there is no backlog for the I-526 approval process itself.
Second, while the current backlog starts at two years, this does not mean that EB-5 investors from mainland China need to wait an extra two years. The EB-5 visa backlog time must first be calculated starting from the date of I-526 approval. In other words, the actual EB-5 visa backlog time must first subtract the time taken for the I-526 application to be approved. Based on the current average EB-5 processing time of 14 months, if the backlog is determined to be 24 months, subtracting the 14 months leaves 10 months. This means that, currently, EB-5 investors from mainland China need to wait an average of 10 additional months, not 24 months.
Worldway kindly reminds you: Worldway will continue to work with GT Law Firm to provide you with the latest information on U.S. investment immigration from the U.S. Department of State and USCIS. Regarding the backlog issue, Worldway will continue to monitor the situation and provide professional answers through our official company website and various WeChat channels. If applicants or investors have any questions or concerns regarding the EB-5 backlog, please follow Worldway's official channels or contact Worldway consultants and customer service. Worldway will certainly provide you with the most authoritative, detailed, professional, and satisfactory answers and services. Consultation Hotline: 400-138-2929
