[Authoritative Interpretation] Two Visa Bulletins Appear for the First Time for U.S. EB-5 Immigration in October 2015

On September 9, U.S. time, the U.S. Department of State's Visa Office released the October 2015 Visa Bulletin, in which two visa bulletins appeared for the first time for the EB-5 U.S. investment immigration visa (including other immigration categories).

Table A:

Table B:

[Worldway Group Authoritative Interpretation] By comparing Table A and Table B, you can see that the visa bulletin dates for the EB-5 visa are inconsistent. What exactly does this mean? In particular, what does it mean for EB-5 investors? Worldway Group's authoritative interpretation is as follows:

1. If the priority date is before October 8, 2013:

EB-5 investors can proceed to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou for an interview, or file an I-485 application directly in the United States to adjust status and immediately obtain a visa or Green Card.

2. If the priority date is later than October 8, 2013, but earlier than May 1, 2015, it is treated differently in two specific situations:

a. If the applicant is in China, upon receiving the fee payment notice from the National Visa Center (NVC) and submitting the relevant materials, they can join the queue to wait for approval and visa processing.

b. If the applicant is already in the United States, they can file an I-485 application directly in the United States after the I-526 is approved, allowing them to apply for status adjustment within the U.S. and subsequently wait to obtain legal U.S. resident status.

[Summary] The above situations all indicate that investors can obtain a U.S. immigration Green Card or U.S. resident status. For EB-5 investors, this is undoubtedly a major piece of positive news. However, at the same time, the current backlog of I-526 applications remains very serious, having accumulated to as many as 13,117. Although the USCIS significantly accelerated the approval speed of I-526 in the third quarter, approving a total of 3,125 applications, at this rate, it will still take 12.6 months to clear the remaining pending I-526 applications. In addition, Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the Department of State, announced that the EB-5 China visa waiting period will gradually increase from 2 years to 2 and a half years in the 2016 fiscal year! This shows that the waiting period will only get longer, and investors should act decisively and take action early:

On one hand, investing early in projects that are protected by the grandfather clause and have simultaneously obtained USCIS exemplar approval can avoid the impact of policy changes and price increases on projects and investment activities;

On the other hand, in terms of action, one must race against time; the earlier you submit your application, the earlier you get approved, the earlier you catch the last train before policy changes, and the earlier you join the queue for the U.S. immigration Green Card visa.

[Special Note] To immigrate to the United States quickly, lock in the Worldway Group's group-buying express green channel. Seize the final spots for high-quality projects that have obtained USCIS exemplar approval and are protected by the grandfather clause (group-buying ends on September 30) — the DLJ Four Seasons Hotel Resort project (a project invested in by the DLJ multi-billion fund that has obtained I-526 exemplar approval) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike project (a government-repayment-guaranteed project that has obtained I-924 actual project exemplar approval). Please call 400-138-2929.

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