The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently released the Annual Report of Immigrant Visa Applicants in the Family‐sponsored and Employment‐based preferences Registered at the National Visa Center as of November 1, 2017. Today, let us take a look at the EB-5 visa category section of this report.
This report is a waiting list of various categories of immigrant visas requested by the DOS from the National Visa Center (NVC). The report was submitted by the NVC to the DOS on November 1, 2017, with data cut-off approximately on October 12, 2017.
Below, combining the DOS report and IIUSA analysis, let us examine the parts concerning EB-5:
1. EB-5 category, the number of waiting applicants is 30,259, an increase of 22.9% compared to last year:
Analyzing these figures:
a. It includes not only the principal applicants but also their spouses and children, meaning the total number of people waiting for visas;
b. Applications for adjustment of status (I-485 applications) approved by the USCIS are not included;
Since EB-5 investors have two options to obtain a conditional green card after their I-526 is approved: one is to go through the NVC process while overseas, obtain an EB-5 visa after a consular interview, and then land to receive a conditional green card; the other is to file an I-485 adjustment of status application within the United States to receive a conditional green card.
Therefore, this figure only represents data for those going through the NVC process.
c. This data only includes EB-5 applicants who have entered the NVC process and have paid fees and completed the DS-260 form after their I-526 was approved;
Here, let us explain a few issues in more detail:
A. According to the current process, after an I-526 application is approved, you will receive an email from the NVC providing an NVC case number starting with "GZO," indicating that the NVC has received the immigrant visa application transferred from the immigration bureau, but it cannot be processed further due to visa retrogression. When the priority date reaches the Date for Filing (Table B), the NVC will notify the applicant to collect documents and pay fees. When the Final Action Date (Table A) is reached, visa issuance begins.
However, there is a common phenomenon where some investors who have already had their I-526 approved have not received the aforementioned email.
B. For Chinese EB-5 investors, the data source for visa waiting times is quite complex and cannot be effectively analyzed for the following reasons:
B1. Currently, the NVC fee payment process only begins if the priority date is earlier than the date in Table B;
B2. However, this policy was confirmed to be implemented by the NVC around October 2016;
B3. In October 2015, when Table B was first introduced, the cut-off date was May 1, 2015. In October 2016, Table B retrogressed to June 15, 2014;
Therefore, the source of the more than 30,000 Chinese investors on the waiting list is complex and does not merely represent the number of applicants between the current Table A and Table B. Thus, analyzing this data is not very meaningful for mainland China. Of course, analyzing data for countries other than China still holds some significance.
2. 2016 vs 2017:
3. Historical comparison chart:
4. Chinese visa applicants, 2017 vs 2016 vs 2015 vs 2014:
The number of visa applicants from China was 26,725 in 2017, accounting for 88.3% of the EB-5 category; in 2016, it was 22,910, accounting for 93%; in 2015, it was 15,830, accounting for 89.6%; in 2014, it was only 5,169, accounting for 80.5%.
2017 Visa Allocation Ratio Chart:
Comparing the 2017 and 2016 data, the number of Chinese applicants increased by 3,815, but the proportion decreased by 4.7%, indicating that the number of investors from other countries around the world is growing.