Recently, the U.S. Department of State announced the green card quotas for Fiscal Year 2025 (from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025). In FY 2025, the total quota for U.S. employment-based immigrant visa categories is 150,000, which is 10,000 more than the 140,000 in a standard year.
Among these, the EB-5 immigrant category, which accounts for 7.1% of the annual employment-based visa quota, will have 10,650 visa slots available in FY 2025 (globally). According to the new act, the EB-5 visa set-aside categories for FY 2025 will receive 32% of the visa set-aside quota, which is approximately 3,408 slots (10,650 * 32%).
The U.S. Department of State reminds that the EB-5 category data in the table does not include the number of visas carried over from previous fiscal years. It is reported that there were 3,676 unused set-aside visa slots in FY 2024. According to the visa allocation rules of the new policy, unused visa quotas will be carried over to the same category in the following year (i.e., FY 2025) for continued use. Therefore, the total set-aside visa quota for FY 2025 is approximately 7,084 visas (3,408 + 3,676).
Among these, rural area (TEA) projects enjoy a 20% set-aside visa quota, which is 4,427 slots; high unemployment area (TEA) projects enjoy a 10% set-aside visa quota, which is 2,214 slots; and infrastructure projects enjoy a 2% set-aside visa quota, which is 443 slots.
Considering the impact of case withdrawals and denial rates, the green card quota for rural projects may barely cover the demand, while urban projects are already facing severe invisible backlogs. It is recommended that investors interested in immigrating to the United States seize the critical window, choose rural category projects with more abundant visa supply, and submit their I-526E applications as early as possible to lock in their priority dates, which will ensure a favorable position in future visa quota allocations.
At the same time, the new EB-5 act stipulates that only rural projects under regional centers enjoy "priority processing," and the USCIS is indeed practicing the "priority processing" policy in the actual adjudication of I-956F and I-526E. Therefore, rural projects are an excellent choice for Chinese applicants to obtain green cards quickly.
Currently, the two best-selling premium EB-5 projects on the market, for which Worldway serves as the exclusive agent in Greater China—the "Bryce Canyon Marriott Hotel" located in one of the top ten national parks in the U.S., and the "Hawaii Autograph Collection Hotel" jointly created by capital giants—are both high-quality EB-5 rural projects that have been strictly screened and vetted by the Worldway Group, making them your best choice for rapid immigration to the United States. Both of these premium EB-5 projects comply with the rural TEA project requirements under the new act. They not only enjoy EB-5 visa set-aside slots but also receive priority processing from the USCIS. They combine multiple advantages such as no backlog, priority processing, and first-priority mortgage guarantee for EB-5 funds. With an investment starting from $800,000, one person applies and the whole family can quickly obtain a green card. Slots are limited, so act fast.
