The upcoming EB-5 Visa Bulletin for December 2019 has been released by the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Here’s an explanation of the key parts of the Visa Bulletin for December 2019:
Final Action Dates:
The Regional Center category are all “U” or unauthorized. The EB-5 Regional Center Program is set to expire after November 21, 2019, therefore, no visas would be issued. If legislative action is taken to extend the program into the new year then the “U” would change to either “C” for current or to the final action dates listed under ‘Program Expiration’ below.
For non-Regional Center category:
Mainland China: November 15, 2014
Vietnam: December 1, 2016
India: January 1, 2018
All other countries: Current
These final actions dates were predicted during IIUSA’s EB-5 Forum at the end of October, 2019.
What are final action dates?
After an EB-5 investor files their I-526 Petition they are provided with a receipt date (also called a priority date). The EB-5 investor must then wait until their I-526 Petition is approved by the IPO (Immigrant Investor Program Office) and this process can currently take anywhere from an estimated 29 to 50 months. After receiving approval, they can refer to the current Visa Bulletin’s final action dates to see if their country of origin is backlogged or not. If it’s not, then they can apply to receive a visa and obtain one when one becomes available. However, if they’re from Mainland China, Vietnam or India (visa backlogged countries), an EB-5 investor must compare their receipt date to the final action date currently listed for that country. If their receipt date is earlier than the listed final action date they can apply to receive a visa and obtain one when one becomes available.
Dates for Filing:
For the Regional Center category as well as the non-Regional Center category, all countries other than Mainland China are “C” or current.
Mainland China: May 15, 2015
Program Expiration:
EB-5 Regional Center Program visas will be issued until the end of the business day on November 21, 2019. After that, unless legislative action is taken to extend the EB-5 Regional Center Program, no visas will be issued and the program with expire.
If a Continuing Resolution is passed by Congress, then all final action dates, except those from backlogged countries would immediately become current. Countries that are currently facing visa retrogression would be subject to the following final action dates for the Regional Center category:
Mainland China: November 15, 2014
Vietnam: December 1, 2016
India: January 1, 2018
Check back with EB-5 Daily to learn about any legislative action taken to extend the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
Looking to obtain a green card for you and your immediate family? There’s still time to invest at the $500k investment amount if you file before the November 21, 2019 deadline.