EB-5 Visa Unreserved Category Reaches Annual Limit: What’s Next for Investors?

The U.S. declared that the EB-5 visa program had met its annual limit in the unreserved category for fiscal year 2024; thus, thousands of foreign investors seeking to obtain a green card through this program end up affected by this new update.

The EB-5 visa program, also known as the “golden visa,” grants foreign nationals the chance at a green card in exchange for investment in a US-based business that employs at least 10 full-time American workers. It has always been one of the top routes for high-net-worth individuals who have looked to emigrate to the United States.

However, the high demand made the limit reach faster and earlier than expected. According to the US State Department, 7.1 percent is the amount set aside for the EB-5 unreserved category from the worldwide employment-based visa limit; 68 percent of this is earmarked for unreserved visa categories.

This means that US embassies and consulates will not be issuing any more visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year due to the exhaustion of the annual limit. The annual limits will only reset on October 1, 2024, which will be the first day of a new fiscal year. It is at this date that visa issuance in these categories resumes.

The US State Department went on to warn that due to unprecedented sustained demand for employment-based immigrant visas, the annual numerical limitations for many visa categories and countries may be reached even by September every year, affecting visa number availability in some categories before the end of the fiscal year.

What is next for an investor who wants to get an EB-5 visa? With the annual limit reached, investors must wait until the new fiscal year’s commencement on October 1, 2024, to apply for a visa. However, it will be worthwhile to mention that the availability of the visa and the time frames taken to process it are often too unpredictable to be ascertained; therefore, the investors must keep themselves updated with regard to the changes occurring in the aforesaid program.