The U.S. State Department and USCIS have announced that all EB-5 and EB-3 visas for fiscal year 2024 have been fully allocated. Visa issuance will resume on…

The U.S. State Department, in collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), recently confirmed that all available visas in the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) unreserved category for fiscal year 2024 have been fully issued.

EB-5 visas are crucial for foreign investors aiming to establish businesses in the United States, fostering job creation and driving economic growth across the nation.

The EB-5 program “protects you from the threat of job loss due to corporate downsizing and assists you in establishing a secure future in the U.S.”

“The U.S. visa landscape is complex and uncertain, making it risky to rely solely on the H-1B visa for your future.”

Unreserved Visa Categories Depleted, EB-5 Issuance Paused

The issuance of these visas is regulated by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which imposes annual limits on the number of employment-based immigrant visas. For the EB-5 category, this limit is set at 7.1 percent of the total employment-based visas available worldwide.

Out of this allocation, 68 percent is reserved for unreserved visa categories, including classifications such as C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, and NU. Additionally, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 permits the inclusion of unused EB-5 reserved visas from fiscal year 2022 into the unreserved categories for fiscal year 2024.

Since all EB-5 unreserved visas for this fiscal year have been allocated, U.S. embassies and consulates will suspend visa issuance in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. However, starting October 1, 2024 (FY 2025), the visa limits will reset, and issuance will resume for qualified applicants in these categories.

EB-5 Investors Can Find Relief in Challenging U.S. Visa Landscape

Established by Congress in 1990, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is administered by USCIS to stimulate the U.S. economy by driving job creation and attracting capital from international investors. A significant element of this program is the Regional Center Program, which was initially introduced as a pilot in 1992 and has been consistently renewed since.

Investors can achieve EB-5 classification by investing through USCIS-designated regional centers that focus on economic development. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, enacted by President Biden on March 15, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, established new regulations for the EB-5 program visa category and extended the authorization for the Regional Center Program through September 30, 2027.

Indian American visa podcaster Rahul Menon cautioned in an interview with HindustanTimes.com, “The EB-5 program is not easily accessible for many. To qualify, you must invest $800,000. Even if you have the funds and file concurrently, it can still take several months to receive your Employment Authorization Document (EAD).”

The State Department and USCIS have also announced that all legally available visas in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) categories for fiscal year 2024 have been fully issued. These visas primarily include those for workers.

The INA establishes annual limits on the number of employment-based immigrant visas that can be issued. For the EB-3 category, the limit is set at 28.6 percent of the total employment-based visas available worldwide, while the EW category has a maximum allocation of 10,000 visas.

As all EB-3 and EW visas for fiscal year 2024 have been exhausted, U.S. Embassies and consulates will stop issuing these visas until the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2024.At that point, the annual visa limits will be reset, allowing eligible applicants to apply for immigrant visas in these categories again.

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