The Department of State has announced the issuance of all available EB-5 visas without reservation for the fiscal year 2024.
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced that it has exhausted all legally available visas in the unreserved EB-5 categories. While DOS will continue to schedule appointments in August and September, no new visa numbers will be issued until October 1st.
This development is noteworthy as the Department of State, in conjunction with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), aims to alleviate the EB-5 backlog and enhance processing times. For encourage data, assets are accessible on the IIUSA Visa Dashboard and in the most recent Year-to-Date visa issuance report.
In a recent announcement, the State Department, in close partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Migration Administrations, has affirmed the issuance of all lawfully accessible visas in the Employment-Based Fifth Inclination (EB-5) open category for a financial year (FY) 2024. The effective utilization of these visas promotes legitimate travel for investors who establish businesses that generate employment opportunities across the United States.
The Movement and Nationality Act (INA) forces a cap on the number of employment-based inclination worker visas that can be issued each financial year. Specifically, INA 203(b)(5) stipulates that the annual limit for EB-5 visas constitutes 7.1 percent of the global employment limit, with 68 percent allocated for unreserved visa categories (C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, NU). Furthermore, the EB-5 Reform, and Integrity Act of 2022 allows for the allocation of unused EB-5 reserved visas from FY 2022 to be made available in the EB-5 unreserved categories for FY 2024.
Given that all available EB-5 unreserved visas for FY 2024 have been utilized, embassies and consulates will not be able to issue visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. The yearly limits will reset with the graduation of the modern financial year (FY 2025) at which point government offices and offices may once more issue migrants in these categories to eligible applicants.
