EB-5 unreserved visas annual limit to reset on October 1

The US State Department IN collaboration with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that all legally available EB-5 unreserved visas for FY 2024 have been issued.

The annual ceiling for EB-5 visas is 7.1 percent of the global employment limit, with 68 percent available for unreserved visa categories (C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, NU). Of the 7.1% of the worldwide level, 32% are reserved as follows: 20% reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a rural area; 10% reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a high unemployment area; and 2% reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in infrastructure projects. The remaining 68% are unreserved and are allotted for all other qualified immigrants.

Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases (US Visa Bulletin September)

5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5)

China-mainland born: 15DEC15

India: 01DEC20

Dates for filing of employment-based applications

5th Unreserved category (including C5, T5, I5, R5):

China-mainland born: 01 JAN 17

India: 01 APR 22

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act created new EB-5 immigrant visa set-asides for qualified immigrant investors. Each fiscal year, a certain percentage of EB-5 immigrant visas are available to qualified immigrants who invest in specific areas

Rural Area: 20%
High Unemployment Area: 10%
Infrastructure Project: 2%

Any of these set-aside visas that go unused are held in the same set-aside category for one more fiscal year. After the second fiscal year, any remaining unused immigrant visas in these set-aside categories are released to the unreserved EB-5 immigrant visa numbers during the third fiscal year.

The Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visas facilitate legitimate travel for investors who establish commercial enterprises that create employment opportunities throughout the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the amount of employment-based preference immigrant visas that can be awarded in a fiscal year.

Because all of the available EB-5 unreserved visas for FY 2024 have been used, embassies and consulates will not issue visas in these categories for the rest of the fiscal year.

The US also announced the issuance of all legally available visas in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) categories for fiscal year (FY) 2024. The annual limit for EB-3 visas is 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment limit, of which not more than 10,000 may be made available in the EW category.

The annual limits for both EB-5 visas and EB-3 Visas will be reset on October 1, 2024, when the new fiscal year (FY 2025) begins. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in these categories to eligible applicants.