Apr 15, 20224 min read

【ARCFE News】 MAY 2022 VISA BULLETIN (32% RESERVED EB-5 VISAS)

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

Understand the Employment-Based Visa Types
Chart A vs. Chart B: What each chart tells you?
Huge EB-2 and EB-3 backlogs for Indians
Jackson Project Qualifies for 10% Reserved EB-5 Visas

The May 2022 Visa Bulletin is a bit different from the previous Visa Bulletins that we have seen in the past. This month’s bulletin include the status for 32% reserved EB-5 visas requirement that was part of the EB-5 Reform Bill signed into law by President Biden on March 15th.

Understand the Employment-Based Visa Types

EB-1: For non-citizen of extraordinary ability; an outstanding professor or researcher; a certain multinational executive or manager.

EB-2: For those hold advanced degree or its equivalent, or a person who has exceptional ability.

EB-3: For skilled workers, professional, or other workers.

EB-4: For special immigrant (e.g. religious workers, certain employees of U.S. government who are abroad, members of U.S. armed forces, etc.)

EB-5: Immigrant Investor Program, where investor and their family (spouse & children under 21 years old) are eligible for Green Cards once invested a certain amount of money into a job creating project in the U.S.

Chart A vs. Chart B: What each chart tells you?

Chart A gives the final action date for EB-5 investors who have their I-526 petitions already approved. For investors from countries with “C” as their final action date, they may be issued their visas. For investors from countries with a date (“DDMYY” format) instead of “C”, this is the priority date that tells you where you are in the queue. EB-5 investors can proceed with their application process if the final action date is after the priority date.

Chart B specifies the filing date for countries with large visa backlogs. Investors from those countries should avoid filing their applications until a certain date shown on this chart. This helps USCIS to not receive huge number of applications at one time. Additionally, it also indicates when the EAD card and travel document can be issued (for Concurrent Filing).

The Employment Base Fifth categories are as follow:

Chart A:

“5th Set Aside” are the three recently added categories for EB-5 per the new EB-5 Reforms regulation. All 3 are “CURRENT” – shows that this is the perfect time to invest into qualified EB-5 projects if investors want to take advantage of the reserved EB-5 visas.

Chart B:

After submitting the application, USCIS will not prioritize processing I-485 petitions (Concurrent Filing) but they will focus on issuing EAD card (work authorization card) and travel documents for investors. Only when the date on Chart A is “C” or the final action date is after investor’s priority date that the I-485 and I-526 will be processed.

Chart B might or might not be used depends on USCIS’ decision which is expected to come out in the next few days.

Huge EB-2/EB-3 Backlogs for Indians

EB-2 and EB-3 might not be the best route for Indians who are interested in getting U.S. residency. This is due to the huge backlogs for these two visa categories. Looking at Chart A above, the priority date for Indian EB-2 applicants date all the way back to 2013 and for EB-3 is 2012. Many immigration attorneys and industry professionals have said that it may take up to 100 years for Indians to get their Green Cards through the EB-2 and EB-3 programs.

This leaves EB-5 as the best route for Indians to achieve their American Dream. When investing in EB-5, investor and their family (spouse & children under 21 years old) are eligible to receive U.S. Green Cards. The EB-5 priority date for India is “C” – stands for CURRENT. What this means is that USCIS is processing applications as they come in, leaving little waiting time. In addition to that is the “C” for the 3 reserved EB-5 visas categories. Indian nationals who are interested in getting U.S. residency should take advantage of this status and start preparing their applications now.

Jackson Project Qualifies for 10% Reserved EB-5 Visas!

The Jackson Project qualifies for TEA under the new guidelines, placing the investment amount at $800,000 USD per investor. It also qualifies for the 10% reserved EB-5 visas which helps to shorten investor’s waiting time. See more details and benefits below:

Jackson Project Details >>

USCIS have began process previously filed I-526 petitions. However, the agency will not begin to accept new I-526 petitions until May 14th, this does not mean investors should wait until then to make a decision. May 14th is only one month away and it will come with many changes that will immediately go into effect. Investors need to start prepare the documents now and be ready-to-go to take advantage of the “C” priority date status and all the benefits from these changes early on. The 10% visa set aside is critical for Chinese investors who are interested in filing their petition in the near future. Our team consists of experienced professionals from both the EB-5 and the real estate financing industries. Investors can reach out to our team today to get a consultation from industry professionals and immigration attorneys.