Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for January, revealing priority dates for EB-5 visa applicants, in respective categories, for the upcoming month.
The January Visa Bulletin published final action dates and dates for filing that affect EB-5 visa applicants.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
Fifth: Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, of which 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:
On the chart below, the listing of “C” for any class indicates that the class is current, and visas are available. There was no change in Final Action dates for the month of January. Applicants in Mainland China, in the unreserved category, have a final action date of March 22, 2015. Applicants in India, in the unreserved category, have a final action date of November 8, 2019. All other countries in the unreserved category remain “current”. All countries are “current” for applications filed after March 15, 2022, associated with a Rural, High Unemployment, or Infrastructure EB-5 project. The following chart describes such dates:
DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS:
There was also no change in Dates for Filing for the month of January. In December, Chart B remains “current” for all EB-5 applicants, except for applicants born in mainland China or India who invested outside the reserved visa categories. The priority date under dates for filing for these Chinese chargeable applicants is January 1, 2016, and December 8, 2019, for Indian chargeable applicants. Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the application date in the chart may assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions. The application date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an immigrant visa. If a category is designated “current,” all applicants in the relevant category may file, regardless of priority date.
It should also be noted that on December 19, 2022, USCIS published a new resource containing options for nonimmigrant workers who have lost their employment either voluntarily or involuntarily. One of the best options for workers to remain in the U.S. would be to transition to an Immigrant Visa which can be obtained through Adjustment of Status. We strongly encourage those nonimmigrant workers affected by loss of employment to transition to an immigrant visa.
If you have any questions, contact our office directly at info@firstpathway.com