The May Visa Bulletin brings another setback for Indian and Chinese EB-5 investors in the Unreserved category, with final action dates retrogressing once again, according to the U.S. Department of State (DOS).
· Indian investors now face a final action date of May 1, 2019
· Mainland Chinese investors face a final action date of January 22, 2014
Filing dates remain unchanged:
· April 1, 2022 for Indian investors
· October 1, 2016 for Chinese investors
The DOS attributed this retrogression to increased demand from China and India, along with a surge in applications from other countries. It became necessary to move the dates back to stay within FY 2025 annual visa limits.
This is the second retrogression since October 2024, with April’s bulletin already setting final action dates back by nearly 2.5 years.
Set-Aside categories still current — for now
Final action and filing dates remain current for all EB-5 set-aside categories: Rural, High-Employment Area (HUA), and Infrastructure. Applicants from other nationalities in Unreserved and set-aside categories also face no backlogs as of May.
However, the DOS warns that backlogs for set-aside categories may occur later in FY 2025, which ends on September 30, 2025.
Why these dates matter?
· Filing Date – When applicants can submit forms to USCIS
· Final Action Date – When USCIS can issue a visa to approved applicants who’ve completed all processing steps
The Visa Bulletin is a critical tool for EB-5 applicants, helping track visa availability and planning the next steps in the immigration journey.
Therefore, the retrogression of final action dates for EB-5 applications is an important mechanism the DOS uses to manage the number of visas issued within the fiscal year. This practice helps ensure that visa issuance stays within the annual limits set by U.S. immigration law.
By moving the final action dates backward, the U.S. government is preventing any single country from consuming an excessive share of the available visas. completed the entire process, including the I-526 application.
The Visa Bulletin is an essential resource for information on the availability of immigrant visas.
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