2015 EB-5 Visa Statistics: A Closer Look At The Countries

EB-5 Visa Statistics for 2015: Immigrant Visas Issued by Country

Employment-based immigration: Fifth Preference EB-5

	Visa for Direct Investor	Visa for Direct Investor	Visa for Regional Center Investor	Visa for Regional Center Investor
	5th Employment Creation	5th Target Employment Areas	Regional Pilot Program	Regional Target Areas
	$1 million not in a targeted employment area (TEA)	$500,000 in a targeted employment area (TEA)	$1 million not in a targeted employment area (TEA)	$500,000 in a targeted employment area (TEA)	5th Total	Percentage
China Mainland	38	61	9	8,048	8,156	83.5%
Vietnam	4	4		272	280	2.9%
Taiwan		1		138	139	1.4%
South Korea	1	1		114	116	1.2%
India	3	6		102	111	1.1%
Russia	4			84	88	0.9%
Great Britain and territories				84	84	0.9%
Mexico	7			70	77	0.8%
Iran				62	62	0.6%
Canada	2	5		44	51	0.5%
Nigeria				45	45	0.5%
Hong Kong		1		36	37	0.4%
All other countries	5	13	2	551	571	5.9
Total	64	92	11	9,597	9,764	100%

*Data from: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/statistics/annual-reports/report-of-the-visa-office-2015.html (Section V Part 3: Employment Fifth and Totals, Grand Totals)

From the EB-5 visa statistics data, we can see that mainland China continues to dominate the EB-5 investor market, receiving more than 80% of the visas allocated for the EB-5 Program. Vietnam rose in 2015, overtaking South Korea’s position, but their EB-5 markets are still extremely small compared to China’s. And while many project developers are looking at these up and coming countries growing in the EB-5 market, like India, their small, 1.1% share doesn’t make them real players quite yet. China continues to be the country for to look for new capital.

Clare Lithgow