Growing Markets: EB-5 Visa Usage Has Increased in These Foreign States

The fiscal year 2019 data released by the U.S. Department of State–Bureau of Consular Affairs, shows that these EB-5 markets stood out as experiencing an increased number of EB-5 visa usage between FY17, FY18 and FY19.

As India, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan and Brazil have been known top markets receiving high numbers of EB-5 visas for years we’ll look at the next fastest growing markets.

Growing Markets by EB-5 Visa Usage for FY 2017 – FY 2019:

Major reasons for choosing EB-5:

• The EB-5 Program gives eligible investors as well as their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 years visas all under the principal investor’s application.
• After 5 years of conditional permanent residency an EB-5 investor may become eligible for U.S. citizenship.
• An EB-5 visa gives investors and their families the freedom to live anywhere in the U.S., work anywhere in the U.S., access to world-class U.S. universities, top financial institutions, and the freedom to travel to many countries without visas.
• The EB-5 visa offers investors the possibility of making gains on their EB-5 investment.
• The U.S. has many desirable qualities that foreign nationals look for in permanent residency including a strong economy, numerous freedoms and liberties, safety and security, higher standard of living, stable government, a leading tech industry, top financial markets, a large entertainment industry, diverse climates, and more.

Other foreign states’ EB-5 visa numbers dropped in FY 2019. Some of these countries initially experienced growth between fiscal years 2017 and 2018, but they then had a decline in visa usage in FY 2019. These foreign states include Venezuela, Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Hong Kong and Mexico. Although declining in usage, some remain strong EB-5 markets:

About the data: The EB-5 immigrant visas issued for fiscal year 2019 report released by the U.S. Department of State — Bureau of Consular Affairs contains statistics from the middle of the EB-5 process. The visas are issued to investors who may have applied to the EB-5 Program 2+ years prior, since that’s how long it may have taken for their I-526 petition to be processed and for a visa to become available.

Current I-526 Petition processing times can be seen here.

Does an investor’s foreign state (country of origin) matter? Yes, investors from these countries may see faster I-526 petition approvals… Here’s why:

New changes to I-526 petition processing are set to go into effect at the end of next month. In a statement released by USCIS, I-526 petitions will soon no longer be processed on a first-in, first-out basis, but on a visa availability approach. Investors from countries where visas are currently or soon to be available will have their petitions prioritized over investors from countries experiencing heavy visa backlogs. Investors from countries that are underrepresented in the EB-5 Program may stand to benefit greatly from this new processing change. They may see faster I-526 petition approvals.

Consult with an immigration attorney experienced with EB-5 to learn more about your particular case or fill out our free evaluation below.