India EB-5 Retrogression Arrives in July Visa Bulletin

Feared, but expected, the India EB-5 retrogression has arrived. The upcoming July Visa Bulletin reveals final action dates for India.

The latest Visa Bulletin from the Department of State — Bureau of Consular Affairs charts India’s final actions dates for EB-5 regional center and non-regional center applicants as May 1, 2017.

This was somewhat expected. In previous statements, the Chief of the Visa Controls Office, Charles Oppenheim, said that he may issue a cutoff date for Indian nationals this summer.

India joins China-Mainland born and Vietnam in the EB-5 visa backlog. Popularity for the EB-5 Program among Indian nationals erupted in the last few years as other visa categories became more restricted (H-1B) and overcrowded (E-2 and E-3) and the wait times started taking decades.

More bad news for China-Mainland born and Vietnam: no forward movement in their final action dates. All other countries remain current. As for dates for filing, again, no forward movement for China-Mainland born. All other countries, including Vietnam and India, remain current.

Here is the final action date chart:

Here is the dates for filing chart:

What does this mean for the EB-5 Program?

This may hit the EB-5 industry hard. India had become the next big market after interest from China slowed. The backlog may now discourage Indian investors from pursing the EB-5 visa. With that said, fear of the backlog may deter many investors, and thus, this could open up opportunities for Indian investors who decide to pursue EB-5 now.

And, compared to other visa categories, a potential 8 year wait for an EB-5 visa is still significantly better than the multi-decades long wait Indian nationals face in other popular visa categories.

Two tips for Indian nationals looking into or already investing in the EB-5 visa:

1. If your spouse has a different country of chargeability, apply using that country instead of India. For instance, if you were born in India, but your spouse was born in the UAE, have your spouse apply using the UAE (a country with no EB-5 visa backlog) as their country of origin. This only works between spouses, you cannot do this with your childrens’ country of origin.
2. Avoid waiting to schedule your EB-5 interview because of your child’s education. Interview as soon as possible, do not wait until your child is on a school-break.

EB-5 is still a better option. For more information, send us a message.