May EB-5 Visa Bulletin: New Changes for Visa Processing

The upcoming EB-5 Visa Bulletin for May 2022 has been released by the U.S. Department of State—Bureau of Consular Affairs; with some new changes in order to comply with the recent EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act. The latest Visa bulletin has added three new categories for EB-5 processing reflecting the Reform and Integrity Act’s requirement for “reserved” visas. 

Reserved Visas Explained

One goal legislators had in mind during negotiations to reauthorize the EB-5 regional center program was taking efforts to ensure the program benefited rural and high unemployment areas. Previously, the EB-5 program reserved a certain number of visas for regional center investments and investments in Targeted Unemployment Areas (TEAs); these categories have now been replaced by the EB-5 reform and Integrity Act. The act  required that 32% of EB-5 visas issued go to projects located in rural areas, high unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects; Specifically, 20% of EB-5 visas are reserved for investors investing in a rural area, 10% reserved for those investing in a high unemployment area, and 2% reserved for those investing in government infrastructure projects. Additionally, what areas will qualify as rural or high unemployment will be determined by USCIS. Unfortunately, these new reserved categories do not seem to count for those who filed their petition prior to June 30, 2021, only new EB-5 petitions. 

Final Action Dates

As you can see below, the latest visa bulletin has added three new categories of reserved EB-5 visas: set aside for rural areas, set aside for high unemployment areas, and set aside for infrastructure projects. The final Action Dates for the May 2022 Visa Bulletin, for Mainland China, Vietnam and the rest of the world are as follows:

Mainland China:

EB-5 Regional Center: November 22, 2015

EB-5 non-Regional Center: Current

EB-5 Set Aside Rural: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside High Unemployment: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside Infrastructure: Current  

Vietnam:

EB-5 Regional Center: Current

EB-5 non-Regional Center: Current

EB-5 Set Aside Rural: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside High Unemployment: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside Infrastructure: Current

The Rest of the World:

“C” or current for all 5th preference classes (EB-5 Regional Center, non-Regional Center, and reserved).

Prior Months Final Action Dates

Obviously comparisons to the April 2022 visa bulletin doesn’t do us much good as it simply listed regional center visas in the unauthorized category. However, compared to the June 2021 Visa bulletin, the last bulletin released while the regional center program was authorized, Mainland China’s final action date has seen some progress, moving from September 15, 2015 to November 22, 2015. 

Dates For Filing

The Dates for Filing for the May 2022 Visa Bulletin for Mainland China and the rest of the world are as follows: 

Mainland China:

EB-5 Regional Center: December 15, 2015

EB-5 non-Regional Center: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside Rural: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside High Unemployment: Current 

EB-5 Set Aside Infrastructure: Current  

The Rest of the World:

“C” or current for all 5th preference classes (EB-5 Regional Center, non-Regional Center, and reserved).

FIND OUT IF EB-5 IS RIGHT FOR YOU

With the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act ushering in a new era for the EB-5 program, there’s no better time than now to begin preparing your EB-5 application. Fill out our quick evaluation form below and find out if an EB-5 visa is the right choice for you.