The Department of State published the Report of the Visa Office 2022 covering the period from October 2021 to September 2022, with breakdown by country, path and category.
10,885 EB-5 Visas Were Issued In FY2022
Out of the total 19,987 EB-5 visas available in 2022: (1) 10,885 visas were issued, (2) 6,396 visas could not be issued due to the newly created set aside visa categories under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (EB-5 RIA), and (3) the remaining 2,706 unused visas are permanently lost. While this does seems like a lot of visa wastage, FY2022 still shows better numbers compared to FY2021 when EB-5 lost a total of over 15,000 visas, or FY2020 when EB-5 lost over 7,000 visas.
The wastage of visas in FY2022 was largely due to the expiration of the Regional Center program in June 2021, along with the policy that restrict visas from being issued to RC applicants from October 2021 to May 2022. Data also shows that all RC visas issued were packed in the period between June to September 2022. The report shows the segregation of EB-5 visas into four different categories following the changes in the EB-5 RIA as such: (1) unreserved, (2) 2% Infrastructure set aside, (3) 10% High Unemployment set aside, (4) 20% Rural set aside. None of the set aside visas were used in FY2022 (hence the 6,396 visa unused) since none of the new petitions filed after March 15th could reach the visa stage by September 2022. Furthermore, these set aside visas are also not available to be used for petitions with priority date earlier than March 2022 per the interpretations of the Department of State.
Unprecedented High Number of AOS
The high EB-5 issuance in FY2022 mostly due to an unprecedented high number petitions for adjustment of status (AOS) with 37% of total visas compared to 17% in FY2019. China saw a drop in visas issued last year through consular processing but saw a large number of visas issued through AOS.
EB-5 Demand For Top 6 Countries Stayed The Same
Same as 2019, the top 6 countries with highest demand for EB-5 remains China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, Brazil and Taiwan (descending order). Mexico, Canada, Russia and Iran move slightly up the list in 2022, while Venezuela, South Africa, Great Britain and Japan move slightly down.
Out of 10,885 EB-5 visas issued in FY2022, 85% were issued to the top 6 countries with highest demand.
Investors can read a detailed analysis from Suzanne Lazicki here: https://blog.lucidtext.com/2023/03/06/fy2022-annual-report-of-the-visa-office-for-eb-5-visas-issued-by-country/
Read the Full Report here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/annual-reports/report-of-the-visa-office-2022.html
Source: Suzanne Lazicki, DoS
New York Office
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