The U.S. State Department, in coordination with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has announced the exhaustion of all Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visas for the fiscal year 2024. This decision underscores the program’s role in bolstering U.S. economic growth through foreign investments.
The EB-5 visa program is instrumental for international investors aiming to establish businesses in the U.S., contributing to job creation and economic development. Nicholas Mastroianni III, President and CMO of US Immigration Fund (USIF), emphasized the program’s importance in providing financial stability. He remarked to HindustanTimes.com, “EB-5 ensures you’re not at the mercy of corporate layoffs and can secure a stable future in the U.S.” Mastroianni also cautioned that reliance solely on the H-1B visa presents significant risks, describing the U.S. visa landscape as a complex and unpredictable field.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas is set at 7.1 percent of the global total. For the EB-5 category, 68 percent of this allocation is for unreserved visa classifications, including C5, T5, I5, R5, RU, and NU. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 further permits the inclusion of unused reserved visas from fiscal year 2022 into the unreserved category for FY 2024.
With the current fiscal year’s EB-5 visa cap reached, U.S. embassies and consulates will cease issuing visas in this category until the start of fiscal year 2025 on October 1, 2024, when new visa limits will come into effect.
Additionally, the State Department and USCIS have announced the full allocation of Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) visas for FY 2024.
