The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program provides a pathway for foreign investors and their families to obtain US Green Cards by making a qualifying investment in a US business. Although EB-5 is a premier route for permanent residency, the surge in demand—especially following the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA)—has made understanding visa waitlists and the concept of retrogression more critical than ever.
For families considering EB-5, questions arise such as: What is retrogression? How does the Visa Bulletin affect my application? What are set-aside visas, and how do they help? This article addresses these critical points while outlining strategies to manage the EB-5 backlog more effectively. We also explain why some countries—most notably China—have experienced lengthy retrogression and how LCR evaluates and plans around these dynamics.
How Many EB-5 Visas Are Issued Each Year?
The US allocates approximately 10,000 EB-5 visas annually. It is vital to remember that this quota includes both the principal investor and their immediate family members (spouse and children under 21). Because every family member uses one visa “stamp,” a single investment from a family of four consumes four visas from the annual supply.
- The Per-Country Cap: No single country can receive more than 7% of the annual allotment (roughly 700 visas). This practice ensures diversity but creates significant bottlenecks for high-demand countries like China, India, and Vietnam, leading to retrogression.
What is retrogression in the EB-5 program? It’s a visa backlog that arises when demand for EB-5 visas from a specific country exceeds the annual per-country limit, creating additional delays even for applicants whose petitions were already approved.
What Is the Visa Bulletin?
Each month, the US Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin, which determines who is eligible to move forward in the Green Card process. The key elements to understanding the Visa Bulletin are:
- Priority Date: The date you file your I-526 or I-526E petition. This is your “place in line.”
- Final Action Date: If the bulletin lists a date for your country/category, only those who filed before that date can receive their Green Card. If the category is marked “C” (Current), there is no wait.
- Retrogression: This occurs when demand exceeds the available supply for the year. The Department of State may move the “Final Action Date” backward (that is, further into the future), pausing approvals even for those who have already had their petitions adjudicated.
It’s important to note that retrogression can appear midyear if demand spikes, or at the end of the fiscal year as the annual allocation of visas is exhausted; when this happens, consular issuance and adjustment of status approvals will pause for applicants whose priority dates are no longer current. The Visa Bulletin has two charts—Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing. Some months USCIS allows filing under the latter, but visas can only be granted when Final Action Dates are current.
For EB-5 investors, this means that tracking the Visa Bulletin is crucial to understanding where they stand in the process and when they might expect to move forward.
Why Do Backlogs Happen?
- Per-Country Caps: High demand from specific nations quickly hits the 7% ceiling.
- The “Dependent Multiplier”: Since spouses and children count toward the 10,000 limits, the number of actual investor slots is closer to 3,000–4,000 per year.
- Global Demand: As other visa paths (like H-1B or F-1) become more difficult to enter, more families are turning to EB-5, lengthening the queue in the “Unreserved” category.
How Can We Manage EB-5 Delays?
The good news is that the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) of 2022 introduced powerful mechanisms to help investors bypass traditional backlogs. These strategies do not eliminate the risk of retrogression, but they can place investors in categories with better visa availability and faster adjudication.
1. Concurrent Filing
For investors already in the US on F-1, H-1B, or L-1 visas, Concurrent Filing is a gamechanger. It allows you to file your EB-5 petition and your Adjustment of Status (I-485) simultaneously.
- Benefit: You receive a work permit (EAD) and a travel document (Advance Parole) while you wait. Even if the Visa Bulletin retrogresses to a later date, you can remain in the US and work freely.
2. Visa Set-Asides
The RIA reserved 32% of the annual visas for specific project types. These “reserved” categories of projects to invest in currently have no backlogs for most countries. They are projects in:
- Rural Areas (20%): Defined as areas outside a metropolitan region or in areas with fewer than 20,000 people. These projects receive Priority Processing.
- High Unemployment Areas (10%): Urban regions with high unemployment (Targeted Employment Areas or TEAs), defined as areas where the unemployment rate is at least 150% of the national average.
- Infrastructure (2%): Public works projects.
Processing Times: What to Expect
Although standard USCIS processing estimates are often conservative (sometimes citing 50+ months), the reality for rural projects is much faster. Post-RIA data shows that many rural I-526E petitions are being approved in 4 to 12 months and high-unemployment-area I-526E petitions in 18 to 24 months.
Note: Petition approval (adjudication) and visa availability (as shown in the Visa Bulletin) are two different things. A fast approval is only useful if there is a visa available to “claim” in your category.
The Importance of Regional Centers
Regional centers are USCIS-approved entities that pool EB-5 investments into larger projects, such as real estate developments or infrastructure. They allow investors to count indirect and induced jobs toward the program’s job-creation requirement, which often makes it easier to qualify.
Most EB-5 investors choose to go through a regional center because:
- It reduces the burden of directly managing a business.
- It provides access to larger, professionally managed projects.
- It offers greater security in meeting job-creation requirements.
Read more: Understanding the Role of Regional Centers in EB-5
Why Rural Projects Are Becoming More Popular
Since the 2022 reforms, rural projects have attracted significant investor interest. Not only do they receive 20% of all EB-5 visas reserved, but they also benefit from priority processing. Recent cases show investors receiving approvals in less than a year, whereas investors in nonrural categories often wait several years for their approvals.
For investors from retrogressed countries, rural set-asides can be a practical path to faster visa availability while complying with EB-5 job-creation rules.
Final Takeaway
Although retrogression is a reality of US immigration, it is not an impassable wall. By leveraging rural set-asides and concurrent filing, investors can significantly shorten their wait times.
At LCR Capital Partners, we proactively plan for various Visa Bulletin scenarios. We steer clients toward categories with the highest likelihood of remaining “current,” ensuring that your family’s move to the US stays on schedule.
Next Step: Partnering with LCR Capital Partners
Families considering EB-5 for education and long-term residency need more than just legal guidance—they need a trusted partner with proven experience. LCR Capital Partners has supported more than 1,200 clients from 50 countries, delivered 9 signature EB-5 projects, and achieved a record I-526E approval time of just 4 months for a recent project.
