With the passage of the congressional appropriations bill, the EB-5 Regional Center program has been extended once again, this time to September 30, 2019.  Future extensions are anticipated.  The law for direct EB-5 investors creating their own business has not been affected by the budget.

FAQ: Regarding India EB-5

Q:        I am born in India and have an EB-2 priority date.  Will EB-5 allow me to immigrate more quickly than EB-2?

A:        For a person who is the beneficiary of a recently filed EB-2 petition, the answer is clearly “yes.”  The beneficiary of an EB-2 filed today will wait about 16 years to immigrate.  Only EB-2 petitions filed before April 6, 2009 may receive a visa number.  The February 2019 Department of State Visa Bulletin predicts the India EB-2 category will only advance “up to one week” per month.  The EB-2 quota for March has only advanced 3 days.

            Even when the EB-5 India quota retrogresses (which is expected to take place in June or July 2019), the EB-5 quota should advance much faster than the EB-2 India quota, except for those with priority dates in 2009 and maybe 2010.  There is possible legislation that would change this, but such legislation has been discussed in Congress for many years and passage is unknown.