On July 11, 2012, Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of Visa Control at the U.S. Department of State issued data for EB-5 visa usage in fiscal year 2012.
The data shows that the top five countries using the EB-5 visa are:
- China – 3,710 EB-5 visas
- South Korea -335 EB-5 visas
- Taiwan – 106 EB-5 visas
- Venezuela – 82 EB-5 visas
- Iran – 69 EB-5 visas
The top 5 countries account for 89% of all visa issuance.
As readers of this blog know, the EB-5 category allots 10,000 visas annually to immigrant investors through the EB-5 category. With State Department predictions of approximately 6,200 to be issued this year, it appears that we may reach the EB-5 “cap” in the next few years, absent Congressional relief.