EB-5 Retrogression for China

As expected, on August 23, 2014 the US government announced that that no more EB-5 visas would be available for Chinese nationals through the end of fiscal year 2014. While this is a sign that demand for EB-5 visas in China remains strong, it is likely not an immediate cause for concern among potential EB-5 investors from that country. The fiscal year for the US government ends on September 30, 2014, so on October 1, 2014 a new annual number of EB-5 visas will become available. From a practical perspective, then, an EB-5 investor from China applying now would not feel the effects of any visa availability backlog, or 'retrogression'.

At some point in the future, however, if demand remains at current levels or accelerates, the practical effects of an EB-5 backlog will start to be felt. Looking forward in time, fiscal year 2015 may be the year that actual processing delays have an impact. If the process for EB-5 follows the same path as other US visa categories that are oversubscribed, the delays will be short at first and then grow longer over time as more and more people are 'in line'. Absent changes to how EB-5 visas are counted against established limits, then, visa applicants will then have to consider carefully the effects of potential delays on their individual applications, particularly in terms of issues such as the potential ageing out of children approaching 21 years of age and the exact timing of EB-5 visa holders actually entering the United States. From US Freedom Capital's perspective, the most efficient way to resolve retrogression is simply to refine the definitions within the process such that only the primary EB-5 visa holder, the actual investor, is counted against the numerical cap. USFC will continue to advocate for that solution as calendar year 2014 comes to a close and 2015 gets under way.

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对美国EB-5投资移民排期的解释​

正如预期的那样，在2014年8月23日，美国政府宣布，直到会计年度2014年年底没有更多的EB-5投资移民签证是可以给中国公民。虽然这表明在中国EB-5投资移民签证要求依然强劲，它很可能不是一个直接原因导致中国潜在的EB-5投资移民投资者的担忧。美国政府财年结束于2014年9月30日，所以在2014年10月1日一个新的年度EB-5投资移民签证数字将会产生。从实用的角度来看的话，如果中国的投资者现在申请投资移民将不会感到任何签证申请积压，或'排期'的影响。

但是，在未来的某个时刻，如果需求保持在当前水平或有所加剧，投资移民签证申请积压的实际效果将开始显现。展望未来，2015财年可能会有处理延迟发生。如果对EB-5投资移民签证的处理过程遵循与其他超额申请的美国签证类别采取相同的路径，开始将出现短期的延迟，然后随着时间的推移延迟再变长，越来越多的人开始'排队'。如果EB-5签证没有对既定的限制计数方式加以调整，那么，签证申请人届时将需要仔细考虑他们的个别申请的潜在延迟，尤其是在一些问题的影响，例如快到21岁的孩子的申请时间和EB-5投资移民签证的持有人实际上是进入美国的确切时间。从美国自由基金的角度来看，要解决'排期'最有效的方法就是，对申请过程细化的定义，从而使只有原发投资移民签证持有人，即实际出资人，计入该数值上限。 在2014年即将结束， 2015年即将到来之际，美国自由基金将继续提倡该解决方案。

Sincerely,

Michael Petrucelli
Principal, US Freedom Capital
michael@usfreedomcap.com
www.usfreedomcap.com
5339 Alpha Road, Suite 250, Dallas, Texas 75240
Telephone US: +1 (888) 519-8331

For more information regarding US Freedom Capital, please visit our website at www.usfreedomcap.com/about-us/