CanAm Shares Important Takeaways from the Conversation with Charlie Oppenheim
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --CanAm Enterprises ("CanAm") is pleased to share key takeaways from IIUSA's webinar: Conversation with Charlie Oppenheim. Oppenheim is the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at U.S. Department of State. During the webinar, he answered questions about EB-5 visa usage through May 2020.
EB-5 Visa Numbers in FY2020 and FY 2021
Oppenheim estimates that over 4,500 EB-5 visa numbers have been issued thus far for FY2020, which is well short of the approximately 10,000 EB-5 visas available each fiscal year. It is very likely that a significant number of EB-5 visa numbers will go unused for FY2020 largely due to COVID-related consular closures around the world. However, Oppenheim anticipates that there will also be significant numbers of unused family-based visas in FY2020, which will spillover and be added to the 140,000 annual visas already allocable to the employment-based visa categories for FY2021. He also estimated that the total number of employment-based visas available for FY2021 "is likely to be well in excess" of 200,000, representing a minimum net gain of 60,000 visas for all employment-based preference categories. Accordingly, it is very possible that we can expect well in excess of 14,200 EB-5 visas to be available for distribution in FY 2021.
"In the grand scheme of things," Oppenheim indicated, "the loss in EB-5 numbers used in FY2020 will be more than offset by the additional visas that will be available next fiscal year." Thus, Oppenheim noted, FY2021 "should be a very good year" under the current INA guidelines for visa availability for employment applicants.
Walter Gindin, CanAm's Director of Legal Affairs, commented, "It's helpful to view the EB-5 visa backlog as a constantly moving line, which can get shorter over time. Currently, Oppenheim estimates that an even greater number of unused family-based visas for FY2020 will be allocated to employment-based categories for FY2021, making well over 200,000 employment-based visas available next fiscal year, including a substantial number for EB-5. This trend, coupled with increased EB-5 investment amounts and other factors, will reduce visa wait times."
This is an optimistic outlook for Middle Eastern investors who have been considering applying for the EB-5 visa to obtain U.S. green cards for their families. As Oppenheim commented during the webinar, "This is a very good year for the employment category…people need to act this year."
Contact: Clare Chen, 212-668-0690, [email protected]
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