For the first time since the EB-5 program was created almost 25 years ago, the program recently reached its annual limit with respect to China. The Chief of the Department of State Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division announced Saturday that the EB-5 preference category is now “unavailable” for Chinese applicants. The announcement comes after demand for the China EB-5 visa has surged in recent years—up nearly 700 % since 2007. The category has not technically retrogressed. Instead, those Chinese applicants without an approved visa or scheduled interview at a U.S. Consulate must wait until October 1, 2014, when around 10,000 new visas will be issued for FY 2015. There is an exception for those applicants with “comeback” interviews scheduled. Those applicants will have to wait until the new visa allocation is made available in October.

It is predicted that the announcement will have little impact on those applicants who complete processing within the next 6-8 months. The news is significant, however, because it may signal a warning that the China EB-5 Category will more rapidly become oversubscribed—warranting the establishment of an earlier cut-off date in the years to come.

To view the full announcement, go here.