EB-5 Visa Bulletin: April 2026

The visa bulletin is published monthly by the U.S. Department of State and determines when EB-5 investors can proceed from petition approval to green card issuance. It lists "final action dates" for each country of chargeability. If an investor's priority date (the date their petition was filed) is before the final action date, a visa number is available and they can apply for their green card. If the final action date is "Current," there is no backlog and visa numbers are immediately available.

China has the longest EB-5 backlog because Chinese investors historically filed the most EB-5 petitions, exceeding the per country limit of approximately 700 visas per year (7% of the total EB-5 allocation). The current backlog of approximately 9.5 years reflects decades of accumulated demand. Investors from China can avoid this backlog by filing under reserved categories (rural, HUA, or infrastructure), which have separate visa allocations and remain Current.

"Current" means there is no backlog for that category and country combination. Visa numbers are immediately available, and an approved petitioner can proceed to the green card stage without waiting for a priority date to become current. All reserved categories (rural, high unemployment area, and infrastructure) are currently Current for every country, including China and India.

The visa bulletin is published monthly by the U.S. Department of State, typically between the 8th and 15th of each month. Each bulletin takes effect on the first day of the following month. For example, a bulletin published in mid March applies starting April 1. EB5Status publishes updated data within 24 hours of each new bulletin.

Yes. Investors from retrogressed countries (China and India) can avoid the unreserved category backlog by investing in projects designated as rural, high unemployment area (HUA), or infrastructure. These reserved categories have separate visa set asides and are currently Current for all countries. Rural projects also benefit from USCIS priority processing, making them the fastest path to a green card.