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EB-5 China: the long unreserved line for mainland-born investors

Enter the priority date from your Form I-526E receipt to see how far an investor born in mainland China is from the unreserved EB-5 cutoff.

Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and past error

Where will you apply?

October 2026 bulletin

Current

Your date is before the Final Action cutoff: a green card can be approved this month.

Final Action DateDecember 1, 2016
Date for FilingMarch 1, 2021
I-485 this month (USCIS uses Dates for Filing)You can file
I-485 employment, national average (August 2026)11.8 months
Government fees (paper filing, with work permit and travel permit)$3,645
How this was calculated
  1. Fees: I-140 $715 + I-140 $600 + I-485 $1,440 + I-765 $260 + I-131 $630 (USCIS Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, and State Department visa fees).

Fee details, line by line

Estimate from public data, not legal advice. Your case may differ (cross-chargeability, CSPA, waivers). For advice, see a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. Not affiliated with USCIS or the Department of State. Method and past error

In the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the unreserved EB-5 row for investors born in mainland China has a Final Action Date of December 1, 2016 and a Date for Filing of March 1, 2021, a gap of about 4.2 years between the two charts, after the filing date moved 1461 days forward in one bulletin. Chinese investors first got their own unreserved date in May 2015, and the column has differed from the worldwide one in 96% of bulletins since October 2015. The line moves slowly: from October 2016 to October 2026 the Final Action Date advanced about 2.8 years of priority dates in ten calendar years. The rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure set-aside rows are Current for China this month, which is why the project’s classification matters so much for Chinese investors. Our back-test does not support a forecast here: a year behind the cutoff, the median error was 24 months.

Ten slow Octobers

The Chinese unreserved date read February 22, 2014 in October 2016 and December 1, 2016 in October 2026. Twice in that decade it opened a fiscal year lower than the year before: November 22, 2015 in October 2021, then March 22, 2015 in October 2022; and July 15, 2016 in October 2024, then December 8, 2015 in October 2025. An investor joining this row today is behind a line that has advanced much more slowly than the calendar.

The 2021 to 2022 episode

For a few months the chart looked very different. The Chinese EB-5 date was November 22, 2015 in November 2021; in December 2021 the main row turned Current (C) and stayed so through May 2022, while the regional center line was listed as unavailable in 10 bulletins from July 2021 to April 2022. The set-aside rows first appeared in May 2022, and June 2022 brought the unreserved date back to November 22, 2015. The calculator’s history chart shows that step as a drop.

Two charts, years apart

The Date for Filing, March 1, 2021, sits about 4.2 years ahead of the Final Action Date. In a month when USCIS designates the filing chart for employment cases, a Chinese investor already in the United States with an earlier priority date can file Form I-485, though approval still follows the Final Action Date. How the two charts work.

Petition, set-asides and the forecast

A regional center petition on Form I-526E took 35 to 38.5 months in the September 2026 USCIS release. For Chinese investors in a qualifying rural, high-unemployment or infrastructure project, the set-aside rows read Current this month. On the unreserved row, our test from October 2012 to October 2025 found median errors of 24 months a year behind and 40 months two years behind, too wide to publish. The EB-5 overview covers all four rows.

EB-5 in the October 2026 bulletin

USCIS asks applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart this month to file Form I-485.
CountryFinal ActionDates for FilingChange this month
All other countriesCurrent (C)Current (C)▲ 30 days
China (mainland born)December 1, 2016March 1, 2021no change
IndiaDecember 1, 2023May 1, 2024▲ 579 days
MexicoCurrent (C)Current (C)▲ 30 days
PhilippinesCurrent (C)Current (C)▲ 30 days
EB-5 China (mainland born): Final Action cutoff by bulletin month since December 20012002200620102014201820222002200620102014201820222026
Solid line: Final Action Date. Dashed line: Dates for Filing (since October 2015). A drop is a retrogression.

Every October since 2002

October opens each federal fiscal year, so it is the cleanest point to compare one year with the next.
BulletinFinal Action DateYears behind the bulletin
October 2002Current (C)–
October 2003Current (C)–
October 2004Current (C)–
October 2005Current (C)–
October 2006Current (C)–
October 2007Current (C)–
October 2008Current (C)–
October 2009Unavailable (U)–
October 2010Current (C)–
October 2011Current (C)–
October 2012Unavailable (U)–
October 2013Current (C)–
October 2014Current (C)–
October 2015October 8, 20132.0
October 2016February 22, 20142.6
October 2017June 22, 20143.3
October 2018August 15, 20144.1
October 2019October 22, 20144.9
October 2020August 15, 20155.1
October 2021November 22, 20155.9
October 2022March 22, 20157.5
October 2023October 1, 20158.0
October 2024July 15, 20168.2
October 2025December 8, 20159.8
October 2026December 1, 20169.8

How our forecast did for this case

Back-test from October 2012 to October 2025, each month using only the bulletins known that month.
Distance behind the cutoffMedian error, our modelMedian error, “last 12 months” ruleRange held the real dateStart months testedPublished?
6 months12 months21 months57 %120No reliable forecast
12 months24 months39 months63 %120No reliable forecast
24 months40 months79 months75 %112No reliable forecast
48 months30 months183 months100 %81No reliable forecast

Questions people ask

Why is the EB-5 China filing date so far ahead of its Final Action Date?

The two charts serve different purposes. The Final Action Date governs approval; the Date for Filing governs when Form I-485 may be submitted in months when USCIS designates that chart. The State Department sets them separately. For Chinese unreserved investors the gap widened sharply in the October 2026 bulletin, when the filing date moved forward about four years while the Final Action Date stayed where it was.

What happened to EB-5 China between December 2021 and June 2022?

During those months the bulletin listed the regional center line as unavailable while the main EB-5 row read Current for China. In May 2022 the bulletin introduced the rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure set-aside rows, and in June 2022 the Chinese unreserved date returned to November 22, 2015, the level it had shown in late 2021.

Can a spouse born outside China change the EB-5 China queue?

Cross-chargeability lets a principal applicant be charged to the spouse’s country of birth when both immigrate together. An investor born in mainland China whose spouse was born in a country without an EB-5 cutoff may therefore use that country’s column. The chargeability guide explains the rule and its limits.

Keep going

EB-5 investors

Fifth preference: the unreserved investor cutoff, the rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure set-asides, and I-526E time.

China

Every Visa Bulletin category for people born in mainland China, with the worldwide date beside it.

EB-5 India

Indian investors in the unreserved row: a queue born in 2022, a summer 2026 freeze and set-asides that stay open.

I-526E investor time

How long the regional center investor petition takes at USCIS, next to the EB-5 cutoffs for China and India.

Chargeability

Which country your green card is counted against, and when a spouse or parent born elsewhere changes the queue.

Official sources and data

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Data for 2026, checked on