Immigrant Visa Issuances at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou (Apr. 2021)

The Visa Office has published the following statistics for immigrant visa issuances at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou in April 2021.

The first thing that stands out is the huge increase in issuance of FX visas (for spouses and children of permanent residents, and their children). In April 1,324 FX visas were issued, compared to 157 in March and 0 in February. That is likely because on Feb. 24, 2021, President Biden rescinded former President Trump’s Presidential Proclamation 10014, which suspended issuance of visas in this category (and others) effective Apr. 23, 2020.

Another thing that stands out is that only 12 visas were issued in the I5 category (EB5 visas through the investor pilot program for targeted areas). That is disappointing because as of Jan. 25, 2021, NVC had a queue of 3,930 documentarily qualified EB-5 cases waiting for an immigrant visa interview, according to published notes from the National Visa Center Meeting with AILA on Feb. 17, 2021. The majority of those cases are likely waiting for appointments in Guangzhou. Still, in published notes from the Department of State / American Immigration Lawyers Association Liaison Meeting of May 27, 2021, the State Department wrote that “It is not possible to comment on processing targets at a specific post.” That makes it very difficult to predict when such cases will be scheduled for interviews.