that the Indian market is more alive than anyone could
have predicted in 2019.
Vietnam will prove to be an unpredictable market for
the foreseeable future. The backlog is predicted to be
approximately 7.1 years by Oppenheim. A n average
p e ti ti o n f r o m V i e tn a m i n c l u d e s n e a r l y fo u r fa m i l y
members in Vietnam, higher than the industry average
of approximately three family members. In addition,
Vietnamese investors have traditionally not had the
f inancial capacit y of Indian and Chinese investors,
which adds increased difficulty sourcing the funds. On
the other hand, the current priority date on the April
2020 visa bulletin is Feb 8, 2017, and there has been a
steep drop in Vietnamese petitions since Nov. 21, 2019.
This slow-down of investors indicates that the backlog
will likely lessen in the near future, and if we continue to
see a progressing priority date Vietnam could remain a
smaller, yet stable market.
China remains an unknown, and the nation has been in
a standstill since the COVID -19 outbreak. As China’s
backlog remains over 15 years, it is difficult to see a
steady increase in industr y numbers moving forward
in this mar ke t . Howeve r, many C hinese ag e n ts are
stating that the regulations have spurred interest in
China, saying that a change triggered many investors
who have claimed for the past few years that they won’t
invest until the government actually makes a permanent
106 EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE
change. Also, the swif t advancement of the Chinese
priority date to May 15, 2015 has investors questioning
t h e t r u e l e n g t h of t h e C h i n e s e b a c k l o g . I t w i l l b e
interesting to see how all of these recent events impact
the 2020 Chinese market. Regardless, China will take a
special type of project and redeployment platform for
continued success.
Investors and issuers must all face this new world of
EB - 5 in 2020. TE A and price changes coupled with
retrogression will continue to place a burden on raising
EB-5 capital. The industry will probably continue to see
a reduction in the number of EB-5 professionals and
projects seeking EB-5 capital moving forward.
Brennan Sim
oversees EB5 United’s
international sales team. He has worked
in EB-5 since 2013 with abilities to adapt
to other cultures, find common ground
with others and build strong foundations
for business development. He received his
bachelor’s in finance and his MBA from
the University of South Alabama. After
graduate school, he worked as a financial
advisor where he developed knowledge that
has translated well into the EB-5 industry.