The National Visa Center (NVC) has reached out to EB-5 immigrant visa applicants who have invested via Regional Centers regarding their scheduled interview appointments, letting them know that while at this time they are expected to appear for their interviews, the interviews may be subject to cancellation. In anticipation of the EB-5 pilot program’s upcoming expiration date of Sept. 30, 2016, the NVC has advised that the Department of State (DOS) will have the authority to issue immigrant visas only in the event Congress extends the program beyond Sept. 30, 2016.

If the program is not extended by the date of the scheduled interview, the appointment will be cancelled and then re-scheduled only if and when Congress extends the visa category. If the program is extended, the cut-off date for this visa category will immediately become “current” for the month of October on the DOS Visa Bulletin, except for chargeability areas that are backlogged, like mainland-China.