One of the least intuitive facts in EB-5 today is that visa numbers are going unused while demand exceeds supply. That combination sounds contradictory. Understanding why it happens, and what it means for an investor’s timeline, explains much of the current bulletin behavior and why the panel repeatedly framed the present as an opportunity with a closing window.
In a recent CanAm Investor Services webinar, Charlie Oppenheim and Joey Barnett of WR Immigration walked through the mechanics of unused numbers, carryover, and what the industry calls visa waste. Here is the plain-language version.
Demand exceeds supply, yet numbers go unused
The two facts sit together. Filing data through the end of fiscal 2025 shows more petitions than available visa numbers, and those filings do not even count derivative family members, so actual demand for numbers is higher still. Yet each year, thousands of numbers have gone unused. The gap is not demand. It is the rate at which USCIS approves petitions and the rate at which cases are scheduled for visas.
Because a category stays current until approved cases threaten the annual limit, slow processing keeps categories current even as the underlying line grows. The stability on the bulletin masks a backlog forming underneath it.
What carryover does, and why it is unique to EB-5
The Reform and Integrity Act included a provision unique among visa categories: unused reserved numbers carry over. Oppenheim noted that this carryover exists in no other family-sponsored or employment-based category. When reserved numbers go unused in a given year, they roll forward, and after a period they can shift into the unreserved category.
This is where waste enters. If reserved numbers are not used in time, they can be lost to the reserved categories permanently, cascading into unreserved. For most reserved-category investors, that is a loss. For Indian nationals, as covered separately, the cascade into unreserved can create a secondary opportunity, one of the few silver linings in the mechanic.
Why unused numbers make the eventual date worse
Here is the consequence that matters most for timing. Because numbers have gone unused and petitions have not been approved in strict filing-date order, Oppenheim explained that whenever a final action date is eventually imposed, it will likely be much earlier, meaning less favorable, than it would have been had processing kept pace. Underused years do not simply disappear; they compress the eventual date and can force further retrogression as earlier-filed petitions are approved against a lower annual limit.
What it means for a prospective investor
The practical reading is not alarmist, but it is directional. Current status is a product of slow processing, not a signal that the line is short. The backlog is accumulating quietly. For someone considering EB-5, that argues for treating the current window as a genuine opportunity and beginning the time-consuming preparation, source of funds and counsel, rather than waiting for the bulletin to visibly change, at which point the position is harder to secure.
Understand Where You Stand in the EB-5 Timeline
CanAm Enterprises brings over 20 years of EB-5 focus to investment-linked immigration. CanAm has raised more than $4.1 billion from 8,400+ investors and repaid over $2.5 billion, financing 75+ projects and facilitating more than 9,400 permanent green cards. CanAm operates 11 regional centers across 30+ states, works with JTC as independent fund administrator, and conducts its investor-facing capital markets activity through CanAm Investor Services, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer.
To learn more about current EB-5 opportunities and how the program fits your situation, contact CanAm.
CONTACT: (212) 668-0690 | info@canamenterprises.com | www.canamenterprises.com
About CanAm Enterprises
CanAm Enterprises has focused on the EB-5 program for over 20 years, structuring, raising, and administering investment capital for projects across the United States. CanAm produces regular analysis of visa bulletin trends and EB-5 policy developments to help investors and their advisors make informed decisions.
