Wealth on the Move: How Chinese and Vietnamese Investors Continue to Drive the EB-5 Program

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program continues to serve as the primary immigration channel for wealth-based migration to the United States, particularly among investors from China and Vietnam. Despite the evolving political climate and recent regulatory reforms, the program maintains its central role in attracting capital, families, and long-term strategic relocation from Asia.

In fiscal year 2024, the United States issued over twelve thousand EB-5 visas through consular processing. Of these, approximately sixty-nine percent were granted to applicants from mainland China, while another twelve percent went to Vietnamese nationals. These two markets alone accounted for more than eighty percent of all EB-5 immigrant visas. The volume reflects not only sustained interest in U.S. permanent residency but also broader economic and social shifts taking place in both countries.

China’s continued dominance in EB-5 usage stems from a deep reservoir of accumulated private wealth, long-standing concerns about political and regulatory volatility, and a growing desire to secure future opportunities abroad. As China’s domestic economy faces persistent challenges, including a stagnating property sector, weak consumer demand, and declining foreign investment, more affluent families are exploring exit strategies. Wealth holders are increasingly motivated by fears of capital lock-ins, unpredictable regulatory swings, and a general sense of uncertainty about the country’s economic direction. The EB-5 program, while requiring significant investment and patience, offers a stable legal path to U.S. residency, education access, and asset diversification.

Vietnam, on the other hand, presents a very different backdrop. Its economy continues to surge, driven by export growth, manufacturing expansion, and international investment. The growth of a young, entrepreneurially minded upper class has produced a wave of new wealth in major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. As wealth accumulates, many Vietnamese families are turning to global migration channels like EB-5, not because of crisis or political instability, but because they seek security, diversification, and future access to global education and lifestyle opportunities. In many cases, parents invest through EB-5 primarily for their children’s U.S. schooling or to secure an offshore base for business expansion.

Despite differences in motivation, Chinese and Vietnamese investors have both adjusted to the structural changes introduced by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. Among its most consequential features are the visa set-asides for rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure projects. This allocation has become crucial for investors from high-demand countries, especially those like China who are facing severe retrogression in the unreserved visa categories. As of mid-2025, the EB-5 visa bulletin shows China’s priority date rolled back to early 2014, effectively blocking new investors unless they apply through one of the reserved categories. By contrast, Vietnam remains current across all categories, though filings have increased rapidly and analysts predict potential retrogression in the next twelve to eighteen months.

A shift in investor strategy is already visible. More than forty percent of new EB-5 filings from China and Vietnam are now tied to rural or targeted employment area projects. These projects are eligible for lower investment thresholds and faster visa processing, and they are not currently subject to the same long wait times seen in unreserved pools. Investors are also taking advantage of concurrent filing benefits, which allow individuals already in the United States to apply for adjustment of status while waiting for I-526E adjudication. This procedural efficiency is especially attractive to students, executives, and dependents already residing under F, H, or L visa classifications.

The program’s short-term volatility has been shaped by administrative unpredictability, including recent fluctuations in the visa bulletin known as the ping-pong effect. In some months, priority dates have advanced only to retrogress sharply the next month. This has created uncertainty for both investors and developers relying on forward planning. At the same time, political developments have introduced new speculative models. Proposals for a separate investor visa category requiring five million dollars in capital, the so-called gold card, have circulated within policymaking circles. While still in early stages, such proposals reflect broader debates about how the United States should structure capital-based immigration in a post-pandemic, protectionist era.

Despite these uncertainties, EB-5 remains the most practical and established path for high-net-worth individuals from China and Vietnam to secure U.S. residency. Chinese families see the program as a critical tool for preserving wealth and exiting a slowing domestic market. Vietnamese families, emboldened by growing prosperity, use EB-5 to globalize their next generation. The demand profile may differ, but the strategic value remains the same.

Developers, regional centers, and legal professionals must now operate with precision. For Chinese investors, the only viable paths lie in set-aside categories. For Vietnamese investors, the current window of opportunity may narrow sooner than expected. Careful structuring, robust fund administration, and transparent project governance are no longer optional; they are mandatory for long-term program integrity.

As the United States seeks to channel foreign capital into underserved regions and job-generating industries, Chinese and Vietnamese investors will remain pivotal. Their motivations may reflect different national contexts, economic downturn in one, economic rise in the other, but both converge on the same conclusion: the EB-5 program is not merely a migration tool; it is a long-term repositioning strategy. For both groups, the United States remains not just a destination, but a hedge, an opportunity, and a future.