The EB-5 Immigrant Visa Category Filing Dates for China will retrogress October 1 from May 1, 2015 to June 15, 2014. The National Visa Center (NVC) confirms it will continue to accept fees, forms, and documents for EB-5 immigrant visa applications for persons from China, provided they are postmarked on or before September 30, 2016.
The October 2016 Visa Bulletin indicates that the Filing Date chart (labelled “Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications”) for EB-5 China will retrogress from May 1, 2015, to June 15, 2014. As of October 1, 2016, applicants with approved I-526 petitions may not file an immigrant visa application (Form DS-260) or submit civil documents unless their priority date is earlier than June 15, 2014, the new cut-off date. https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2017/visa-bulletin-for-october-2016.html
Filing fees and forms with NVC on or before September 30, 2016, may not affect when applicants actually obtain their visa interviews. But, their filing is in the NVC que to complete immigrant visa process when priority dates again become current.
NVC email messages to EB-5 China applicants with priority dates after June 15, 2014, indicate they are no longer be able to submit DS-260s or civil documents. The email messages do not indicate a start date for this limitation. In response to an inquiry NVC indicated that it will add the effective date for this limitation in future versions of the email. NVC also advised that it plans to prepare FAQs which will be published online shortly.