Search results for: I-526

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request the American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA) filed, USCIS released updated statistics on I-526 and I-526E petition receipts. This data provides insights into the demand for EB-5 visas across different targeted employment area (TEA) categories and countries of chargeability for visa backlog prediction purposes, covering the period between April 1, 2022 (the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 passage date), and Jan. 31, 2025.

According to the data, USCIS received a total of 9,878 I-526/I-526E petitions, categorized as follows:

  • Rural TEAs accounted for 44% of petitions, with China leading the category (2,684 petitions), followed by India (847 petitions) and the rest of the world (798 petitions).
  • High unemployment TEAs comprised 53% of petitions, with 2,380 from China, 883 from India, and 1,928 from other countries.
  • Infrastructure TEAs saw no petitions filed.
  • Other TEAs represented 4% of petitions, with 98 from China, 60 from India, and 200 from the rest of the world.

In total, China dominated the petition count with 5,162 petitions (52%), India followed with 1,790 petitions (18%), and the rest of the world accounted for 2,926 petitions (30%).

Continuing Demand for EB-5 Visas in Set-Aside Categories

The data released to AIIA continues to show strong demand in the set-aside categories. Between April 1, 2022, and Jan. 31, 2025:

  • A total of 5,191 investors filed petitions in the high unemployment area (HUA) set-aside category.
  • 4,329 investors filed petitions in the rural TEA category.

Predicting the length of a potential visa backlog in these categories is difficult, but some experts agree that each EB-5 investor has two dependents also immigrating to the United States who also get counted against the annual visa numbers available in the EB-5 categories. With only 1,000 HUA set-aside visas and 2,000 rural set-aside visas available annually, the program may face significant backlogs in these set-aside categories. However, the State Department has not yet instituted a cut-off date for visa availability in the set-aside categories, potentially because USCIS has approved an insufficient number of I-526 and I-526E petitions in each fiscal year to warrant a backlog. Unless and until USCIS speeds up the processing of I-526/I-526E Petitions associated with the set-aside categories, the State Department may not establish a cut-off date.

Shifting Trends and Country-Specific Dynamics

Country-specific demand trends remain consistent, with China, India, and Vietnam ranking as the top three countries for EB-5 petition filings. Due to country-specific visa allocation limits, investors from India and China face the longest wait times under the EB-5 program. In contrast, investors from other countries typically experience shorter wait times, which might make the program more attractive for applicants outside of mainland China and India. The newly released USCIS data underscores the continued high demand for EB-5 visas, particularly in set-aside categories, despite potential visa availability constraints. This demand, coupled with country-specific limits, continues to create challenges for investors from high-demand countries like China and India. For those considering an investment under the EB-5 program, understanding these dynamics is crucial for planning and managing expectations.

In an update to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule, USCIS updated the Form I-526 fee table to include the EB-5 Integrity Fund Fee, adding an additional $1,000 in filing fees for Forms I-526.

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 established the EB-5 Integrity Fund, which is to be financed through the collection of an annual fee paid by and collected from designated regional centers. Beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and in accordance with the Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor filing instructions on the USCIS website, USCIS indicated they would begin collecting a $1,000 Integrity Fund Fee with each new immigrant investor petition filed by a regional center investor for the EB-5 Integrity Fund.

The collection of this fee brings the total government filing fees to $12,160, as the initial general filing fee for Form I-526E was increased to $11,160 as of April 1, 2024.

Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would be publishing a “Months of Inventory” data point on its Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor (Legacy), processing times page. “Months of Inventory” is a data point that USCIS will calculate by dividing the pending pre-EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) Form I-526 inventory by the average number of pre-RIA Form I-526 completions per month during the last six months. According to USCIS, it is adding this information because it demonstrates a more accurate picture of case progression for the EB-5 stakeholder community. Further, the “Months of Inventory” data point should better reflect the work being done to process pending EB-5 cases.

Given USCIS is no longer receiving Form I-526 legacy petitions, it is currently working through an inventory of cases that is not fluctuating due to the intake of additional receipts. USCIS has stated that the “Months of Inventory” will provide an additional data point of the progress toward reducing the current inventory of Form I-526 legacy petitions. With that said, stakeholders should be aware that USCIS processing times fluctuate, and each case is unique. While listed case processing times and the “Months of Inventory” data may be used as general reference points, they are not intended to provide an absolute timeline regarding when a specific case will ultimately be adjudicated.

Please join Greenberg Traurig attorneys Jennifer Hermansky, Natalie Gorelishvili, and Luna Ma on Jan. 30, 2024, for a discussion on strategies for preparing the EB-5 source of funds for new I-526E cases and for responding to challenging requests for evidence on the source and path of funds. Additionally, the team will talk about important considerations for EB-5 investors wishing to concurrently file adjustment of status applications.

Click here to register.

This blog post provides stakeholders with a filing tip regarding Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor. When filing Form I-526E, if the applicant has an existing My USCIS account number, it should be included in the I-526E application in order to check its status. USCIS’s systems may not be able to connect the I-526E to an existing account unless that number is included in the I-526E filing.

A notification stating that “Your case has been linked to another account” means the USCIS online account number was not provided in the application submitted. If this number is not included in the application, the system will assume there is no online account available, and it will send the applicant an online access code. Note, however, that a new code cannot be recreated to replace the one received to associate the application to your existing account. In such situations, an applicant may need to create a new USCIS online account, using a different email, to be able to follow the status of the application.

On July 18, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) announced an update to the visa availability approach to managing the inventory of Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, as part of an effort to improve efficiency in the processing of these petitions. The announcement comes as USCIS has been under scrutiny regarding the lengthy processing times for EB-5 cases. At the time of writing, the processing time for a Form I-526 petition filed prior to the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) is at least 56.5 months for those investors not subject to a visa retrogression.

The USCIS Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) manages the inventory of Form I-526 petitions through workflow queues. Previously, these queues operated on a first-in, first-out basis and accounted for factors such as whether a visa was available or would be soon (i.e., whether the investor’s country of birth was subject to a visa retrogression).

Effective July 18, 2023, USCIS announced that the IPO will implement a new strategy in handling the workflow queues of Form I-526 petitions by grouping these petitions into three “queues” for adjudication. The first queue will contain Form I-526 petitions where a visa is not available and is not likely to be available soon. Presumably, this would be the longest queue and would contain those petitions subject to visa retrogression for investors born in mainland China. The second queue contains I-526 Petitions where a visa is available or will be soon available, but where the IPO has not yet reviewed the investment project materials. The third queue will contain those I-526 petitions where a visa is available or soon available and where IPO has previously reviewed the project, or the I-526 is a “direct” or non-Regional Center petition. While USCIS has not stated this explicitly, this third queue would likely receive priority over the other two queues because visas are available and the project was previously approved in other I-526 petitions; therefore, only the investor’s source of funds would need to be reviewed by the IPO adjudicator.

According to USCIS, this update will allow adjudicators to process Form I-526 petitions more efficiently as they will be handling multiple petitions associated with the same new commercial enterprise (NCE) and consequently, adjudicators will be simultaneously reviewing petitions that have overlaps in project documents and issues presented.

Importantly, this announcement from USCIS does not state that Form I-526E petitions filed under the RIA would be placed into any of these queues. It is not clear from the announcement how USCIS will process Form I-526E petitions, nor has USCIS updated its processing time website to reflect Form I-526E as a type of petition that has a posted processing time. Instead, the July 18, 2023, announcement deals only with those older pending I-526 petitions filed prior to the passage of the RIA. While this new visa availability approach should enable the IPO to increase processing efficiency, reduce the backlog and completion times for Form I-526 petitions, and support consistency and accuracy in adjudications, it is not clear how quickly this change will impact I-526 petition processing times. USCIS has not released recent statistics about the number of IPO adjudicators assigned to Form I-526 petitions, nor does this announcement commit to any specific processing times. Instead, some investors seeking to expedite the processing of their I-526 petitions have filed mandamus actions in U.S. district courts, asking the courts to intervene and order USCIS to decide the I-526 petition due to an unreasonable delay caused by the IPO.

Effective March 15, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is removing the biometrics submission requirement and $85 fee requirement for petitioners filing Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor. Petitioners no longer need to submit the fee for biometrics services with their Form I-526E.

USCIS has determined that widespread biometrics collection is not necessary in connection with the filing of Form I-526E for all regional center investor petitioners in order to confirm compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, USCIS may request the submission of biometrics if necessary.

Since 2022, USCIS has received about 980 Form I-526E petitions filed with the biometrics fee. They will refund these fees in the coming weeks. Petitioners do not need to contact USCIS to request a refund.

On March 11, 2022, Congress passed the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act” as part of the Omnibus spending bill. See blog post here. On April 11, 2022, USCIS posted an interpretation of the legislation that would nullify all 600-plus designated regional centers and require all entities to be re-designated in order to be authorized to file petitions under the new law pursuant to provisions effective May 14, 2022. This interpretation was challenged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the EB-5 Investment Coalition (EB5IC) through one of its members. Greenberg Traurig, as counsel for the plaintiff, argued strongly that USCIS’ interpretation ran counter to the plain language of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) and violated the Administrative Procedure Act because USCIS failed to properly engage in reasoned decision-making as required by law. Today, the Court agreed and enjoined USCIS from treating as deauthorized previously designated regional centers and declared they must be permitted to operate within the regime created by the RIA. As the Court stated, “[t]his includes processing new I‑526 petitions from immigrants investing through previously authorized regional centers…just as the agency would do for a newly approved regional center.” As a result of this ruling, all previously designated regional centers retain their existing designation and can continue to operate.

In remarks, the Court found a strong likelihood of success on the merits by the Plaintiff. The Court concluded that “USCIS was almost certainly wrong” when it deauthorized all existing regional centers. After a thorough analysis the Court found the RIA to be “silent or ambiguous” on the question of whether Congress intended to deauthorized existing regional centers. If Congress had intended to take such a drastic step, it should or could have done so more explicitly and transparently. An absence of such explicit instruction coupled with various “hints” in the RIA that Congress intended for existing regional centers to remain designated was sufficient for the Court to find that the RIA was ambiguous. Thus, the Court concluded that USCIS’ decision rested on “an erroneous view of the law,” the Plaintiff is “exceedingly likely (if not certain)” to prevail on the merits.

While this is a victory for the Plaintiff, it remains to be seen how USCIS will act or whether USCIS will appear and seek a stay of this ruling and/or decide to embark on new rulemaking. USCIS is still permitted to engage in “reasoned decision-making consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act” about how regional centers should be treated given certain ambiguities in the RIA. As the Court noted, it is possible that USCIS, after engaging in the required reasoned decision‑making process, could conclude that new regional center applications are required of existing regional centers. Alternatively, it is possible USCIS could simply allow regional centers to operate while applications for a renewed designation are pending. These are only two possible outcomes of many, and all eyes will be on USCIS’ next move. Subscribe to our blog for further updates.

On Thursday, Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. EST, please join Kate Kalmykov and Jennifer Hermansky, shareholders in GT’s Immigration & Compliance Practice, as they present a webinar titled “New Issues in I-829 Adjudications: A Reexamination of Source of Funds Issues Post I-526 Approval.”

This webinar will cover the following topics:

  • Re-examination of the lawful source of funds from the I-526 Petition at the I-829 Petition stage
  • Strategies for responding to USCIS notices applying incorrect legal standards in the I-829 Petition
  • Removal defense litigation following an improper I-829 Petition denial

Click here to register.