In this episode of GT’s Immigration Insights series, host Kate Kalmykov is joined by GT colleague Jennifer Hermansky to discuss USCIS regional center audits, including an introduction of the RIA 2022, site visits, and debarment procedures for bad faith actors.

Click here to watch the episode.

On Dec. 2, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency will now require, with immediate effect, the concurrent filing of Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, with all adjustment of status applications. The updated policy represents an abrupt departure from USCIS’ prior filing requirements for adjustment of status (AOS) applicants seeking lawful permanent residence in the United States, which had permitted applicants to file their green card applications without Form I-693, deferring what can be a time-consuming component of the AOS process to a later date during the application’s pendency. With this latest policy update, AOS applicants should consider planning ahead to ensure they can timely file for their green card as soon as eligible under the Department of State’s visa bulletin.

Form I-693’s Role in the Adjustment of Status Process

Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, documents an immigrant’s admissibility to the United States, specifically speaking to the applicant’s health-related admissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(a)(1). The form must be completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon following an examination that accounts for the applicant’s medical and vaccination history and verifies that they are not subject to any of the INA’s health-related grounds of inadmissibility. The form must be signed and sealed by the civil surgeon, remaining untampered with from its execution through its delivery to USCIS as part of the AOS application process.

Prior USCIS policy limited the form’s validity to two years from the date of the civil surgeon’s signature, which often required applicants to refresh medical examinations for cases subject to 24-month+ processing times, a fairly common scenario due to backlogs in immigrant visa availability under the Department of State’s annual immigrant visa quotas. In April 2024, USCIS updated this policy significantly, providing that a Form I-693 “properly completed and signed . . . on or after Nov. 1, 2023, does not expire and can be used indefinitely as evidence to show that the applicant is not inadmissible on health-related grounds.” The new policy on I-693 validity, however, endows the reviewing USCIS officer with the “discretion to request more evidence or a new or updated Form I-693 if they have reason to believe the applicant’s medical condition has changed since the civil surgeon signed the Form I-693, or that the Form I-693 submitted does not accurately reflect the applicant’s medical condition and the applicant may be inadmissible on health-related grounds.”

USCIS’ Updated Form I-693 Policy (December 2024)

Procedurally, USCIS has long permitted applicants to file Form I-693 after filing the AOS application. The prior policy proved particularly helpful during the height of the pandemic, when unpredictable service disruptions broadly afflicted industries and supply chains. The flexibility offered by the prior USCIS policy meant that applicants could ensure that their AOS applications were timely filed with USCIS as soon as eligible under the Department of State’s visa bulletin, deferring to a later date the potentially cumbersome task of identifying the civil surgeon, scheduling the medical examination, procuring vaccination records, completing the exam, and securing the signed and sealed medical examination form. For applicants that opted to defer submission of Form I-693, USCIS would typically request the medical examination form via a request for additional evidence (RFE) and, sometimes, during the green card interview (if applicable).

Under the agency’s new policy, applicants must file Form I-693 concurrently with the underlying AOS benefit request filed via Form I-485. USCIS’ new policy leaves little room for ambiguity or flexibility: file Form I-693 along with the remaining AOS application documents, “[o]therwise, we may reject your Form I-485.” Particularly because the visa bulletin cut-off dates are updated monthly, rejection of Form I-485 could, in turn, risk missing the applicant’s filing window entirely in the event of a retrogression in immigrant visa availability.

Filing Strategies for Prospective AOS Applicants

As USCIS’ new policy on Form I-693 filing adds to the components required at time of AOS filing, applicants may take steps to have the form completed at the same time as the remaining AOS application materials. Specifically, applicants may consider taking the following actions:

  • Track down vaccination records in advance of filing. For those waiting to progress to the AOS step of the green card process (i.e., PERM pending or certified, I-140 pending, visa bulletin dates nearing, etc.), consider taking steps during the wait period to obtain vaccination records, which might be in an applicant’s home country and could take time to secure. Additionally, if vaccination records are in a language other than English, it may make sense to secure a certified translation in advance as well. This way, as soon as eligible to proceed with AOS filing, applicants will have the documents sure to be requested by the civil surgeon on hand with minimal lead time. In addition to vaccination records, retain important medical documents to provide to the civil surgeon on the day of the medical examination appointment.
  • Identify a civil surgeon in advance. The civil surgeon will provide the applicant with an understanding of the examination’s contents, as well as a copy of the completed form. As outlined above, the form itself serves as documentary evidence of the applicant’s admissibility to the United States (i.e., their eligibility to receive a green card based on the inapplicability of health-related bars to adjustment of status under the INA), so it’s important that applicants feel comfortable enough with the civil surgeon’s office to ask questions and understand the contents of the form to be filed as part of the AOS application. Particularly with the upcoming transition to an administration that may place greater emphasis on enforcement and compliance, it is critical that applicants understand the contents of their Form I-693. Applicants should consider preparing early to maximize the time available to ensure that the completed Form I-693 aligns with their understanding of their medical and vaccination history.
  • Schedule an appointment as soon as eligibility to file an AOS application is confirmed. As indicated above, expect at least one to three weeks lead time for an appointment with a civil surgeon, followed by at least one to two weeks to receive the completed signed and sealed form. As filing windows may be tight due to the risk of future visa bulletin retrogression, consider scheduling the medical examination with the civil surgeon as soon as feasible once eligible to proceed with the AOS process. Under the April 2024 indefinite validity policy, it may make sense to secure the sealed examination form in advance of becoming current for AOS filing, but even with the indefinite validity period afforded to Forms I-693 signed on or after Nov. 1, 2023, applicants should consider filing with a recently executed and sealed form.[1] Still, for some, the benefits of having a sealed medical examination ready to file once eligible may outweigh the costs of potentially having to redo the medical examination if the USCIS officer deems it necessary. 

Form I-693 is an essential component of every AOS application and, while the new USCIS policy governing the form’s filing reduces applicant flexibility in timing their medical examinations, applicants may take steps to ensure they are ready to obtain and file the I-693 when they become current for filing. 


[1] In 2018, the first Trump administration instituted a policy that increased the scope of cases that officers were directed to deny without issuance of an RFE or notice of intent to deny. If the incoming Trump administration reverts to such a deny-without-RFE policy, it may help to limit the application’s vulnerability to such denial grounds by filing with as recently dated documentation as possible.

In recent months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has sent notices of intent to terminate (NOITs) to EB-5 regional centers that have not paid the “Integrity Fees” implemented by the 2022 EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA).

Congress introduced these annual Integrity Fees to help pay for many of the new integrity measures, such as USCIS site visits, audits, and overseas investigations. Depending on the number of EB-5 investors that the regional center sponsors, the Integrity Fee is either $20,000 per year or $10,000 per year.

The USCIS roll-out of the RIA has been confusing for some stakeholders. USCIS announced on March 2, 2023, almost a year after the RIA’s passage, that the first Integrity Fee payment must be paid between March 2, 2023 (the same day as the announcement) and April 3, 2023. However, given the short notice and confusion that arose over how the fees should be calculated, USCIS kept the Integrity Fee payment portal open beyond the April 3 due date. Due to a continued lack of clarity, USCIS eventually announced an Oct. 1, 2023, due date for both the FY 2023 and FY 2024 Integrity Fees. USCIS also confirmed on its website that it would take steps to terminate any regional center that, on or before Dec. 30, 2023, had not paid the required Integrity Fees for FY 2023 and FY 2024. USCIS only published these announcements on its website; it did not send the regional centers notices about these deadlines.

Now approximately seven months later, regional centers are receiving NOITs for failure to pay the Integrity Fees. Some regional centers have made a deliberate decision not to pay the Integrity Fees as a “wind down” measure; USCIS clarified on its website that if a regional center did not pay the Integrity Fees and the regional center’s designation was terminated as a result, sponsored EB-5 investors who filed I-526 petitions prior to the March 2022 passage of the RIA (Pre-RIA Investors) could still have their I-526 and I-829 petitions approved on the merits if all other eligibility criteria were met, e.g., job creation.

However, other regional centers may have wanted to remain designated under the RIA but were not aware of the Integrity Fee due date before receiving a NOIT. Moreover, the NOIT states that USCIS will not accept any late payments, so these regional centers cannot cure the payment issue in response to the NOIT, even if they wish to remain designated.

New investors who filed I-526E petitions with a designated regional center after the passage of the RIA (RIA Investors) may face denial of their I-526E petitions if the regional center’s designation is terminated. Such investors must follow the “amendment” process provided in the RIA and associate with a new regional center in good standing. However, USCIS has not promulgated any regulations about this process, and investors could face thousands of dollars in fees to associate with a new regional center despite the issue arising on behalf of regional centers, not investors.

The RIA states that USCIS must impose a reasonable penalty on regional centers that fail to pay the Integrity Fees within 30 days of the due date and must terminate a regional center’s designation if it does not pay within 90 days after the due date. USCIS only started mailing NOITs to regional centers who did not pay the Integrity Fees in July 2024, seven months after the fees were due. It does not appear that USCIS informed regional centers about any penalties as was required prior to sending the NOITs. Had they done so, regional centers would have known that the fee was due and that they could be terminated if they did not pay by the Dec. 30, 2023, deadline.

As a result, some regional centers that wish to remain designated now face termination with no way to cure the nonpayment. A lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction was filed in federal court in Montana that challenged USCIS’s action to terminate a regional center without mailing any notice or imposing a reasonable penalty prior to initiating a termination proceeding. The judge in that case held that USCIS appeared to act arbitrarily when it determined multiple times that it had the discretion to change the deadline for the Integrity Fee payment and not impose late fees, but could not be flexible on its decision to terminate the centers. It is not yet clear whether USCIS will appeal the decision or change its position and exercise its discretion to allow late Integrity Fee payments.

Many EB-5 stakeholders, including industry groups and bar associations, are petitioning USCIS to allow such late payments by those regional centers that wish to remain designated. Allowing late Integrity Fee payments would bring in more fees to the Integrity Fund to allow for additional investigations and audits. Moreover, if these regional centers maintain their designation, they must participate in the annual compliance process with USCIS, whereby the regional center will report to the government on the progress of its projects, which would likely contribute to the overall integrity of the EB-5 program.

On July 16, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance for the EB-5 Regional Center Program, detailing sanctions for noncompliance, adverse actions on EB-5 petitions, and special rules for good faith investors to maintain eligibility if their regional center or project is terminated or debarred.

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) into law, substantially reforming the EB-5 program. The RIA also added significant new integrity provisions, including protection for good faith investors. Now, more than two years after its passage, USCIS has updated its policy manual to include guidance addressing new provisions the RIA added to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), clarifying the consequences of noncompliance for regional centers, new commercial enterprises (NCEs), job creating entities (JCEs), and EB-5 investors. The new provisions update Part G, Investors, in Volume 6 of the policy manual to add provisions relating to “good faith investors” and add new authority for USCIS to sanction regional centers, new commercial enterprises, and job-creating entities at various levels for noncompliance with statutory requirements.

In particular, the new guidance clarifies the impact of USCIS terminating, debarring, or suspending noncompliant regional centers, NCEs, and JCEs, and it explains how good faith investors, including those who filed petitions prior to the RIA, may remain eligible for approval of the I-526 or I-829 petition in these scenarios. The guidance also sets forth factors and processes USCIS uses to assess sanctions and explains what constitutes fraud and material misrepresentation, deceit, criminal misuse, and threats to the national interest. The guidance further clarifies that USCIS does not sanction individuals or entities for pre-RIA actions but may still consider violations that occurred pre-RIA in determining proper sanctions for post-RIA violations.

In its Policy Manual Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 3, Section E, titled “Good Faith Investors Following Program Noncompliance by a Regional Center, New Commercial Enterprise, or Job-Creating Entity,” USCIS clarifies the actions USCIS will take if an EB-5 entity is no longer allowed to participate in the EB-5 program, such as after a regional center is terminated or an NCE or JCE is debarred. The guidance clarifies that USCIS debars individuals or entities based on noncompliance with or prohibited conduct under the RIA and does not debar individuals or entities for merely failing to establish investor eligibility for visa classification or removal of conditions, such as not creating sufficient employment, or upon receipt of requests for debarment. This means that investors cannot request a debarment to trigger the “good faith” investor protections simply where job creation is not met or where the project has failed under normal business scenarios. 

Pre-RIA Investors

Consistent with its prior guidance, USCIS confirms that if a regional center is terminated, investors who filed I-526 petitions before the RIA’s March 2022 enactment can have an I-526 petition or I-829 petition approved even if the regional center’s designation is terminated, assuming the investor otherwise meets the eligibility requirements, including sustaining the at-risk investment and creating at least 10 jobs. USCIS again confirms that direct and indirect job creation can be used to meet the requirements, even when the regional center is terminated. The policy manual explains that USCIS officers will have the discretion to make a good faith determination on a case-by-case basis to continue to approve petitions.

Where a pre-RIA investor has invested into an NCE and/or a JCE that is debarred from the EB-5 program, USCIS clarifies that the investor may seek to retain eligibility by making an investment in another new commercial enterprise. In the policy manual update, USCIS states that if a pre-RIA investor chooses to make a qualifying investment in another NCE following regional center termination, the investment amount required is the amount required by statute at the time the investor initially filed the Form I-526. As of the date of this blog, it is not clear if any “good faith” pre-RIA investors have successfully filed a new I-526 petition on this basis, or made a new $500,000 investment into a new NCE to continue to qualify for permanent residence after a regional center is terminated or after an NCE or JCE debarment, even though the required investment amount has increased under the RIA. Further engagement and clarification are required by USCIS on this point.

RIA Investors

The policy manual update confirms that when USCIS terminates a regional center that is sponsoring RIA investors who filed Form I-526E after March 2022, the investor’s NCE may associate with a new regional center that is maintaining its designation in order to continue to qualify for permanent residence. That new regional center need not cover the geographic area of the EB-5 project. EB-5 stakeholders have been seeking this change for years, believing that a change of a regional center should not be considered a “material change” to the investor’s petition. 

If an NCE or JCE is debarred for an RIA investor, the investor may retain eligibility if they associate with an NCE in good standing and, pursuant to the RIA, invest additional capital “solely to the extent necessary to satisfy remaining job creation requirements.” Practically, it may be difficult for new EB-5 projects to take additional capital from these “good faith” investors where new NCEs are seeking to subscribe investors at the new investment amounts of $1,050,000 or $800,000 but where the good faith investor seeks to invest some lesser amount only to continue to qualify for the green card. Projects should consider if they wish to create different classes of investments for varying investment amounts to accommodate these types of investors.

Additionally, USCIS states that the investor must generally file an amendment to their petition or otherwise notify USCIS that they continue to meet applicable eligibility requirements notwithstanding termination or debarment, as applicable, no later than 180 days after notification of termination or debarment. Filing an amendment to an I-526E would be costly to an investor following the April 2024 filing fee increases, but USCIS may accept additional evidence in response to a debarment notification that would not require the investor to file an amendment or pay the fee. Until USCIS promulgates a new Form I-526E, the exact procedures to be followed in this scenario remain unclear.

Terminations, Suspensions, and Sanctions

USCIS also updated Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 4, Section H, “Terminations, Suspensions, and Other Sanctions,” which specifies violations permitting various sanctions for bad faith actions by regional centers, ranging from fines to suspension or termination in more serious cases. This update exemplifies USCIS’s continued efforts to crack down on regional centers engaging in activities that may undermine the integrity of the EB-5 program. USCIS may sanction regional centers not only for bad faith actions but also for possessing knowledge of bad faith or fraudulent actions. Given this threshold, the sanctions set forth in the policy manual encourage regional centers to conduct thorough due diligence and enforce close oversight of project operations to minimize the likelihood and severity of penalty for violations.

The policy manual further provides examples of sanctionable violations as an added warning and clarification to EB-5 participants. The policy update emphasizes that regional centers have a responsibility to take reasonable action to avoid violation of law, even if a regional center, commercial enterprise, or JCE is new. Inexperience in the EB-5 domain does not excuse actions that violate the law, nor does it excuse partnering with entities whose activities could be considered bad faith. This further confirms USCIS’s emphasis on the need for EB-5 program participants to perform necessary due diligence and maintenance activities to ensure compliance at all times.

The policy manual reiterates USCIS authority to levy sanctions for noncompliance by various EB-5 program participants, including measures like suspension, debarment, and termination. The new chapter provides a thorough breakdown of USCIS’s general process when it determines that a violation has occurred warranting suspension, debarment, or termination. This not only allows EB-5 participants to hold USCIS accountable to the process it has laid out in the future but also provides EB-5 participants with improved insight into next steps once a notice of intent to sanction is issued.

The policy manual is instructive of the types of actions that may be sanctioned as involving fraud, deceit, material misrepresentation, or criminal misuse, providing specific examples of actions falling under these categories. These examples intend to clearly outline actions that are sanctionable to discourage bad faith actions on the part of EB-5 participants as well as to educate individuals or entities who may be unfamiliar with the EB-5 program. USCIS’s policy update emphasizes the seriousness of intentional bad acts and warns of the ramifications for such actions. Regional centers, commercial enterprises, job creating entities, and investors should oversee their operations carefully to ensure compliance with USCIS’s updated policies and be mindful of who they are partnering with throughout the EB-5 process to avoid penalty.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new information on its website about the International Entrepreneur Rule’s (IER) eligibility criteria and acceptable evidence. It also announced updates to investment and revenue requirements for entrepreneurs to qualify for an authorized stay, known as parole, under the IER. Based on the public benefit their startup entities provide, the IER allows foreign entrepreneurs of U.S. startups formed in the last five years to remain in the United States for up to five years to work at their startup if the startup meets specific criteria such as funding milestones or job creation. When submitting the initial application, an entrepreneur can be in the United States or abroad but must have at least 10% ownership in the startup.

On Oct. 1, 2024, USCIS’s revised investment and revenue thresholds take effect to align with economic inflation rates. The initial application will require entrepreneurs to show the startup received qualified investments of at least $311,071 (up from $264,147) or government grants of at least $124,429 (up from $105,659) to substantiate the startup’s potential for growth and job creation. In instances where the startup partially meets the investment or award criteria, applicants may present alternative evidence to demonstrate their startup’s growth potential. Depending on the nature of the startup and its industry, alternative evidence can include the number of customers; investments or fundraising success using alternative funding platforms including crowdfunding platforms; social impact and national scope of the startup; positive effects on the startup’s locality or region; the applicant’s academic degrees; the applicant’s prior success in operating startups as shown by patented innovations, annual revenue, job creation, or other factors; or selection of the startup to participate in one or more established reputable startup accelerators or incubators.

For entrepreneurs seeking an extension and second period of authorized stay, USCIS will require the startup to have at least $622,142 (up from $528,293) in qualified investments or government funds; creation of a minimum of five new qualified jobs within the startup; or annual revenues of $622,142 (up from $528,293) or greater within the United States with an average annual revenue growth of at least 20%.

Further, USCIS updated the criteria for qualified investors to require a history of substantial investment in successful startups. The investor must have invested at least $746,571 (up from $633,952) in startups within the last five years for equity or similar stakes; and after such investment, at least two startups must have each created at least five jobs or generated $622,142 (up from $528,293) in revenue with an average annual growth of at least 20%. Only an investor that meets the definition of qualified investor can make a qualified investment, and no alternative evidence is accepted.

Although investment and revenue thresholds will increase effective Oct. 1, 2024, the USCIS application fee for entrepreneur applicants will remain the same. USCIS’s recent updated guidance on the IER website intends to clarify the IER’s requirements and to encourage eligible entrepreneurs to apply.

On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began implementing a newly overhauled fee schedule, along with substantive changes to several of its forms used to petition or apply for employment-based immigration benefits. These changes stem from the agency’s January 2024 final rule outlining the fee increases and procedural changes, which include:

  1. In a departure from the prior, simpler fee schedule, a detailed and tiered fee schedule based on various factors, including visa type, employer type, and size (number of employees).
  2. The introduction of an “asylum fee,” which now applies to most employment-based filings made on Forms I-129 or I-140 and is meant to support the agency’s efforts in improving its processing of a historic backlog of asylum applications. The asylum fee also varies depending on visa type and employer type/size, further adding to the confluence of new factors practitioners must take into account when filing a U.S. immigration benefit application or petition with USCIS.
  3. Updated filing locations and, notably, certain filings rerouted from monitored Service Centers to “Lockboxes,” which tend to take a longer time to process the filings received.
  4. New editions of many common employment-based immigration benefit forms, including Forms I-129, I-140, I-526, and I-829.

In line with the added complexity of the filing process resulting from the April 1 changes, practitioners have reported considerable delays in issuance of I-797 receipt notices, which USCIS issues to provide the petitioner/applicant and its legal representative with a case number and official confirmation of acceptance of the filing. While the specific reasons for the delays vary between cases, USCIS may need additional time to complete its intake of filings and to ensure compliance with the new requirements, given the scale of the April 1 changes. While some cases face delays, others are being “rejected” for a deficiency, sometimes resultant from erroneous observations by USCIS.

From a practical standpoint, this means that clients should be prepared for delays in receipt notice issuance, which can sometimes extend for up to and over eight weeks for certain filing types. Additionally, USCIS has generally not been responsive to inquiries placed in connection with receipt notice delays. Filers may track checks to ensure they are cashed by USCIS (an indication of case acceptance), but even filing fee check cashing has seen delays. Where available, filers may choose to submit eligible applications online for a quicker receipting process, but that may present its own set of challenges. First, only a narrow subset of forms are currently eligible for online filing. Additionally, electronic filings have only recently been implemented by USCIS and are subject to separate sets of considerations, like account access obstacles and document upload issues, among other observed, as well as unforeseeable, risks associated with the process as USCIS finetunes its electronic filing procedures and gradually expands eligible filing types.

Takeaways for Petitioners and Applicants

  1. Since some receipt notices are required for the ability to travel internationally and re-enter the United States, for instance I-751 or I-829 receipt notices, which temporarily extend conditional green card validity, it is important to take these delays into account when planning international travel. This means opting for flexible or cancelable flights or accommodations where available. As noted above, USCIS is generally not responsive to inquiries related to its receipting process and waiting for the receipt to be issued and delivered via USPS is generally the only available option.
  2. Employers filing for H-1B transfers should consider waiting for the receipt notice prior to onboarding the new employee to ensure the case is lawfully filed as of the employee’s start date.
  3. Receipts are also often utilized to demonstrate timely filing for immigration benefit extensions; filing early may help to ensure that a receipt is in hand prior to the expiration of the current I-94 or other expiring immigration benefit.

On April 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services introduced audit guidelines for EB-5 regional centers as part of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act. Prior to the RIA passage in 2022, USCIS infrequently conducted audits of regional centers, and there was no published guidance, or statutory or regulatory consequences for a regional center’s failure to comply with an audit.

The RIA now requires USCIS to audit regional centers every five years to verify compliance with immigration and securities laws, and the flow of the EB-5 funds into the projects sponsored by the regional center.

Continue reading the full article, published by Law360 May 3, 2024. Reprinted with permission.

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.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced new provisions regarding EB-5 regional center audits in accordance with the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. Each designated regional center will be audited at least once every five years, and audits will review documentation required to be maintained by the regional center and the flow of immigrant investor capital into capital investment projects. Audits aim to enhance the integrity of the EB-5 program by verifying information in regional center applications, annual certifications, and associated investor petitions.

During site visits for audits, if a regional center representative refuses to participate, the visit will be canceled and the audit report will be completed using available data, noting the cancellation at the request of the regional center. Regional centers that refuse consent or obstruct audits may have their designation terminated.

However, there are generally no immediate adverse consequences for EB-5 associated entities or petitioners solely based on a negative audit result, except in cases of deliberate noncompliance or obstruction. The findings may be used to evaluate a regional center’s eligibility to remain designated and compliance with applicable requirements.

Starting April 23, 2024, audits will adhere to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards to ensure uniformity. USCIS launched a new EB-5 Regional Center Audits webpage to provide information on the auditing process.

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.