I-526 petitions

Recent Updates from USCIS Leadership on EB-5

By Dillon Colucci on September 11, 2014

Posted in EB-5 Program, USCIS, USCIS Public Engagement

On September 9, 2014, USCIS held a stakeholder conference call for individuals interested in the EB-5 Program with John Lion, Julia Harrison and Nicolas Colucci. This was the first stakeholder conference call for the new deputy director of EB-5, Julia Harrison, who has had a long career with USCIS.

Mr. Colucci gave a run-down of recent developments with the Immigrant Investor Program Office (IIPO) in his opening remarks. The IIPO currently has 83 employees and expects to hire another 10-12 in October. The IIPO goal is to hire approximately 110 employees by the end of the calendar year 2014. USCIS is also working on an interagency symposium with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal banking regulators, and the Departments of Commerce and Labor to increase EB-5 Program awareness, share knowledge and solicit ideas from each other for regulatory changes. Mr. Colucci also discussed the anticipated creation of a new engagement tool known as “EB-5 Interactive,” which would increase engagement with stakeholders, provide filing tips and discuss commonly issued RFEs and how to avoid such RFEs. USCIS is also implementing the Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendation to partner with the Department of Commerce to conduct a study on the economic impact of the EB-5 Program. Mr. Colucci anticipates that study to release its findings in the summer of 2015.Continue Reading Recent Updates from USCIS Leadership on EB-5

New I-526 and I-829 Processing Data Published by USCIS on May 13, 2014

By Greenberg Traurig on July 15, 2014

Posted in EB-5 Program, I-526, I-829, USCIS

On May 13, 2014, USCIS updated the data for I-526 petitions and I-829 petitions for the second quarter of the 2014 fiscal year (January – March). This newly released data includes data up to March 31, 2014. The original USCIS data for the I-526 petitions and I-829 petitions can be found on the USCIS website.

Data on I-526 Petitions

For the I-526 petitions, there have been a few changes between the second quarter and first quarter of fiscal year 2014. Overall, there has been an increase in number of filed I-526 petitions. There is likely an increase in the number of filed petitions because investors are concerned of the possible visa retrogression that may occur before October 1, 2014. Most notably, Chinese investors comprise approximately 80 percent of the I-526 filings, so they are hurriedly filing their I-526 petitions before visa retrogression hits.Continue Reading New I-526 and I-829 Processing Data Published by USCIS on May 13, 2014

I-924 Processing Times Reduced to 4 Months

By Dillon Colucci on June 4, 2014

Posted in EB-5 Business Plan, EB-5 Job Creation, EB-5 Program, EB-5 Project, I-526, I-924

In a welcome bit of news for the EB-5 industry, USCIS released updated processing times dated as of April 30, 2014 which show USCIS is processing I-924 applications in approximately 4.4 months. Earlier this year, the processing of I-924 applications was moved to the new Immigrant Investor Program Office (IIPO) in Washington D.C. The new EB-5 Program Director Nicholas Colucci oversaw this transition and, during the February 2014 USCIS EB-5 Public Engagement, expressed optimism that the move to the IIPO and ramp-up of new staff at the IIPO would lead to shorter processing times. This new announcement by USCIS appears to be the fruits of that labor by Mr. Colucci and the IIPO and is significantly less than the most recent processing time reports, which pegged the I-924 application processing time at approximately 12 months.
Continue Reading I-924 Processing Times Reduced to 4 Months

EB-5 Insights

I-526 petitions

Recent Updates from USCIS Leadership on EB-5

New I-526 and I-829 Processing Data Published by USCIS on May 13, 2014

I-924 Processing Times Reduced to 4 Months

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