How long is the EB-5 process?

Currently we are looking at a 12 -18 month time frame.

Current processing times for an I-526 petition are listed as 11 months.

From the time your funds arrive in the United States, it takes one year for you to obtain your temporary green card. I look forward to assisting you with your U.S. immigration.

The process of preparing the petitions and applications for conditional permanent residency may take 12 months more or less. The filing of the petition to remove the conditions before the two-year anniversary may take, at a minimum, 12 months.

The time that the funds are available to be transferred is not a good measuring point in the EB-5 visa program. Assuming that the fund has been transferred to an escrow account and the immigration petition is filed, you have to wait about one year to get it approved.

This depends on whether you apply for a direct EB-5 or a regional center based EB-5. Approvals for I-526 applications under direct EB-5 deals (your initial investor application) are currently taking about three to seven months, while I-526 applications for regional center based EB-5 deals are taking 12-17 months (sometimes sooner, depending on your place in the subscribed list of investors). Once the application is approved, it takes roughly six months to get your visa approved (this timeline depends on your current citizenship and some related caveats). The above timeline is subject to change and certainly dependent on the particulars of your application.

It is not a function of transfer of funds, but rather a complete application. On average, it takes two years to get the conditional card.

I-526 processing time ranges from six months to over one year. Your processing time will depend upon numerous factors, such as the EB-5 project (direct versus regional center), your documentation (how well it is prepared and presented), and external factors such as USCIS workload. In order to minimize processing delays due to petition preparation and filing, you should consult an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney.

After you wire the funds to an EB-5 Regional Center project group, if you are using that vehicle for EB-5 process, it would take most EB-5 attorneys about one to two months to prepare and file the I-526 petition package. After the I-526 is filed with USCIS, the normal processing time is about 19 months, according to USCIS-published processing times. After I-526 is approved, it will take about six months for National Visa Center and consulate processing until you are interviewed for the immigrant visa (DS-260) process. Thus, I would expect at least two years and two months or so from the time you fund to receiving the conditional green card.

There are multiple steps to the EB-5 process. It may take several months to prepare and file the I-526 petition. The processing of the I-526 may take 12-18 months. Applying for conditional permanent residency and attending the interview may take several more months. After two years of conditional permanent residency, you can apply to remove conditions.

Time does not start from when you transfer the fund. Time starts from when your case is submitted to USCIS. From that submission, the time for USCIS to process your case varies based on the project of the regional center and your specific situation. If other people have been approved in a certain project, then your case with the same project is going to go faster. I have had cases that received approval in six months, and cases that had taken 15-18 months.