Who is responsible for reviewing each stage of the EB-5 application? - EB5Investors.com

Who is responsible for reviewing each stage of the EB-5 application?

I will be submitting my I-526 application before the end of May. I want to know what to expect in terms of my application being processed. What entities are responsible for reviewing each stage of my EB-5 application? Are there different offices depending on my home country? I will be filing from China.

Answers

Ed Beshara

Ed Beshara

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The USCIS (United States Citizenship Immigration Service), EB-5 Office located in Washington, D.C., which is under The Department of Homeland Security.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

USCIS receives and reviews the I-526 petition (and, later, the I-829 petition). If, after the I-526 is approved, you are still in China, the National Visa Center issues an invoice for the visa application. You submit the application to the Department of State/U.S. Consulate in China, who then schedules and conducts the interview.

Julia Roussinova

Julia Roussinova

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

If you plan to file Form I-526, it is adjudicated by USCIS.

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

All I-526 petitions are processed and adjudicated by the Immigrant Investor Program Office (IIPO) in Washington, D.C. The IIPO is part of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security). After approval of your I-526 petition, it will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) which is an agency within the U.S. Department of State. The NVC will receive your immigrant petition file, collect immigrant visa fees, all civil documents, and a Form DS-260, immigrant visa application, from each applicant (investor, spouse, and any unmarried children under 21). The NVC will then transfer your file to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. All immigrant visa applications for China-born applicants are processed at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou; the consulate is also part of the U.S. Department of State. If your visa application is approved, the consulate will issue an immigrant visa to you and any dependents, which visa is valid for six months. After you enter the United States, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) will inspect and admit you as an immigrant to the United States. The CBP then transfers this information to the USCIS, which produces the green card and mails it to your U.S. address within a few weeks after you enter the United States.

Lynne Feldman

Lynne Feldman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The I-526 is submitted to USCIS which adjudicates this petition. Once approved it is sent to the National Visa Center which is part of the Department of State and coordinates with all consulates around the world. If your Priority Date is current when the I-526 is approved (note China recently retrogressed) then NVC will collect fees and documents for your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou and then ship the file there to be scheduled for interview. You will need a medical exam with a civil surgeon in Guangzhou, attend the interview and then hopefully have an immigrant visa issued for each of you. Then you go online and pay a fee through the ELIS system to USCIS once again to create your plastic "green card" once you enter the United States.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Your I-526 will be submitted to and will be adjudicated (reviewed and decided) by the USCIS, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. After that gets approved, USCIS sends the file to the National Visa Center (NVC), which is part of the State Department for the visa processing (filing DS-260 for you and your family members). After NVC reviews the DS-260 and the supporting documents, then they send the files to Guangzhou for the interview. Because the visa numbers for China have retrogressed to 05/2013, you will not get any notification from the NVC to start the visa application process until the visa numbers become current for you. All this process should be explained to you by your immigration lawyer helping you to file the I-526 and that lawyer should be monitoring and informing you of what is happening and what to expect with your case at every step.

Robert Lee

Robert Lee

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Case already submitted to California will remain there, but new petitions will be handled in Washington.

Denyse Sabagh

Denyse Sabagh

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The I-526 is filed with US Citizenship & Immigration Services in the United States. After it is filed, you/your attorney will receive a filing fee receipt. The current estimated processing time for the Immigration Service to make a decision on the application is 14.5 months. If approved, it is sent to the State Department National Visa Center (NVC) to start the immigrant visa process. NVC creates a file. It takes about six weeks. NVC sends out instructions advising what documents are required and forms to complete. Once all of the documents are sent and the forms are completed, NVC will work with the U.S. Embassy in your home country to schedule an interview. Estimated processing for this stage is six-plus months. An interview notice is issued for a date certain. You attend the interview and be prepared to answer questions about your application. If all goes well, the consular officer should issue the visa. This takes approximately one week.

John J Downey

John J Downey

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

I believe all petitions are processed the same regardless of country.

Stephen Berman

Stephen Berman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

A USCIS adjudicating officer will review the application. No, there are not different officers based on the applicant&#39s country of origin.

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