Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

Do I have to go through consular processing if I am abroad when my EB-5 case gets approved?

I am currently on an F-1 visa, and I plan to travel home over the upcoming winter break. I also filed an I-526 application two years ago. I was informed last week by my regional center that they started to receive approvals for petitions filed during the same time as I did. If my I-526 gets approved while I am abroad, can I still enter the U.S. with my F-1 visa and file an I-485 application, or do I have to go through the consulate processing procedures in my home country?

Answers

• Bernard P Wolfsdorf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on December 18, 2019

  Consular processing is usually faster, but if you disclose all the relevant facts upon admission and are admitted, you should be eligible to apply for an adjustment of status.

• Daniel A Zeft

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on December 16, 2019

  If your I-526 petition gets approved while you are abroad, then you can use the F-1 visa to be admitted to the U.S. However, if the I-526 petition gets approved and you use the F-1 visa to be admitted to the U.S., then you should apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consular post and not file an I-485 application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

• BoBi Ahn

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on December 12, 2019

  You can still opt to file for adjustment of status in the U.S. even if at the time of the I-526 approval you are traveling abroad.

• Belma Demirovic Chinchoy

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on December 12, 2019

  To enter with the F-1 status, your intent must be to comply with the F-1 status - temporary stay to attend school, in other words. Your intent may become an issue.

• A Olusanjo Omoniyi

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on December 12, 2019

  If your I-526 is approved while you are out of the U.S., you can return to the U.S. and file an I-485 to adjust your status. You do not have to go through consular processing.

• Lynne Feldman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on December 12, 2019

  You should be able to adjust status after successfully re-entering the U.S. with your F-1 visa.