Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Immigration AttorneyYes, since Egypt is not a backlogged country, USCIS is stating that it will be able to speed up processing for non-backlogged countries.
My I-526 petition was filed in December 2018. I am an Egyptian national. How could the new I-526 processing policy help my case get approved faster?
Yes, since Egypt is not a backlogged country, USCIS is stating that it will be able to speed up processing for non-backlogged countries.
Assuming USCIS implements the policy as stated, your case would be placed in the queue before those filed by Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese nationals.
Since there is a shorter or no backlog for Egypt, it likely would get a slower, and not faster adjudication.
That seems to be the intent. But we do not know by how much.
Yes, it should speed processing by USCIS as their new policy is to adjudicate applications for individuals like you whose visa availability is current.
USCIS will prioritize adjudication for I-526 petitions with current priority dates. This means that I-526 petitions filed by Chinese, Indians, and Vietnamese likely will not be adjudicated as quickly as petitions filed by EB-5 investors born in other countries, like Egypt. There is no indication as of yet how this will affect I-526 processing times, but it does seem like some I-526 processing will be accelerated as compared with previous processing times.
It may not necessarily have any effect on your case. For Egyptian nationals, a visa is available and current upon approval of their I-526. Thus, the only issue for you really is how soon can your I-526 be approved. If you need better source information, check the Visa Bulletin issued on a monthly basis by the U.S. Department of State.
In theory, yes. However, my understanding is that it is yet to be implemented.
Because it is no longer first in and first out, persons from countries with no EB-5 backlog will be decided first.