I received mail from my Regional Center that said that the first batch of I-526 petitions associated with the project have been approved. I was one of the last investors in the project, having applied on December 1, 2016. How does USCIS review a group of petitions and could I expect a faster adjudication of my petition in the next couple of months?
If USCIS is getting to other cases filed for your project, that is a pretty good sign. However, each case is technically a separate and distinct file, so consider your actual filing date and posted processing times.
Generally, the USCIS handles petitions on a first-come-first-serve basis. However, a number of factors may affect how petitions are handled regardless of whether they are filed at the same time or not. For instance, if there is any Request For Evidence (RFE) along the way, there may be a delay in processing time. Also, petitions are usually affected by the country of origin of petitioners. For instance, if you are from China, your petition may actually be delayed as opposed to some one from India. There is no faster or expedited service for I-526 petitions. Finally, a petition pending since December 1, 2016 is relatively not too long of a waiting time.
The good news is that your I-526 petition should be approved faster. That is, it is USCIS policy that their adjudicators in reviewing I-526 petitions should defer to a previously approved I-526 petition. The only part of the I-526 petition that will be reviewed will be the investor''s authentication of the personal investment funds.
USCIS does group petitions based on a project. It may or may not mean your case will soon be adjudicated. Sometimes, certain cases within a project are delayed longer than the others depending on the complexity of source of funds or other issues.
USCIS does not review the I-526 petitions from a certain regional center as a group. They review each petition individually because they check, among other things, the source of funds of each individual investor. What your letter means is that a number of investors from your group have their petitions approved. That is all.
It is possible you could expect a faster adjudication but, typically, it is taking at least a year or longer for an I-526 petition to be approved. The fact that a batch of I-526 petitions presumably filed for the identical project in which your EB-5 investment was made were approved is certainly indicative that it is very likely that your I-526 petition will also be favorably adjudicated.
USCIS does batch big projects to stay consistent with the decisions. If it is a direct filing, then USCIS adjudicates on a first come, first served basis.
They claim they adjudicate on a first-in, first-out basis.
Generally, USCIS adjudicates by project and by batch, so what happens in the first few cases seems to take longer than the published time. The fact they started adjudicating the first few cases and, provided they are being approved, is likely a good sign for you.
