How long does the EB-5 process usually take?

With the assistance of an experienced EB-5 Immigration attorney, showing the lawful source of personal investment funds and EB-5 compliant project documentation should help your EB-5 petition get approved. Currently, the EB-5 petition adjudication process by USCIS is taking up to 24 months for a determination. Some petitions are being adjudicated in less time.

Currently, the I-526 is taking about two years to process. As to the likelihood of success, that depends on the strength of the evidence and whether the criteria for job creation, etc., can be met.

The processing time for the initial petition is about 12-18 months. Visas are currently available for persons with approved petitions. The likelihood of your application being rejected is 100% if it is not correctly prepared and presented.

The current processing time for the I-526 Petition for Immigrant Investor is approximately 18 to 24 months. Once that is approved, if you are in the U.S., the adjustment of status to a lawful permanent resident is taking approximately 12 months (consular processing for an immigrant visa varies depending on consular post).

The timing for the EB-5 process for Saudi nationals and all other nationals (other than Chinese) is primarily dictated by the length of time it takes USCIS to review and adjudicate a petition. Unfortunately, there is a significant backlog in the adjudication process, meaning it would take at least 14 months or longer for any petition filed today before it reached the front of the line to be reviewed. Assuming the petition is approved without the need to request any additional evidence, if you are living abroad, then there will be an additional process by which the approved petition will go to the National Visa Center before it is then forwarded to the appropriate American Consulate abroad either at the U.S. Embassy or a separate Consular Post depending upon the jurisdiction of the petitioner. All that could take an additional 6-12 months. Thus, the process overall will take about 24 months or longer before one could be scheduled for their final interview and be issued an immigrant visa based upon the approved I-526 investor petition. The likelihood that the petition will be rejected is not very high. The majority of I-526 EB-5 Investor Petitions are approved. The likelihood is even higher when the petitioner goes through an established regional center/project developer for several reasons. Many regional centers/project developers provide statistics that demonstrate they have nearly 100% approval rating. The fact that the regional center/project developer has an approved exemplar which describes the project and demonstrates its compliance with the statutory and regulatory provisions governing EB-5 projects, would also give the potential investor a high degree of comfort that it is likely that his or her petition would be approved.

There is nothing that bars any Saudi Arabian citizen from filing a petition for an EB-5 investor visa if you can meet the requirements of the program. However, you will be subjected to a waiting period appropriate to any Saudi Arabians, as determined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). With regards to rejection, it is hard to predict whether you may be rejected or not. Advisably, to get an accurate assessment, contact an EB-5 immigration attorney.

The current average processing times for I-526 petition (step 1) is approximately 22 months. If you intend to consular process for an immigrant visa abroad (step 2) after the approval of the I-526 petition, this step takes on average about 2-6 months. If you are in the United States in another lawful immigration status, such as F-1 student visa or work visa (H, L, etc.), then you may file for adjustment of status to become a conditional green card holder after the approval of the I-526 petition inside the U.S. If you engage the services of an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney to competently prepare and file your case, and if your EB-5 investment capital originates from a lawful source, then you should not have your I-526 petition denied.

The current processing time of immigrant petition (I-526) is about 24 months. After that gets approved, the consulate processing of your immigrant visa application by the State Department will take another 6-8 months. This is the case with most countries, except for mainland China. The likelihood of your application being rejected/denied depends on too many variables to answer in this forum.

It should take about 2 to 2.5 years for you to get your immigrant visa and enter the United States as a conditional (2 year) green card holder. It takes about a month to put the application package together with your attorney. Once it is filed, USCIS is currently taking about 21 months to adjudicate the petition. Once approved, it will take about 4-6 months for your immigrant visa appointment at the U.S. Consulate to be scheduled. Once you enter the U.S. with your immigrant visa, you are a conditional resident for 2 years. At the end of the 2-year period of conditional residency, you must file an application seeking removal of the conditions on your residency; resulting in unconditional green card status. Your conditional green card status maintains for as long as USCIS takes to adjudication this application. Currently, they are taking a whopping 29 months! USCIS occasionally takes significantly less or more time, so these are general timelines. You should set your expectation at a timeframe of about 7 years from start to finish. If you are properly advised and do your due diligence in project selection, your application should not be rejected. Assuming you pick a reputable project with a good track record and management, the only issue would be your ability to prove your lawful source of funds. This should be analyzed by your attorney before you even embark on this journey.

Your home country should not be an obstacle. Currently, USCIS is quoting about 20 months to approve an EB-5 I-526 application from Saudi Arabia.

Most cases take about 24 months; some less and some more. The key is to choose a good project, as well as a good legal advisor and financial advisor.