I heard that I 526 gets approved faster in case of small direct investment franchise project rather than large Regional center. Is this true?
This is does not hold true in every case, but smaller direct investments have been processed faster than regional centers. But there is nothing indicating it applies to every direct investment case.
Depending on the region it can take anywhere from 6 months to 9 months. Currently they are being processed faster than Regional Center applications.
The current processing time for I-526 is approximately 10-12 months from filing, same with direct investment or Regional Center investment.
The processing times for direct EB-5s is the same as Regional Center EB-5s. Currently, USCIS is processing March 16, 2012.
We have seen shorter processing times for smaller direct cases vs. large Regional Center project investments.
Whether it is direct investment in stand-alone business or through a regional center, the I-526 adjudication period should be the same. The USCIS is currently stating that it is taking 12 months to process the I-526. However, I am also hearing that USCIS is taking shorter amount of time to review these stand-alone business investments.
Direct investment I-526 petition processing seems to be faster right now that regional center processing. Processing times are subject to change and that might not be the case in the future.
It is not dependent on the type of investment, all I-526 applications are currently taking about one year for the USCIS to process. USCIS is currently processing I-526''s that were filed in April 2012. However, USCIS has indicated in some conferences with lawyers that they are trying to improve their process and be able to do it faster.
Could take 6 months to over a year. It is not necessarily faster than a regional center. It totally depends on the project. Some RC projects are getting approved really quickly if they have previous approvals. You really have to be comfortable with the project, whether it''s direct or RC.
Yes. It is faster now. Perhaps, it could take 3 months. But remember, there are job creation issues to address.
The average processing time is 5-6 months. Depending on the issuance of RFEs and the time it takes you to submit the further evidence, it can also take up to 8 months. I have not heard that USCIS has different processing times for direct investment vs. regional center affiliated petitions.
There are no statistics that confirm this, but the word among attorneys is that it is true.
Arguably, this is true because there is no need for an economist to document the job impact and the submitted petitions tend to be much smaller as compared with those submitted with larger regional center I-526 petitions. Direct EB-5 investments have certainly been making a comeback in the past year and shorter processing time frames has been one of the key arguments used for this movement within the investor market.
