How long does it take for a case to receive a decision when assigned to an officer after multiple service requests? - EB5Investors.com

How long does it take for a case to receive a decision when assigned to an officer after multiple service requests?

I submitted my I-526 petition in June of 2016. The first batch of investors in the same project applied in April of 2016 and was first approved in October of 2018. I have filed 3 service requests and done infopass to follow up about my case status. Upon the third request, USCIS said they have finally assigned my case to an officer. I am wondering how much longer I have to wait before I can receive a decision?

Answers

Julia Roussinova

Julia Roussinova

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

There is no specific time frame. Your attorney should follow up every month.

Ed Beshara

Ed Beshara

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You can check online with the USCIS processing times. If the processing time for your case is substantially beyond the normal processing time, you may consult with your EB-5 immigration attorney as to whether you should file a mandamus action in federal court and request a federal judge to request the USCIS make an immediate decision on your EB-5 petition.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Usually, when it has been assigned to an officer, you will hear from them within 1-2 months. However, there is no clear pattern since USCIS does not always adjudicate in order of filing.

Lynne Feldman

Lynne Feldman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

I would wait 30 days and then follow up every 30 days.

Marko Issever

Marko Issever

EB-5 Broker Dealers
Answered on

There is no specific answer we can give you here, unfortunately. I wish we could. Each case is different. It is not uncommon to have cases where by certain applicants the I-526 are filed later than others and yet the later ones get approved sooner. You applied in June of 2016, 30 months ago. That is certainly long and I can appreciate why you are frustrated. It is good that you followed up and got your case assigned to an officer. Making predictions with this process is dangerous but given the amount of time you have waited so far, I would think that you should hear from USCIS soon.

BoBi Ahn

BoBi Ahn

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

There is no set timelines for officers to review. Although it is some progress that the case is with an officer, there is no processing time estimate here. However, you can always follow up with the USCIS to nudge and see if there is any movement in the case.

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

An inquiry such as this usually creates an impression that you can accurately predict processing times. Nothing can be further from the truth. The standard practice is that only the officer assigned to your case can offer any plausible time about when a decision will be made and in most cases, the officer assigned cannot be reached. Therefore, the waiting period cannot be predicted, the only option to keep checking both online and through Infopass. Finally, it is advisable that you should consult your attorney of record and ask him to undertake the monitoring of your petition.

Charles Foster

Charles Foster

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

It is almost impossible to predict how long it will take for an immigration examiner to adjudicate an EB-5 investor on Form I-526 petition once it''s assigned to an officer. As a practical matter, there are too many variables in terms of how many cases the officer has, vacation time, as well as the adjudication pace of the particular officer and the backlog of cases to be adjudicated. Thus any answers as to how long it would take before you receive a decision would be pure speculation but it should be not a matter of weeks, but a matter of months. That''s the best answer I think anyone can give.

Belma Demirovic Chinchoy

Belma Demirovic Chinchoy

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

In my experience, you should continue to follow up with USCIS and can expect a decision within 30 days.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The official position of USCIS is First In First Out (FIFO) based case processing, which could mean that if April 2016 filed cases are adjudicated by this October, your case that was filed 2 months later should be completed any day now. However, depending on the adjudicating officer and how efficient they may be, the adjudication could take months or days. We have had cases that we have been making service requests for more than 6 months with USCIS telling us that the case is being actively reviewed by an officer while some other cases that were only filed 13 months ago being approved. Therefore, while you ask a valid question, the true answer is no one knows how long the officers take to review the cases.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Often, the response includes a timeline. I have seen 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. However, DO NOT make too many service requests. I have seen nasty RFEs come to applicants who contact USCIS too many times about their case.

Stephen Berman

Stephen Berman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

There is no way to know the answer to this question.

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