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Questions and Answers > EB-5 Processing Times

How long does it take to get a green card from the EB-5 program?

How long does the EB-5 visa program take from start to finish?

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    Mona Shah

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Time Frame: Once the attorney has acquired all the necessary documents for filing the I-526 application, it will take 6-8 months to process the petition with US CIS. Thereafter, it will take another 4-5 months for consular processing. If in the US, adjustment of status can be quicker. The EB-5 program is one of the fastest ways to receive your green card.

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    Mahsa Aliaskari

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Once the I-526 petition is approved an investor may either consular process at the U.S. embassy if he/she is abroad or file an I-485 Adjustment of Status with USCIS, if he/she is in the U.S. already. Once this is complete, the investor receives a 2 year conditional residence. Before the expiration of the 2 years, the investor must submit a request to remove conditions, the Form I-829. If the petition is approved, then the conditions are removed and the investor becomes a permanent resident (green card holder). Step 1 is the I-526 which can take 6-8 months to adjudicate. Step 2 is consular process or adjustment of status filing, consular processing depends on the embassy, and can take anywhere from 3-8 months or more.

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    Julia Roussinova

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Usually, the whole process takes about 1 to 1.5 years for an EB-5 investor to get a conditional green card. It takes about 6 to 8 months to receive approval of an I-526 investor petition. EB-5 investors living in the United States in another lawful immigration status are then required to apply for adjustment of status (green card) and should expect to wait approximately another 6 months for approval of their adjustment of status (green card) applications, but this step can sometimes take longer if the background check does not clear in a timely manner. Such investors are eligible to receive work authorization and travel document while their adjustment of status (green card) applications are pending. EB-5 investors living abroad then apply for an immigrant visa through a US embassy, a process which also takes approximately 6 months or sometimes longer. After approval of the immigrant visa through consular processing, EB-5 investors and their families (spouses and unmarried children under age 21) generally receive conditional green cards and social security cards within a few weeks of their arrival in the United States.

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    Larry J Behar, Esq

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The I 526 process along with either consular processing or adjustment of status in the US will vary depending on the country of the applying national as well as processing times in the home country. The actual petition, assuming no Request for Further Evidence , can take from six to nine months to which the consular processing will be added, about six to ten months. An adjustment of status application can take from six to eight months in the US assuming no major legal issues.

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    Taher Kameli

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It depends on your nationality. Usually between 1 year to 2.5 years.

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    Charles Raether

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It really depends on a variety of factors (your country of origin, your source of funds, the project you''re investing in, and USCIS case load), but in general from the date of filing your petition until receiving approval from USCIS I would say the average is about 6-8 months.

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    Lei Jiang

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It''s about 9 to 12 month. The green card that you receive is a "conditional" green card and the condition has to be removed after 2 years.

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    Ed Beshara

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The timeline for issuance of a conditional permanent residency green card varies.An estimate is 8 to 10 months.However every investor case is different and time delays can arise because of government processing delays , changes in policies of requirements, and visa chart delays. For instance, there are per country limits with a limited number of EB5 visas issued per country.If the demand is greater than the supply for nationals of a certain country then those nationals will face extra time delays. For this reason it is anticipated that Chinese nationals will face extra time delays by the middle of 2013.

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    Clem Turner

    Securities Attorney
    Answered on

    The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) lists its processing time for the I-526 application for a conditional green card as 4-6 months. You should be filing your I-829 application to remove conditions 2-3 years after you receive your conditional green card. Most EB5 Offerings will attempt to return your funds to you in 5 years, and almost all return your funds prior to 10 years.

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    Jinhee Wilde

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    USCIS processing time for I-526 (immigrant petition) is currently 8 months. The processing time for the National Visa Center to send the file to the Embassy/Consulate is another 3-4 months. I-485 Adjustment application to adjust to green card, if you are already in U.S. under a different visa category, the processing time for that is at least 6 months. Since I-526 cannot be filed until the investment is made, the quickest you will be able to get the green card is about 12 months after you invest and file the I-526 petition.

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    Stephen Berman

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    About 6 months. 6 months to one year.

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    Charles H Kuck

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Typically 10-14 months.

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    Angeline Chen

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Depends on the country you are from. But if you are from China, it can take over 14 months.

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    Jennifer Parser

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It takes about 8 months for a conditional green card approval and two years later, one files to remove the conditional green card status to become permanent. The EB-5 program for an investor takes about 3 ? years from start to finish for the permanent, non-conditional green card.

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    Ying Lu

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The current processing time is longer than before. For the I-526 petition, the average processing time is 8 months. After the I-526 is approved, if an investor is in lawful status in the U.S., he/she can apply for Adjustment of Status (I-485) to conditional Permanent Residence with USCIS. This process can take 6-12 months. If an investor is out of the U.S., he/she will apply for an Immigrant Visa at his/her home country Embassy or Consulate, which typically takes about 7-10 months or longer depending on the country. The I-829 filing period begins 90 days prior to the second anniversary of the grant of conditional resident status. Once the I-829 petition is filed, it can take 6-9 months for adjudication. The processing time varies case by case.

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    Anthony Ravani

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It really depends on the client?s cooperation. But if the client is very cooperative and provides documents that Attorney asks in a timely manner it takes about 8 months for approval. If there is consular processing it would be another 3-4 months.

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    Neville M Leslie

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    6-12 months for a conditional green card and approximately 2 years for the conditions to be removed.

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    Darren Silver

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It depends on several factors. Generally you are looking at 9 to 12 months at a minimum under current processing times.

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    Reza Rahbaran

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    This is contingent on whether the investor is in their home country or in the United States (where they may be eligible for adjustment of status) and whether they are they are from a country under U.S Treasury economic sanctions, (such as Iran or Syria), in which case they will need an OFAC license (Office of Foreign Assets Control) before transfering their investment funds to the United States. If in the USA, such as on a student visa, and eligible to adjust status in the US, then approximately 8 to 11 months. (If OFAC license required add 6 months). If in their home country, approximately 8 months for EB-5 petition to be adjudicated and approximately 3 months for consular processing. (If OFAC license required add 6 months).

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    Boyd Campbell

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The EB-5 program generally takes 5 years from start to finish.

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    Kate Kalmykov

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    USCIS processing times are fluid and change depending on the volume of applications received. Getting a conditional green card through the EB-5 program can take upwards of a year. The I-526 petition, commonly referred to as an EB-5, takes 5-8 months to be adjudicated by USCIS. Subsequent green card processing by the Department of State through a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad or Adjustment of Status in the U.S. generally takes between 4-10 months.