Are all the employment-based I-485s adjudicated at the California service center? What is the current processing time? Will it be faster for an investor who has already had the I-526 approved to attend the interview in a foreign consulate instead of adjusting his/her status in the United States?
Your location determines at which USCIS center your I-485 adjustment of status petition will be filled. The process may take several months. As of now, all I-526 petitions are being adjudicated in California. It is difficult to determine if consular processing is quicker than adjustment of status. If the client holds a legal status, it is recommended that he/she adjust status in the United States.
When applying for the I-485, you send the I-485 to the Service Center that is in your region. For example, if you live in Florida, you would submit your application to the Texas Service Center. Currently, the Texas Service Center is taking 6 months. You can also do it through consular processing and the processing depends on how fast the consulate in your country is processing the cases. In general, it can take 9-12 months. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Employment-based I-485 petitions are processed in various locations. The most common is the Nebraska Service Center. For EB-5 cases, however, it appears that most I-485 applications are processed at the California Service Center because that is where the I-526 petition file is located. Sometimes, for work flow or other reasons, the USCIS transfers applications to other locations to be processed. On occasion, the files are transferred to a local district office if a personal interview is required. That would be unusual in an EB-5 case. As for processing time, it is difficult to estimate in any given case which would be faster: adjustment of status or consular processing. For my clients, if they are in the United States in lawful status, we recommend adjustment of status.
All I-485 applications for adjustment are filed at remote USCIS service centers in the U.S. The processing time may take a few months. While the processing time for consulate processing time at the U.S. consulates will also take a few months.
Not all employment-based I-485 are processed in California Service Center. However, all adjustment based on I-526 are being adjudicated in California. The processing times vary from 4-6 months. NVC and then interview at the consulate/embassy takes about 4 months or longer depending on the country. If you are already here in the United States, then my advice is to file for adjustment I-485 so that you could get your work authorization and travel permit approved within 90 days.
Currently all are at CSC but soon they are supposed to be transitioned to an office in Washington. Usually consular processing is faster but either consular processing or adjustment are fine (Adjustment requires you already be in the U.S. in a legal nonimmigrant status.)
If you are in the U.S., the I-485 is sent to a certain service center depending on the state in which you currently reside and the process in which you are applying for. The processing times vary and cannot be guaranteed, but can take several months for processing.
