We filed our I-526 petition on Oct, 14, 2019 but have not received the receipt from USCIS. Nor was the check cashed. What might have caused this delay? We are worried that if we don’t get the receipt by Nov. 21, we would be disqualified under the new EB-5 rule. Should we contact USCIS now? What should our next step be?
There is nothing unusual as in this case. On some occasions, the USCIS will not send receipt out until it has fully checked the petition and make sure it was correctly filed. However, some time, the USCIS might reject a petition if was not properly filed. Unless you have received a rejection notice, do not worry about it and, in fact, you can check through the toll-free number of the USCIS customer service the status of your case.
You do not have to receive the receipt before November 21, but check to make sure the filing fee is correct, for example. It can take a few weeks to get the receipt. Hopefully, you have the FedEx receipt.
Even if the receipt gets issued later, they should credit you for when it arrived in their office. So even if it comes in another month, which is unlikely, the receipt notice should say October 14 or 15. It can take USCIS up to a month sometimes to mail receipt notices.
You should be fine if you have the courier receipt or other proof of timely delivery.
As long as you have proof that you timely file the petition, there should be no problem if there is a delay in issuing receipt notice or cashing your check.
As long as they actually received the case before Nov. 21 you will be OK. When you get the fee receipt, it will show the date they received it. If you sent it by couriers such as FedEx or UPS, you should be able to track the package.
Something does not seem right here. The EB-5 unit generally cashes the checks within three days of receipt of the package. The I-797 is sent out the same week. Do you have the confirmation from the courier that the package was delivered to the correct place? If this were my case, I would refile it for my client.
I would refile the petition with new signed forms and a new filing fee check. If they have not cashed the check, it makes me think they either rejected the filing or it got lost. If they end up accepting both, you could lose the second filing fee, but that is less than investing $900,000 or $1.8 million. Check and make sure you filed the most current version of the forms and your filing fee was in the correct amount, and drawn on a U.S. bank. Have your attorney double and triple check for reasons the filing might have been rejected. We have heard of small errors like the ones I just mentioned cause a petition to be rejected. If the petition is not received and accepted by USCIS on or before Nov. 20, you would be subject to the new regulations.
