According to the USCIS website, it takes 27 to 40 months to process an I-526 application. I assume it is an average while taking the applications of investors from Asian countries into consideration. What about applications submitted by Africa-born investors? Given the relatively small number of applicants from Africa, will the processing time be shorter?
I-526 petitions do not consider country of origin. The processing time is due solely to the overall number of applicants and the ability (or inability?) of USCIS to handle the case load. After I-526 approval is when the country of origin matters.
I-526 processing times are not usually determined by nationality. We advise clients to expect around two years, but it seems some cases may take even longer.
The I-526 processing time is identical no matter what one's nationality happens to be. The estimated time is simply that. The rise and fall on a number of issues including the workload of the adjudicators, funding and training for more adjudicators, as well as overall demand. The estimated 27 to 40 months may only be the very high side. Again, there's no distinction, irrespective of the applicant's country of nationality.
There is no continental processing time for Africa. Just like all investors all over the world, each EB-5 petition is processed based on the national origin of the investor.
Unfortunately, that is the first stage of processing for everyone. After that, you have the consular process, which for an African will be faster than someone from China, Vietnam or another backlogged country.
Unfortunately, your country of birth does not affect the processing time of your I-526. The good news is that you will not be subject to retrogression. It is hoped that USCIS will begin to speed up their processing time soon.
The processing times are the same for all countries.
The processing time may be the same for an African-born investor filing an I-526. Until USCIS resolves its processing delays, all persons filing Form I-526 may experience similar wait times. Depending on the factors of your case, though, we could explore whether any expedite criteria would individually apply to you to obtain faster approval.
I think you might be getting confused with the rest of the procedures in the overall timeline. As far as I-526 approval is concerned, there is no difference between different countries of birth. There is no concept of "retrogression" when it comes to I-526 adjudication. There are, of course, many other individual applicant-related, project-related factors, and different factors that are taken into consideration by different adjudicators. The median of the processing times range, 27.5 to 49 months, which showing in the USCIS site, is probably much closer to 27.5 months than 49 months. I hope that helps.
The I-526 processing time is the same for all investors. It is not affected by country of origin. Some in the I-526 pool seem to be luckier than others, but it appears this luck is a matter of general disposition and not affected by the place of birth.
All EB-5 applicants go into the same line so the country of origin of the applicant does not affect the Form I-526 processing time.
