Questions and Answers > EB-5 Investments

What is the processing time for the I-526 Petition?

We hear that the EB5 Investor Visa processing office is now located in Washington, D.C. with additional adjudicators. What is the estimated new time-frame for I-526 processing? After obtaining conditional Green Card approval, what is the time frame for getting a green card from the U.S. Embassy of the current residence of the applicant? The U.S. needs more investment and the creation of new jobs to support a healthy economy and they should reduce the time-frame for issuing conditional Green Cards to encourage and attract more investments.

Answers

• Mona Shah

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 13, 2013

  The processing times are listed on the USCIS website. They are presently 6-8 months. Consulate processing times vary but are usually anywhere between 4-6 months.

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 12, 2013

  Latest processing time report shows that the California Service Center is processing I-526 petitions filed March 16, 2012 or earlier.

• Igor Serbinin

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 7, 2013

  If your I-526 is filed with all of the necessary supporting documentation AND USCIS have no issues with source of the money and purpose of the investment you can expect adjudication within 6 months. How long it will take from approval notice received by the Consulate to schedule and interview depends on particular consular post but it happens rather quickly; should not be more than 4 weeks in any case. If you go by Regional Center route they would have all the statistics.

• BoBi Ahn

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 7, 2013

  Although the USCIS is making efforts to improve the process, current processing time for I-526 adjudication is approximately 12 months from filing. IN terms of the time frame for obtaining your lawful permanent residence status through U.S. Embassy processing after the I-526 is approved, the time frame varies depending on the consular post that your process your case through ? it can range from 6 months to 12 months depending on the backlogs of the Embassy/Consular post.

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 7, 2013

  Processing of I-526 petitions by USCIS currently takes about 8 months. Longer delays may take place which depends on the volume of the cases being processed. Once your I-526 petition is approved by USCIS, you will apply for an immigrant visa through a US embassy, a process which takes on average approximately up to 6 months. Your immigration attorney should help you with the consular processing step as well. After approval of the immigrant visa through consular processing, you as the principal investor and your family (spouse and unmarried child(ren) under age 21 (if any) at the time of filing of I-526) will arrive in the United States on immigrant visas and will be admitted as conditional green card holders. You should receive your conditional (2-year) green cards and social security cards by mail within approximately a few weeks to a month of your arrival in the United States. When your immigrant visas are issued in your passports, they will be valid for 6 months and you have this time frame to arrive in the United States to be admitted as conditional permanent residents. Your immediate family members can either arrive with you or follow to join you. Delays in processing of I-526 petitions are presently a widely discussed topic and hopefully changes will be seen soon.

• Taher Kameli

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  Between 6-8 months.

• Ed Beshara

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  The processing or adjudication time of an I526 petition currently takes several months. However there is no predictability when estimating the processing time as there is substantial inconsistencies with the processing times. A solution for faster processing time is to use an experienced EB-5 Attorney in regard to the preparation if the I526 petition. Once the I526 petition is approved, another few months will be needed to prepare the forms for filings for the U.S. Consulate approval of the Conditional Permanent Residency.

• Steven Anapoell

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  Currently, 6-8 months.

• Roberto Ortiz

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  The current processing time for an I-526 is about 8 months. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.

• Larry J Behar, Esq

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  The issue of processing time for EB five applications is still undetermined. The government is in the middle of a move to Washington DC and we are unsure how long this will take. You have a very clear and logical understanding of how the program should work however we are saddened that the reality is causing significant delays. We do not estimate any initial application to be less than six months of review plus consular processing thereafter. Occasionally we are surprised on applications where there is a track record and a history of prior review by the immigration Department on prior cases. This is rare however.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  9.7 months, California Service Center. After obtaining green card, you file to remove the condition after 2 years.

• Margo Chernysheva

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  I cannot agree more with your comment about moving the US economy and shortening the processing time. However, the current official processing time for an I-526 is 12 months. It was 8 months just a short while ago and now it is 12 months. It may move again next month so I would suggest you to log onto USCIS?s processing time table and see what is the I-526 processing time is. Some applications are approved sooner but the official data is 12 months as of today.

• Clem Turner

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  At this time, the USCIS website has not provided any updated information that indicates that the I-526 processing time has been reduced from the current estimates of 4-6 months.

• Lei Jiang

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  About 9 months.

• Charles W Pley

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  Most recent USCIS update shows 8.6 months (this is as of Nov 2012). As you noted USCIS is adding resources, but intake (new applications) is also up.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  The processing unit for EB-5 has not yet moved to Washington, D.C. The current processing time for I-526 is 8-9 months. After obtaining the Immigrant petition (I-526) approval, you must pay the Visa fee and submit Immigrant Visa application (DS-230). After the DS-230 is submitted, it takes 3 months to get the Immigrant Visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate to obtain the Immigrant Visa (permanent residency). Thus, the total time you should expect is about 12 months. I agree that USCIS should reduce the time-frame. USCIS states that it is working on reducing the processing time by hiring more economists, adjudicators and streamlining the approval process, but it has not happened yet.

• Rakesh Mehrotra

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  Current processing time for I-526 is about eight months. Note this is an average thus individual petitions could take more or less time depending on how well they are documented. Hopefully this time frame would be reduced with the new office in Washington DC. Time frame for consular processing could be about six months. Yes I agree that the time frame for approving I-526 should be reduced given the need for investment in the US economy and new adjudication center in DC should help in this regard.

• Kate Kalmykov

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  Currently it is taking about 8 months to get a decision on the I-526. Consular processing takes on average 6-8 months. Both processes are subject to speed up or slow down based on the volume of petitions received and the scrutiny they receive from the adjudicating officer.

• Emre Ozgu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  9-12 months for the I-526. 3-6 months to get appointment at US Embassy.

• Neville M Leslie

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  60-90 days for processing application and 6-9 months for conditional green card to be issued.

• Daniel A Zeft

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 6, 2013

  The processing time for an I-526 petition is generally about 6 months.

• Reza Rahbaran

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 5, 2013

  I-526 adjudication takes approximately 6 – 8 months. Your consular appointment will depend on how busy your home consulate is. At peak times this may be 6 months or less.