Why is there a backlog in I-526 processing times? - EB5Investors.com

Why is there a backlog in I-526 processing times?

I made my EB-5 investment in a regional center project and am waiting for I-526 approval. I have heard from multiple resources that the I-526 processing time as of August 2015 is more than 12 months. Is this backlog normal? Why is it taking USCIS so long to adjudicate EB-5 petitions? What chance is there that the processing times will improve?

Answers

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Unfortunately, this has been the normal processing time for the past several years. The program is very popular and demand has outpaced the staff available to process cases. USCIS is expanding the Immigrant Investor Program staff, but the processing times have yet to decrease. All we can suggest is patience.

John J Downey

John J Downey

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Not much chance of any improvement. The large volume of applicants has overwhelmed the staff. They are adding more adjudicators, but I do not see any improvement in the near future.

Dale Schwartz

Dale Schwartz

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Because the USCIS is so slow! They have promised to speed up the processing of EB-5 cases, but that really has not happened yet.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The actual backlog is more like 14 -15 months, not 12. Since each I-526 petition package is 1500 pages of complicated business documents as well as the investor's financial documents tracking dollar for dollar money movements for many years, the preparation of the I-526 petition takes time and also reviewing them by the USCIS officer will take time. According to USCIS, they have received over 12,000 petitions in Fiscal Year 2015 alone. This means even if they have 40 - 50 adjudicating officers reviewing these applications, they are reviewing over 200 - 300 cases per year. While we all would like to see the processing times be a lot shorter, given the volume of the cases from this very popular EB-5 program now, it is understandable.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

They have been over 13 months for some time - with the volume of filing we do not expect it to get faster for some time.

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