EB-5 Processing Times & Stakeholders’ Call

EB-5 PROCESSING TIMES

As of January 20, 2015 USCIS’ posted average processing times are as follows:

1-526 13.8 months
I-829 10.5 months
I-924 10.3 months

As of February 11, 2015 USCIS’ posted average processing times are:

I-526 14 months
I-829 11.4 months
I-924 11.1 months

Thus, the processing times are getting longer.

EB5 STAKEHOLDER CALL

On February 26th, USCIS held an EB-5 stakeholder call only about the source of EB-5 investor’s funds. We had our lawyers and paralegals listening. The only interesting information provided is that it is not necessary to prove the source of the investor’s subscription fee paid to the Regional Center (usually $40,000-$50,000). This is a departure from past USCIS practice. We are unsure if the USCIS statement on the call is official policy or possibly a misstatement.

On the call, the following question was asked, “How far in the past must an investor go to provide substantial proof of the source of funds used to purchase real estate sold for an EB-5 investment? Few investors have many documents for old transactions. We used to think the cut off is 7 years, but some RFE’s (Requests For Evidence) seek documents for real estate purchased 10 years ago. USCIS’ answer: “We can’t answer this question as each case is different.” In other words, unfortunately no guidance was given.