USCIS EB-5 Stakeholders Meeting Provides Updated Statistics

According to the latest EB-5 program statistics based on preliminary data for the second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2012, USCIS received 2,771 I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur) petitions and had approved 2,101 and denied 384 so far. This was an 85 percent approval rating, compared to an 81 percent approval rating for all of FY 2011 and an 89 percent approval rating for all of FY 2010. As of the second quarter of FY 2012, USCIS had received 375 I-829 (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions) petitions and had approved 522 and denied 24 so far. This was a 96 percent approval rating, matching a 96 percent approval rating for all of FY 2011 and exceeding an 83 percent approval rating for FY 2010.

USCIS also noted that as of March 31, 2012, processing times were reaching 6 months for an
I-924 initial application (target is 4 months), and were reaching 8 months for an I-924 amendment application (target is 4 months). USCIS recently approved four new regional centers: the California Regional Center, LLC; Las Vegas EB-5 Immigration, LLC; New York City Real Estate Regional Center, LLC; and Lone Star Regional Center, LLC. The full list of RCs by state is available at http://www.uscis.gov/eb-5centers/.