Thursday, November 14, 2024

I-526 refusals by USCIS average 10.73%

EB-5 mmigrant investor must file an initial immigrant petition I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur) for two year conditional permanent residency with  supporting documentation to receive EB-5 immigrant classification.

During the I-526 filing stage, the immigrant investor must demonstrate his or her commitment to invest the capital, but does not need to establish the required capital already has been fully invested. The applicants must provide evidence that they have made a $500,000 to $1 million U.S. dollar investment of lawful capital in the new commercial enterprise.

 

According to USCIS statistics, I-526 refusals average 10.73%, about one in ten applications are refused. The refusal rate was at all time high of 20% in 2009 and in 2012, 15%. In Q1 2018 refusal rate stands at 10.4%

I-526 refusals

The most common reasons for refusals are

  • Evidence for clean Source of funds
  • Lack of sufficient documentation.
  • Investment not creating sufficient jobs.
  • Prior convictions or criminal record.

According to USCIS, the current processing time for

  • I-526 is 20-26 months
  • I-924 is 19.5 to 25.5 months
  • I-485 processing times
    • Miami FL (12 to 23.5 months)
    • New York – 10 to 14 months
    • Los Angeles – 4.5 to 25 months
  • I-829 time 30 to 39 months.

You can check the processing times here

 

The pending applications at a historic high in 2017 and in 2018 with over 24,000 petitions are pending for approval with USCIS

 

 

I-526 Received Pending Refused Refusal %
2008 1258 853 120 9.54%
2009 1031 514 208 20.17%
2010 1953 1125 165 8.45%
2011 3805 3347 372 9.78%
2012 6041 5018 957 15.84%
2013 6346 7131 943 14.86%
2014 10950 12474 1266 11.56%
2015 14373 17367 1056 7.35%
2016 14147 20804 1735 12.26%
2017 12165 24992 922 7.58%
Q1 2018 2862 24627 298 10.41%
Total 74931 118252 8042 10.73%

 

The Refusals of I-829 Petition by Entrepreneurs to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident at the lowest since 2015 around 2%.

 

I-829 Received Approved Denied Pending Refused
2008 391 161 69 454 17.65%
2009 437 350 57 735 13.04%
2010 768 274 56 1167 7.29%
2011 2345 1067 46 2395 1.96%
2012 712 736 60 1013 8.43%
2013 1217 844 44 1345 3.62%
2014 2516 1603 178 2075 7.07%
2015 2767 1067 11 4049 0.40%
2016 3474 1758 102 6309 2.94%
2017 2625 2589 55 6735 2.10%

 

I-485 applications for Q1 2018

  • Received 33,320
  • Approved: 30,472
  • Denied: 2,142
  • Pending: 142,577
  • Refusal rate: 6.4%

EB-5 Application Process

1. File Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur

2. Following approval of the Form I-526 petition, either:

  • File Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with USCIS to adjust status to a conditional permanent resident within the United States, or
  • File DS-260, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, with the U.S. Department of State to obtain an EB-5 visa abroad to seek admission to the United States.

Upon the approval of a Form I-485 application or upon admission into the United States with an EB-5 immigrant visa, the EB-5 investor and derivative family members will be granted conditional permanent residence for a 2-year period.

3.  File Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, within the 90-day period immediately before the second anniversary of the EB-5 investor’s admission to the United States as a conditional permanent resident. If USCIS approves this petition, the conditions will be removed from the lawful permanent resident status of the EB-5 investor and any included dependents.

Prabhu Balakrishnan
Prabhu Balakrishnan
Founder of Citizenship by Investment News. Chief Editor with over 15 years experience in PR and News publishing. He Loves writing about citizenship, residency and wealth migration. CIP Journal is a Leading publication founded in 2017 bringing latest news from CBI/RBI market.

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