Recap of new EB-5 data and guidance (FY2024 Q1, NVC wait list, visa bulletin, Q&A, RC Audits, Ombudsman)

While I rushed to help clients wrap up business plans before the April 1 USCIS fee increase, the government has also been admirably productive. This post recaps my “to report” list of new EB-5 data and new EB-5 guidance published over the past month and a half.

USCIS publishes FY2024 Q1 Processing Data

The USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data page was updated last month with stats for EB-5 form receipts and adjudications in FY2024 Q1 (October to December 2023). As usual, I updated my Processing Data page with charts for the official quarterly performance numbers. I also updated charts of unofficially-obtained monthly performance data.

USCIS rendered decisions on 19 I-956F and approved 194 I-526E in Q1. The median I-956F processing time was 15.2 months. Processing volumes for pre-RIA petitions remained elevated (and got even better in 2024, according to my unofficial data).

Another 581 I-526E/I-526 were received in Q1, bringing the cumulative total of post-RIA petition filings to 3,401. It will be interesting to see what happens when all those people reach the visa stage, bringing spouses and children, considering the number of set-aside visas available.

DOS published November 2023 NVC Wait List

Department of State published the November 2023 NVC waiting list, providing a snapshot of how many EB-5 visa applicants were registered at the National Visa Center as of November 1, 2023.  The report shows that over 33,600 Chinese, over 1,600 Indians, and over 4,600 rest of world applicants were queued up for consular processing at the start of the fiscal year. The number of people qualified for I-485 status adjustments is unknown.

Visa Bulletin through May 2024

As of May 2024, the Visa Bulletin Chart A and Chart B dates for EB-5 are still the same as DOS set at the start of the year in October 2023. No surprise, considering how many people qualified for visas at those October dates. The April 2024 visa bulletin included a note at the end: “EMPLOYMENT-based categories: Very little to no forward movement is expected in the coming months…”

Visa Availability and Monthly Visa Issuance through February 2024

DOS has 14,169 unreserved EB-5 visas and 8,136 set-aside visas available to distribute in FY2024 (including carryover of unused set-aside visas).  

Monthly statistics show that in the first five months of FY24 (October to February), DOS issued 4,052 unreserved EB-5 visas (including 1,907 in Guangzhou and 286 in Mumbai). That’s an average total of 810 visas/month issued through consulates. Visa issuance will need to exceed an average 1,181/month overall to avoid wasting unreserved visas this year. We need to find ears for Carolyn Lee’s good point that visas carried over from the set-aside categories are outside the normal rollover cycle, and should never be lost to EB-1/EB-2 but stay with EB-5 until used by EB-5.

Zero reserved visas had been issued through consulates as of the end of February 2024. (I’ve heard of a few through status adjustment.) As a reminder, here are the codes for EB-5 visas, as defined by a posting in the July 2023 Federal Register.

Visa Classification		Petitions Filed Before March 15, 2022	Petitions Filed On or After March 15, 2022
5th Unreserved	Regional Center	I5, R5	RU
	Direct	C5, T5	NU
5th Set Aside Rural	Regional Center		RR
	Direct		NR
5th Set Aside High Unemployment	Regional Center		RH
	Direct		NH
5th Set Aside Infrastructure	Regional Center		RI

USCIS EB-5 Q&A Updated

The page EB-5 Questions and Answers (updated Dec. 2023) linked to the EB-5 Resources page was updated on April 1 to delete mention of biometrics fee in connection with I-956H, and again on April 3 to add a subsection titled “Legacy Form I-526 Months of Inventory Update.” The new subsection announces USCIS intention to add another data point to the USCIS Processing Times page: “months of inventory,” calculated as remaining I-526 inventory divided by average completions over the past six months. This makes sense, because what matters for prediction is not how long I-526 has taken in past experience (as reflected in the scary 80^th percentile data point reported on the USCIS page), but instead how long processing will take going forward (which will be a function of inventory and adjudication volume). “For example, for the month of March 2024, the 80th percentile processing time was 54.5 months while the Months of Inventory was around 14 months.” The Processing Times page has not been updated yet, but I look forward to the inclusion of this meaningful data point.

USCIS Guidance for Regional Center Audits

This week USCIS created a new EB-5 Regional Center Audits webpage for regional centers to learn more about the auditing process, including the role of the audit team, how to prepare for an audit, and participating in an audit. Bookmark the audit page so you don’t lose it, because it’s not currently linked to any of the main EB-5 pages on the USCIS website. The page includes a lot of helpful detail about the standards and process involved in an audit, and FAQ for regional centers and investors.

CIS Ombudsman publishes EB-5 Engagement Notes and Q&A

Since last year, the CIS Ombudsman has been aggressive in meeting with multiple EB-5 stakeholder groups and working with USCIS to get answers and solutions to EB-5 questions and concerns. The Ombudsman hosted an Engagement with USCIS on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program on October 30, 2023, and has now published the engagement presentation plus an extensive EB-5 Q&A on the engagement page. Apparently it took six months to get government signoff to publish these documents, and no wonder since they address hot button issues around RIA implementation, including USCIS policy for the investment sustainment period. Be sure to read the Q&A, which generously covers several points that aren’t addressed elsewhere and weren’t covered live in the meeting.