Quarterly Update from USCIS
October 14, 2010 Leave a comment
Today 10/14 the USCIS Office of Public Engagement hosted its quarterly EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Stakeholder Meeting by teleconference. Please consult the meeting presentation prepared by USCIS for the event, which includes useful updates and information about the EB-5 program, including the following statistics:
Regional Center Statistics
- There are currently 114 approved Regional Centers (RCs), operating in 34 states, inclusive of the District of Columbia and Guam.
- There are approximately 83 initial designation RC Proposals and 11 RC Proposals that request amendments to previously approved designation proposals pending with USCIS.
- The “target processing time” for RC designation proposals is four months while the current processing time is five months. Considering the proposal backlog, “additional resources” including one additional EB-5 supervisor and a “substantial” number of new Immigration Services officers will be dedicated to the EB-5 team at the California Service Center. New staff are to begin training this fall.
Investor Petition and Visa Statistics
Approximately 90% of the individual Form I-526 petitions filed each year are filed by Alien Investors who are investing in RC affiliated commercial enterprises.
EB-5 Individual Petition Filing Receipts FY05-FY10* Fiscal Year Form I-526 Petition Form I-829 Petition FY 2010 (preliminary)* 1727 690 FY09 1028 437 FY08 1257 390 FY07 776 194 FY06 486 89 FY05 332 37 *The fiscal year runs from 10/1 to 9/30. FY2010 figures are for the full fiscal year, but not yet finalized by the relevant departments.
EB-5 Visa Usage Fiscal Year Total EB-5 Visas Issued FY10 (Preliminary) 1,886* FY09 4,218 FY08 1,360 FY07 806 FY06 744 *The USCIS representatives on the call did not know why this number is so much lower than FY09, considering the steadily-growing number of petition approvals. On average, there are 2.5 visas approved per investor.
