Update on EB-5 processing times and changes
July 13, 2011 2 Comments
For those of you who didn’t listen in on the 6/30 EB-5 stakeholder’s meeting with USCIS, here’s the sad news:
Regarding the proposed changes to USCIS’s processing of EB-5 cases and the possibility of premium processing, Director Mayorkas reported that USCIS leadership needs an indefinite amount of time to review 170 pages of comments received on the proposed changes and consider implementation. He said that USCIS cannot provide even a ball-park estimate of when this review might be completed or when changes might begin to go live. He expressed his commitment to making things happen “as soon as possible,” and suggested that changes might be rolled out in stages.
Regarding current processing times for I-924 and I-526 applications, Sasha Haskell announced that the posted “processing times” refer to the amount of time it takes a petition to reach an adjudicator’s desk, not to turn-around times. Furthermore the service cannot estimate how long the review process takes.
EB-5 Updates 
USCIS will never apologize for anything.
The problem is that USCIS takes so long to make any changes in its policies, and this will create more uncertainty about the EB-5 Program and deter further EB-5 investments.