Industry-specific resources for COVID-19
April 1, 2020 29 Comments
This post begins to collect practical resources for project companies and investors who are concerned about specific COVID-19 business impacts, stimulus effect, and economic outlook in sectors that particularly use EB-5 investment.
Commercial and Multifamily Real Estate
- Yardi Matrix webinar COVID-19’s Impact on Commercial Real Estate. Live webinar Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. PDT. Hurry and register for this one today because it’s free live, while the recording will be available to paid members only. I have high hopes for this webinar because the April 1 Yardi Matrix webinar on COVID-19’s Impact on Multifamily Real Estate was really excellent — very substantial, constructive, focused, and practical.
- CBRE Flash Call: COVID-19 What Should Occupiers be Focused on Now? (recording and notes available from a call on March 27, 2020)
- CBRE Flash Call: COVID-19 Impact on Multifamily Real Estate (recording and notes available from a call on March 27, 2020)
- CBRE Flash Call: COVID-19 Impact on Commercial Real Estate (recording and notes available from a call on March 18, 2020)
Hotel Industry
- STR webinars on COVID-19: Hotel Industry Impact. Weekly webinars available with U.S. and Canada performance updates every Thursday.
- Marcus & Millichap report Coronavirus Hospitality Special Report: 2020 Outlook (March 2020) (available with free subscription)
- HVS article The Importance of Financial Relief for the Hotel Industry (March 20, 2020)
If you want to better understand the risks facing and help available to a particular EB-5 project, I suggest not only looking at industry-specific analysis such as the above, but also consulting resources from the state, county, and municipality where the project is located. Here in Utah, for example, state and local government and private organizations have been very aggressive and proactive in addressing the COVID-19 economic challenge, supplementing resources available at the federal level. The near-term and long-term outlook for a business will vary depending on its location as well as industry, so location and industry resources are helpful. EB-5 investment is less material to the outlook, so immigration consultants are less helpful here.
EB-5 Updates 
Hi Suzzane
have you heard any i 526 approved recently ? because of the covid 19 ? i do not seeing any activities,
i am in US and my i 526 priority date is spt 2017 ( direct investment )
any suggestion how i can drove usci attention we had filed inquiry few month before but no reply even after we tried to submit again but it says existing inquire still pending, any time frame you think about adjudication ? i am Indian
Yes, I know of 11 I-526 approvals in the last month — mostly 2017 filing dates, but some 2018 filing dates too. USCIS should be processing or have already processed September 2017 priority dates, if they were following the process they say they follow. So you have good basis to continue inquiries and possibly consider litigation. Talk to your lawyer about options.
thanks for your reply
Hi Suzanne, My priority date is Apr 2017 and have done Direct investment from India. Is there a way to submit a direct inquiry with USCIS as it seems the general inquiries are only available for the cases that is outside the published processing times.
Thank you.
According to USCIS’s published I-526 data, there were about 22,100 I-526 pending when you filed in April 2017, and over 25,000 I-526 have been adjudicated since then. This data proves that your petition has been unfairly left behind, regardless of what the processing times page says. You should talk to your lawyer about the process for making inquiries and litigation if necessary. If your lawyer would like a data-based analysis to demonstrate that your petition is now out of order and unreasonably delayed, I can provide that.
Hi Suzanne,
Would this also be applicable to a petition filed in Oct 2017 or is it not yet unreasonably delayed?
Thanks
USCIS reported about 24,992 I-526 pending as of October 1, 2017, and 19,795 I-526 processed From October 2017 to September 2019. Completion rates since October 2019 haven’t been reported yet, but unlikely to be nearly 5,000 completions. So those numbers alone don’t demonstrate unreasonable delay. However, it is possible to show that in fact many petitions filed in 2018 have already been adjudicated, and that your petition should already have been adjudicated if USCIS hadn’t drastically and unreasonably reduced volumes in 2019. You could talk with a lawyer about your options.
My petition from Sep 2017 progressed (into an RFE…) after we submitted a case inquiry. I’ve heard from other people that some I-526 get lost in the internal USCIS processes and get forgotten.
I’ve heard the same, and agree about the advisability of submitting a case inquiry just to help make sure that the petition did not fall through the cracks.
Hi Suzanne/MP, I am in same boat. My priority date is Dec 17, 485 filled in the month of Apr 2018 Calif processing ctr. (52 months) national avg (13 months).
I cannot submit general inquiry due to processing time being 52 months .
EAD’s are under processing for more than 8 months.
Hope my case helps investors understand timelines
Thanks the update all the eb5 category have to file i485 in california or they have a choice suzanne can you please input your thoughts
You can find the current information on I-485 filing locations here https://www.uscis.gov/i-485-addresses
i am considering to do congressional inquire, how do i prove to congressman office that some i 526 filed in 2018 has been adjudicated and my spt 2017 still pending ? if you willing to provide me then i can contact you by email
Hi V J,
Did you submit your first inquiry through online on USCIS or through Lawyer?
Thanks.
through Lawyer
I’m not sure how much proof you need to put into a Congressional inquiry. Often it’s just a simple request the liason to help inquire with USCIS about the case status, considering an obviously long wait. But you might discuss with your lawyer what specifically to say in the Congressional inquiry. If you’d like a data-based analysis and resources, email me.
Hi Suzanne – any idea when an I-526 with a PD of July 2018 can be expected? India filing. Thanks much!
Based on the numbers I would expect this year, probably within the next three months. I could go into a detailed explanation based on official data and pronouncements, but have hesitated to put up my paid service again as I can only analyze order and the fact may be more a matter of chaos and luck at the moment.
I really hope so! It’s been a long and uncertain wait. Thanks for your reply. Please sign me up for your paid service as soon as you’re ready to go.
Are you assuming a processing rate close to:
4673 per year (based on FY2019 taken as a whole)
or
2250 per year (based on the last 2 quarters of FY2019)
?
My guess for Devika is based on a guess of average 900 I-526 adjudications per month going forward (similar to FY2019 Q1). I guess at least this much improvement over later 2019 based on personal observation of recent increased adjudication volume plus the USCIS historical average processing times report for 10/1/2019 to 1/31/2020, which suggests significant improvement over FY2019 (reported average 12.6 months vs 19.8 months). The guess is further based on an estimate that approximately 3,000 I-526 remain pending with priority dates before July 2018, and from countries other than China. (Estimate based on known backlog as of 1/1/2019, and guesses about distribution of adjudications since then.)
Wow, that’s a massive number! It’d be amazing if things have picked up that much at IPO.
I missed the data point from the historical average page.
Thanks for the detailed reply.
This is a little puzzling though: So far in FY2020, the ‘average’ time has been 12.6 months and the ‘median’ time has been just over 30 months. Those numbers don’t add up… I’m looking forward to next month’s numbers. A drop in the median time would be awesome.
I have a July 2018 PD and haven’t received the I526 either.
I am a January 2018 PD and also and haven’t received the I526 either .
My one is Apr 2017 (Brazil), and nothing yet…
is your investment direct or threw regional center ? and is it 500 k or 1 M my was direct and if your not adjudicated then my is in September, hope to hear soon
500 k Regional Center…
Hi Suzanne, Ronil here. My priority date is Jan 19, 2018 (regional center). I am currently In the United States getting my masters. I graduate in May 2021. My aim is to get the i526 approved before I graduate so that I can get the EAD. Is it possible for my I526 to get approved by May 2021? I am pretty sure once my I526 gets approved, I will be able to apply for EAD immediately as Visa for India is current.Is it possible to send an enquiry to USCIS even before the estimated processing time range? Your help would be appreciated! Also, just FYI, I have been following this blog since 2017 and I am so thankful for this website. You have been doing a tremendous job 🙂 Your opinion would be greatly apprecated! Thanks!
My lawyer said last month that for india, it’s still January 17 adjudication are happening. So have to wait for another year or so.