I-526 Processing Status
December 3, 2020 100 Comments
Under the threat of a potential law change that would re-organize the EB-5 visa wait line, people who currently face no visa wait are especially eager to know when they can receive I-526 approval and get visa applications filed. My timing consultation analysis calculates where IPO should be with I-526 processing for given dates on average, considering the composition and movement of the entire queue, official and unofficial guidelines for I-526 processing order, and anecdotal evidence. But a couple other sources also indicate which petitions are getting touched right now: the USCIS Case Processing Times page and the USCIS Check Case Status tool.
The USCIS Case Processing Times Report for Form I-526 currently gives an “estimated time range” starting at 27.5 months for countries with visas available. According to the claimed methodology, that report means that 50% of I-526 decisions in October 2020 were on cases less than 27.5 months old – i.e. filed more recently than June 2018.
The USCIS Case Status Online tool gives more current and specific information. A petitioner can enter his I-526 receipt number on this page to get a current status report for his individual case. Nothing practically prevents the petitioner or his app from also entering groups of receipt numbers, to see what’s happening with other petitions filed at around the same time. I don’t use this method myself but think it’s fair game for investors to do so, and several of my blog readers have shared the results of their investigations. The Case Status check method indicates that a large percentage of I-526 filed up through August 2018 have been assigned for adjudication and already seen action (at least an RFE), and that September 2018 I-526 are now being worked on. For example, see this analysis published by blog commenter Web. And thank you to others who have also shared their work with me.
With this in mind, if you filed I-526 before August 2018 and have heard nothing yet, you might talk to your lawyer about starting to pursue the available inquiry channels to make sure that your I-526 did not fall through the cracks. (The huge deviation in processing times shows that IPO in fact has all kinds of reasons for processing I-526 out of date order, but at least you know that you are out of order and can inquire accordingly.) If you filed I-526 in September 2018 or soon after, then you can look at I-526 filing trends to guess how much longer you may have to wait, considering the most recently reported processing speed (average 300 decisions per month) and that China I-526 from 2018 are not currently being assigned. (If much later, then one also needs to factor in the assumption that processing speed will probably change in the future.) Here’s a clip of data that I’ve collected from a variety of sources on distribution of I-526 receipts in late 2018.
| Filing Month | I-526 receipts from China | I-526 receipts from all Other Countries | Total I-526 receipts |
| July 2018 | 77 | 173 | 250 |
| August 2018 | 107 | 281 | 388 |
| September 2018 | 165 | 853 | 1018 |
| October 2018 | 120 | 538 | 658 |
| November 2018 | 58 | 239 | 297 |
| December 2018 | 82 | 706 | 788 |
EB-5 Updates 
Thank you Suzanne. Awesome as always !!!. I am one of the September 2018 applicants (INDIA). I have been in the U.S for the last 15 years and have probably held every type of visa. Finally hoping to get some certainty soon with the EB5.
Also, I can recommend your consultation service enough. the details are outstanding. In also loved the fact that you kept getting back to us with updates long after the initial consultation.
Hai rushil.. any update on your petition.
Hai rushil.. Any Update on your Petition
Hai rushil any update on your petition…
any update
Hey Suzanne, thank you so much again for the detailed analysis!
My question is the potential impact of this bill on i-829. I think a lot of analysis focuses on it’s impact on i-526 but would you have any insight into how it would impact 829? I’m asking as someone who managed to file it late 2019.
No impact at all on I-829. You already have the green card, and already used a visa number. The I-829 simply removes conditions on that green card, and does not involve applying for anything new or getting in under any new visa quota.
even if the bill dosnt become law you will face a long wait time as from july 2019 there tons of indian petitions because the increase i am in the same month of 2019
Thanks Suzanne. Happy to add that the last two days have seen good processing volume with atleast 30 applications processed for 3Q’18 PD and with 16 of them from 17-20th September 2018 PD.
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for all your analysis. I am Indian with July2019 I526 application. Would my application get impacted by this new bill?
How much time would it take for my I 526 to get approved?
Yes, your application could get impacted by the new bill. It depends on what language gets included in the bill with respect to effective dates and any savings provisions. If you want to request my timing consultation, we can delve into the detail on I-526 timing factors and visa timing factors that could affect you. https://blog.lucidtext.com/eb-5-timing/eb-5-timing-estimates/
Thanks, Suzanne! I’m confused as to where they’re getting the 14.1 months average historical processing time for FY2020 from, as that would imply some are being reviewed from 2019. Any idea what’s going on there?
See note 4 under the table on this page, which states that “These processing times, which combine data from all USCIS offices, are based on the length of time that an office’s application/petition receipts have been awaiting adjudication (pending).” In other words, it’s not actually reporting processing times, but average age of the inventory. Very different things. The average age of the I-526 inventory fell with the influx of new receipts ahead of the regulations deadline. https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt
Hi Suzanne, excellent work as always. One small typo: you said S. 386 when you most definitely meant S. 386.
Also, curious how the AoS language in the bill would benefit EB-5 applicants? After reading the bill, I think that language is very narrowly applied to EB1/2/3 only. But I am happy to be proven wrong.
I wasn’t sure out how to read that language; you’re probably right.
Hello Suzanne; lots of thanks for your valuable posts. My PD is Sep 2018 and I got REF on 25th Nov 20 but till now my Attorny not yet get any letter from USCIS. What should we do now?
Hai Baptist
As it was long weekend.. hopefully this week your attorney should receive notice from uscis.. on which date was your PD and which nationality….
Thanks, my PD 4th Nov 18 -Bangladesh
Hello Bappi,
I’m also from bangladesh, my PD October 2019. Please let me know once you get any result. I hope your result will be out within next 2-3 weeks.
Good luck!
Hi, just want to clarify, is your PD sept 2018 or Nov 2018 ? I am in Jan 2019. Thanks
Thanks; It was Sep 2018
Did your attorney received REF??
any update on your petition bappi…??
yes, he did and he is now going to submit the REF
‘s answer within 2-3 day! Do you know how long it will taken time for decisions after RFE replied!!
USCIS will respond with in 60days for RFE’s. as per my knowledge.
Suzanne ,
Thanks again for all that you do!
If this FHSA bill passes I expect a lot of WOM . When can one file ? Is 18 months reasonable?
Unfortunately, needing a decision ASAP isn’t a basis for WOM — the mandamus has to be able to argue unreasonable delay, and that one isn’t just trying to get ahead in line. You might discuss options with the lawyer, and when an unreasonable delay argument could be feasible. Hopefully for your situation, the bill will not pass now.
Ok Suzanne. Thank you .
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for all your analysis. I am Indian with Nov 2019 I526 application. Would my application get impacted by this new bill?
Yes. Though a Nov. 2019 date for India faces a long wait regardless, and I haven’t yet tried calculating the difference.
Hi Suzanne
I am an applicant from India with PD of May 2018, I got RFE which is asking me to verify my path of funds and also has several questions about project. Feels like the whole application needs to be sent again. I am really surprised that they have questions about investor funds as this information was submitted very clearly. Do you have any suggestions about how to resend this information… I mean should it be sent differently or send all the documents again the same way as we did before?
RFEs requesting documents and information previously provided are very common. It is easier for the adjudicator to send a pre-made RFE than to actually read all your documents to see what was submitted. The lawyer should know how to respond patiently.
Thanks Suzanne… appreciate your response !!
Hai AF.. any updates on your application.. any positive hopes…??
hai AF any reply on your REF’S.
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for all your detailed analysis. I am Indian with Feb 2019 I526 application. Would my application get impacted by this new bill?
Hi Zusanne
My PD is april 29, 2019 from Thailand. Would it be possible to get processed in the next 6 month or impacted by the new bill for long wait?
Thank you so much
Alex
Your filing date will likely not be processed in the next six months, unless IPO significantly improves productivity. The Fairness Act would mean a very long wait if it affects you, but depends on what if any language actually gets passed regarding effective date and savings provisions.
Hi Suzanne, as you would probably remember, my PD was 09/07/2018 (Indian born applicant) and my I-526 got approved on 11/23/2020. USCIS is in the process of informing NVC about my case. Is my case likely to be affected from a EB-5 visa issuance timing standpoint if this Bill were to convert into a law?
Hai CG hope you are doing well, Congratulation of your I526 Approval, are you residence of US, or staying abroad? can you message me to meiraj02@gmail.com to discuss about my case, according to your experience.
Sorry for going slight off-topic, but there’s a question that has been bothering me for quite some time. If Congress passes a law that raises the federal minimum wage to $15/h (it’s among the items of the Democratic agenda), aren’t most of the people in the EB-5 program screwed anyway?
By my calculations, the amount of money needed to keep 10 american workers fully employed for 2 years would become at least:
10 workers * $15/hour * 35 hours/week * 52 weeks/year * 2 years = $546,000
which is more than the $500,000 that most people currently enrolled in the program invested. Therefore, their I-829 would be automatically rejected, and they would be kicked out of the country after 2 years. Or am I missing something?
Investment is not an expense. The investment may generate revenue to subtract the expense.
Dear Suzanne,
Your analyzed information is totally correct. I’m Vietnamese and filled I526 in Sep 2018, I just got reply from USCIS with an RFE (related to path of fund/POF).
Could you please advise me something regarding to this RFE? This is easy one to explain or not?
If I pass the RFE, so when my case will be ready for visa interview?
Many thanks
Regarding RFE response, there have been many POF RFEs for Vietnamese investors recently, and your lawyer willo have experience dealing with them (or can consult with other lawyers who have this experience). I don’t work with source of funds myself, but did put a post about this recently https://blog.lucidtext.com/2020/10/19/aao-decisions-on-source-and-path-of-funds-appeals/. The visa interview question will depend on how soon consulates get back up to speed following COVID-19 restrictions.
Many thanks Suzanne. I really appreciate!
Asumming 3 months later, I will pass the RFE and get I-526 approval. Based on 1600 cases of Vietnamese await for visa interview at NVC at Nov 2020 and total visa availabe for Vietnam in Y2021 is about 1300 as estimated, so my visa may be ready in early Y 2022, right?
Please kindly advise if possible!
Thanks so much again!
There are two factors to consider: (1) how many visas are available to Vietnam in FY2020 and FY2021, and (2) how many visas are actually possible to issue to Vietnamese in FY2020 and FY2021 considering on-going consulate closures and general capacity questions. In his presentation to IIUSA in November 2020, Charles Oppenheim seemed to be estimating that it might be practically possible to issue up to 600 visas to Vietnamese this year and maybe up to 900 next year.
Thanks so much, Suzanne! It should be a good signal for Vietnamese Hopefully, Vaccine for Covid 19 has been started applying in the USA, so that USCIS will be working more productivity.
Hi Suzanne,
I am an Indian citizen with I-526 PD of 12/2018 and filed the petition to be a COS. Is there a chance the bill might affect my application?
Yes, it would affect you in the versions that I’ve seen. Some investors have been using this letter to advocate for at least a small protection to be added to the bill https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jD0aeerXJfJBpiwDzLWJ6fsltLcWvjyJqm-iUoja350/edit
Any update on your case? I also filled in 12/2018.
any update on your case?
Dear Suzanne,
Thank you for such a great post. My PD is in may 2018, and I received an RFE. Assuming that I will send back my RFE respond sometime in Jan 2021, how long would it take for the USCIS to approve my EB-5? Given the current timeline, would my conditional green card application be affected by the potentially new law?
Thank you
The normal time between RFE response and decision seems to be less than two months. The new law could affect you depending on what’s in the final version in terms of effective date and protections.
I sincerely hope the act won’t be passed. I am from one of the backlog country for the green card. I honestly cannot wait another 5 years. I maybe wrong, but I did not see the Act mentioning about EB5, just mostly EB1 EB3. Still, would this affect on EB5 program, and how?
The Fairness Act does not mention EB-5 specifically, but it deletes the country cap provision for the employment-based category as a whole, which would affect EB-5 as an EB category.
I’ve received the 526 approval, but delayed visa processing due to the situation with Covid and job prospects in the US.
Are applicants safe from this bill once the i526 has been approved or is NVC processing which gets you in line so to speak?
At least one past version of the bill included a savings provision that would protect people with petitions approved on the effective date, but it’s not automatic. I wait with bated breath to see what language if any gets put into passed legislation.
Hello Suzanne,
My priority date is September 11, 2018. I have received the I-526 approval on December 4, 2020. My birth country is Hong Kong.
Thank you for all of your hard work and analysis from the day 1.
Hello guys,
I’m little confused with two receipt number:
WAC2090004271 showing application received by October 4th 2019, WAC2090004273 showing case has been approved by January 28th 2020. is it really possible to get approve in 3 month?
Thank you
Yes, such rapid approvals are possible. The most common reason is an approved expedite request https://www.uscis.gov/forms/expedite-criteria
Good afternoon,
Knowing that the colleague above applied for the visa on October 4, 2019, having success in January 2020, having the receipt number wac209004273 …… we can assume that my i526 applied on October 10, wac20900081xx is close to be judged ??????
hai emran hope you are doing well, what is your pd and citizen….?
Hello meiraj,
My PD is october 4th 2019 and I’m from bangladesh.
Thank you for sharing this good news, and best of luck for the next stage.
Hi Suzanne
If an RFE for I 526 requests for evidence which has nothing to do with your case ( asking for details about loan/ gift when no loan/gift was taken at all) would that mean that the attorney might not have put things together accurately or adjucator is sending generic random questions? If there are concerns about attorneys handling of the case, can he/ she be changed at this stage?
Generic and inapplicable RFE language does happen. You should have a full copy of your original I-526 submission, and can assess the content. If there are concerns, it’s not impossible to change attorneys.
when did you file I-526 and birth of your country please?
Has anyone received approvals after December 12th, 2020. Asking for I-526 filed in Sept or Oct 2018.
Also, has anyone who is staying in the US and who filed I-485 adjustment of status received approvals in 3-5 months?
My priority date is 15th October, 2018. Waiting for I-526 petition approval
hai.. any update on your petition.. and which nationality you have.
Waiting for update. I am from India
My petition is approved on Feb25th – My priority date is Oct 15th, 2018
Congrats madhu.. r u residence of usa ???
congrats Madhu hope you has relief sleep..
my pd is 7th dec 2018 with Indian born,
can we talk more to know how close i will be
and what will the chances of my approval,
waiting for your reply…..
Thank you for the report. It’s great to see October 2018 moving!
Mine is Sept 2018 and I’m still waiting as well… Has anyone else heard about their case with September PD?
hai.. any update on your petition.. and which nationality you have.
Hai. Any update on your case. i also filled on 12/2018 Indian born.
If any Indian who is already in US & petition approved in that case, will his visa number be deducted from the country cap of 700 visa or not because he is already in US having another visa?
Hi Suzanne. Is the USCIS Case Check tool (individual report for each case) 100% accurate? I am asking because I see folks posting updates without attorneys receiving letters. I check my case almost every day but obviously do not speak with my attorney every day, so am just wondering if there is a situation where my case would be processed + a letter is sent to my attorney + the case check is not updated. Sep 18 priority date (week 1) getting concerned. Thank you!
Indeed, not 100% accurate. I have heard reports of people receiving the letter well in advance of case status update, while others saw the case status update far before receiving the letter.
Thank you! Have you ever heard of a case in which the checker simply never updated?
We are South African and submitted our I-526 on 22 July 2019. Any idea of when our case status will change from Application received?
dear claire it could be dec 2021.
My priority date is October 15th, 2018. Any idea which date I-526 petitions are getting processed now?
Last Week of September 2018.
My I-526 petition is approved today. I am from India and my priority date is October 15th, 2018
congrats madhu, and thanks for sharing, this will give us idea how
near are we… for adjudication….
Dear Can you message me to my email meiraj02@gmail.com
PD: 01 Oct 2018; Indian nationality; still waiting to hear back from USCIS 😦
But PD 15 oct 2018 received reply…
Exactly.
hai mehul any update on your petition.. can you message me on my email meiraj02@gmail.com
Yeah My petition has been reviewed and got an RFE.
RFE for SOF or any other ….
Hi Suzanne,
I will be filing my I-765 along with I-485. Can I continue work on I-765 receipt while my I-485 is being processed.
This is a question to ask your lawyer. Best of luck!
Hi Suzanne
My filing date August 2019, Any idea which date I-526 petitions are getting processed now
Hi Suzanne
My filing date August 19, 2019, from Bangladesh, Any idea which date I-526 petitions are getting processed now.
The USCIS Processing Time Page gives 31 months as the low end of the estimated time range for non-China I-526. That means that 50% of recent I-526 adjudications were of I-526 filed more recently than 31 months ago — i.e. more recently than November 2018. This matches what I’m hearing anecdotally — still mostly November/December 2018 decisions. Note that 1,808 I-526 were filed October-December 2018, so it is naturally taking a long time to work through them. From January to June 2019, 1,195 I-526 were filed, so those months should move more swiftly.