USCIS Guidance for RC Lapse (updated)
June 30, 2021 74 Comments
10/4/2021 UPDATE: USCIS published revised guidance on October 4, 2021.
7/1 UPDATE: USCIS just replaced its guidance on the USCIS website page for Approved EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Centers with a new message that now says regional center Form I-485 and I-765 filings will not be accepted during the lapse. (The message is now also repeated on the main EB-5 page, the Form I-924 page, and the Form I-526 page.) The I-485 change is odd, since Department of State is accepting regional center visa applications, per the July 2021 Visa Bulletin. I’m copying below the guidance on 7/1, while keeping my original 6/30 post that records what USCIS said yesterday. Who knows how often I’ll need to update this post going forward, as USCIS changes its mind.
Statutory authorization related to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program expired at midnight on June 30, 2021. This lapse in authorization does not affect EB-5 petitions filed by investors who are not seeking a visa under the Regional Center Program. Due to the lapse in authorization related to the Regional Center Program, USCIS will reject the following forms received on or after July 1, 2021:
Form I-924, Application for Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program, except when the application type indicates that it is an amendment to the regional center’s name, organizational structure, ownership, or administration; and
Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, when it indicates that the petitioner’s investment is associated with an approved regional center.
In general, we will not act on any pending petition or application of these form types that is dependent on the lapsed statutory authority until further notice. If you were issued written correspondence regarding your petition or application on or before June 30, 2021, you should review the written correspondence and respond by the due date (as applicable). Although USCIS is unable to review your response at this time, we will receive and maintain the response for review if circumstances change.
We will continue to accept and review Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, in the normal course, including those filed on or after July 1, 2021.
We will begin rejecting all Forms I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and any associated Forms I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Forms I-131, Application for Travel Document, based on an approved Regional Center Form I-526.
We will provide further guidance to the public if circumstances change or further guidance becomes necessary.
https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers/approved-eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers
Original 6/30 post:
The USCIS website page for Approved EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Centers was just updated with this statement:
Alert: Statutory authorization related to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program will expire at midnight on June 30, 2021, unless Congress reauthorizes it. A lapse in authorization does not affect EB-5 petitions filed by investors who are not seeking a visa under the Regional Center Program.
In the event of a lapse in authorization related to the Regional Center Program, we will reject the following forms received on or after July 1, 2021:
–Form I-924, Application for Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program, except when the application type indicates that it is an amendment to the regional center’s name, organizational structure, ownership, or administration; and
–Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, when it indicates that the petitioner’s investment is associated with an approved regional center.
In general, we will not act on any pending petition or application of these form types that is dependent on a lapsed statutory authority until further notice. If you were issued written correspondence regarding your petition or application on or before June 30, 2021, you should review the written correspondence and respond by the due date (as applicable). Although we cannot review your response at this time, we will receive and maintain the response for review if circumstances change.
We will continue to accept and review Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, in the normal course, including those filed on or after July 1, 2021.
We will continue to accept Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, based on an approved Form I-526. However, in the event of a lapse in authorization, we will be unable to act on any Form I-485 based on an approved Form I-526 associated with an approved regional center unless a visa through the Regional Center Program is reauthorized.
We will provide further guidance to the public if circumstances change or further guidance becomes necessary.
https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers/approved-eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers
EB-5 Updates 
It is sad to read such the articles, they create wrong view on the program (EB5) that ripped us off:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/30/immigrant-investor-program-eb-5-like-the-wicked-wi/
It seems that we are just bunch of rich bastards who earned their money on hard labor working people and then decided to buy the US passport for a penny. Welcome to America guys.
To be honest, the EB-5 regional center program has been abused by a nexus of fraudsters, and the article seems focused more on that than the investors who are being ripped off.
Personally, I switched from EB-2 to EB-5 because there were huge backlogs for India born applicants in the EB-2 category. Apparently, there are many like me. Employment based immigration has been broken for a while and needs to be reformed.
Editing my comment now that I see that the WA post story is not a story by a journalist but an opinion piece by David North, representing an extreme anti-immigration lobby group. Nothing but crude smears can be expected from that corner.
The Washington Times (not to be confused with the Washington Post, which instead is a reputable newspaper) is a far-right rag Pay absolutely no attention to it.
Well, Washington Post is not a reputable newspaper. Is a far-left, extremist propaganda paper. No attention should be given to it. Has been proven time and time again.
Suzanne, do you suspect they will pause I131 and I765 adjudications as well for those with a pending I485?
That is an open question right now. I believe AILA will try to find out, and I’ll share the answer as soon as I hear it.
Hi Suzanne, thanx for timely updates on EB5.I have been parallel filed I485
EB5 I485 March2021(approved I526 NOV2020) and EB3 I 485 Nov2020
Eb3 moves fast and current in July Visa bulletin. At what time I need to withdraw one of I 485
Any advise? And when can I get my fund back(4 yrs in next Oct)?
Thank you, Suzanne. Not able to get clarity on this yet so any info on process around pending EAD/APs would be much appreciated!
The USCIS guidance only specifies that they won’t accept new EAD, but doesn’t say they won’t act on pending applications. Some lawyers say that the EAD can and still will be processed. I look forward to hearing this proved by experience. It will be hard to tell, since EAD/AP approvals were so slow anyway.
Hi Suzzane,
Now that the EB-5 Regional center program is program is expired, What about direct EB-5 I526 petition process timing?
Any updates direct eb5 i526 processing timing?
Dude. Give it some time. Not even 24 hours have passed. Suzzane is quite prompt with sharing the data when she has it. The data you want does not even exist right now!
Hi suzzane,
I also see that Direct Eb-5 is not affected so does that mean they will process Direct Eb-5 I526 petition?
My priority date is Dec-2019 direct Eb-5… when can I except my eb5 to be processed? In 3 months or end of this hear?
RM, I responded to this question in blog comments the first and second time you asked, discussing the various possibilities. I do not know how IPO will arrange its processing resources, only have guesses about what they could do. If you want to discuss further, please email me rather than repeating the question here. I don’t want to have to block your comments as spam. Thanks.
Hello Suzanne,
Could you please help me to clarify my immigration situation in which I’m right now.
I feel kinda confused, because recently my immigrant visa interview has been scheduled on July 27, but my visa category (EB-5 Regional Center) is ‘Unavailable’ at this moment.
Does it mean that my immigrant visa can be issued despite that EB-5 Regional Center Program hasn’t been reauthorized yet? Or my visa interview eventually will be canceled due to the unavailability of my visa category? Any hint?
The one thing that’s certain is that the EB-5 regional center visa cannot be issued to you so long as the category is “U.” However the visas are not actually issued at the interview. So it’s possible that DOS could still do interviews during the lapse, as a sensible decision to use time to help with consular backlogs, and only wait to issue the visas later when the program is reauthorized. On her webinar yesterday, attorney Carolyn Lee considered this possibility. Or maybe that’s not the plan, and DOS is just scheduling interviews now in hopes that the RC program will be reauthorized in the next few days, and will cancel the interview if the reauthorization doesn’t happen in time. I do not know. Please keep us updated on what you hear/find out related to your interview.
Hi Suzanne, thanks for the quick updates!
Maybe it is too early to ask, but can we expect a lower backlog and faster turnaround time for I-829 applications since this is the only form the IPO can adjudicate now?
In fact, the 2018-2019 lapse caused some disruptions on the IPO’s operations so that all forms were further delayed. Not sure what will happen this time. What are your thoughts? Thank you so much!
+1. I hope we have at least some solace if headcounts were relocated to clearing the existing backlog. If we could get through the 2018-2019 lapse and the COVID delay
Guys we are now vested and kneed deep in this. All we can do is wait….. and pray. I believe and very confident that it will be back on. It only makes economic and political sense for the USA.
USCIS not accepting new i526s until program is reauthorized may be a blessing in disguise. Since the industry wont have access to new investor money they may be more receptive to a speedy compromise with the integrity measures camp. I know this prevents new willing investors from investing their money in the program but that is probably for the best as the program as it stands is shrouded in too much uncertainty to have ones money locked in it.
New i526 for Direct investment as well?
The alert only applies to regional center petitions. Direct investment and direct I-526 are not impacted by regional center program lapse.
This made my day. Thank you
I agree with you and i find it extremely unethical for USCIS to bury these announcements in a corner of their website with stealth mode edits the next day. They could have very well put this alert on their main news page. The least they can do for future investors is be transparent about these changes in a process where a lot of money is at stake.
Seriously. So unprofessional. And USCIS had plenty of time to prepare the guidance, knowing the need was coming.
Guys, watch this. Just saw it in my mailbox.
Wow, the latest update from USCIS about i485 is devastating. They are going to throw us away from US, did I get it right?
Wow, the latest update from USCIS about I-485 is devastating. They are going to throw us away from US, did I get it right? Really? I have 3 kids and we are living here…
First, note that “begin rejecting” means “begin not accepting receipts.” It doesn’t mean “begin denying pending.” (My understanding, and I’m seeing lawyers agree.) However, even deciding to not accept receipts doesn’t make sense. Department of State is still accepting RC visa applications, per the visa bulletin. The RC program lapse only technically prohibits final action on visa applications, not processing short of final action. But I guess it’s no surprise that USCIS would grab at any excuse to shirk work.
Well, thank you for clarification Suzanne. I hope you are right, I’m not an English native speaker.
This language was tricky but i guess the key word is “reject”. As a layman, what i understand is that rejection means they will not let you file these forms – 485,131 and 765. For existing petitions, the language is weirdly ambivalent. However, note that have not used the word “deny” in their statement. “Denial” would mean they would start denying existing petitions. I am not a lawyer so take this fwiw.
Thank you, Suzanne, for the amazing work you do.
The Department of State is doing more than merely accepting regional center visa applications: it’s scheduling consular interviews, which, according to their own July bulletin, they are not supposed to do (final action dates for I5 are all U)!
A few hours ago I received a letter from NVC scheduling my consular interview for July 29.
How long did it take from the time your I 526 was approved? Thanx.
My I-526 was approved last November, so 8 months. But wait times varies wildly, since they depend on the consulates, and specifically on how long they have been closed or operating at reduced capacity because of COVID. Mine is the one in Naples, Italy.
What consulate is this ? We have heard of interviews from Malaysia and UK so far.
Same!! I got my interview date on July 27th yet apparently we can’t be issued an I-5 visa if not reauthorized.
It is pretty interesting but as Suzanne said earlier it could be because the NVC is scheduling appointments in-case the RC is reauthorized before them or because they would like to finish interviews and clear the consular backlog but they will not issue the visa until RC is reauthorized.
I guess we really have to wait and see.I hope in the mean time we get an extension of the RC or any good news before our interview date. Fingers crossed.
I don’t think they can conduct the interview if they cannot assign a visa. In normal circumstances, if an interview is successful, they withhold your passport, and then they return it to you with a stamp a few days later (by express courier). If the interview took place in July, and if the program got reauthorized, say, next January as part of the 2022 spending bill, they would be issuing visas to applicants based on 6 months old information. I don’t believe this is allowed.
The far, far more likely thing to happen is that they will cancel the appointment.
I believe it is indeed very likely to be postponed to later date but there is still a chance that they could conduct the interview.
They do actually have the authority to issue visas at a later date after the interview.
An example would be administrative processing. Sometimes people could do their interviews but not be issued their visa until many months later after the embassy finishes looking at their case and get an answer.
I think if we do conduct the interview and the RC is not renewed, they would either hold our passports until its renewed or they could tell us to mail our passports to them when its renewed. That’s just my guess, though I really hope it doesn’t come down to that and the program to be renewed.
Unless the program is reauthorized, they are going to cancel the interview, approximately one week before. I hope this is before the medical exam for you; it is for me, as the medical exam here in Italy always takes place the day before the interview.
I just received the following email from NVC, probably you’ve received it too:
“06-JUL-2021
Dear Sir or Madam,
You will soon receive information about the date and time of your immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate General abroad. However, please be aware that this visa interview appointment is tentative. Therefore, the National Visa Center (NVC) may need to cancel and re-schedule your appointment.
Your interview is for a visa in one of the EB-5 category pilot programs, which are employment-based immigrant visas for certain types of investors. By law, the current pilot program period ends on June 30, 2021, unless Congress extends the program beyond that date. This means that your visa interview appointment must be canceled if Congress does not extend the Department of State’s authority to issue this type of visa prior to your interview date.
Congress is currently considering such an extension, but we cannot predict when a decision will be made. If the program is extended beyond June 30, 2021, the cut-off dates for this visa category will immediately become “Current” for the month of July for all countries except China, which would be subject to final action date cut-off date of November 8, 2015, and Vietnam, which would be subject to a April 1, 2020 final action date.
Please plan on attending your visa interview on the date and time scheduled unless you hear from NVC that the EB-5 immigrant visa program has not been extended past June 30, 2021. If the program is not extended before the date of your interview, NVC will send you a cancellation notice approximately one week before your scheduled interview. We would then re-schedule your interview only after the U.S. Congress extends the authorization for this immigrant visa category.
Regards,
Director, National Visa Center”
I had an interview scheduled during the temporary lapse in 2018. They told me they could not interview me as long as the program was expired. Luckily the program got reauthorized just in time (Embassy emailed me at 6 or 7am to come of I had the chance, my interview was early in the morning). So as long as the program is not authorized they will cancel the interview unless something has changed. This was the email I got:
Please be informed that your appointment on February 12, 2018 has been cancelled. Your interview is for a visa in one of the EB-5 category pilot programs, which are an employment-based immigrant visa for certain types of investors. By law, the current pilot program period ends on February 8, 2018, and Congress has not yet extended it beyond that date. This means that your visa interview appointment must be cancelled since Congress has not extended the Department of State’s authority to issue this type of visa, prior to your interview date.
We will re-schedule your interview only after the U.S. Congress extends the authorization for this immigrant visa category.
Very helpful, thank you.
Thank you very much for the useful information!
How many days before your appointment did you receive the email canceling it?
Thanks for your input! This does make sense but they did send the cancellation email pretty late it seems.
We should do our medical examination soon but I’m worried now that they end up cancelling last minute and our medical exam becomes invalid and we have to redo it whenever our next interview is.
As a family, the medical exam is quite pricey so it would be disappointing if they did that.
What consulate is this ?
Well…
What does this mean – “We will begin rejecting all Forms I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and any associated Forms I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Forms I-131, Application for Travel Document, based on an approved Regional Center Form I-526.” – https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers/approved-eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers
“we will begin rejecting” = “we will begin not accepting (i.e. not giving receipts for incoming)”
So does this apply for I-485 applications submitted after 6/30/2021 or even those which were submitted before or on 6/30/2021. Asking this due to age out concern for my child. What would be the legal status of children in this situation?
>>“we will begin rejecting” = “we will begin not accepting (i.e. not giving receipts for incoming)”
So does this apply for I-485 applications submitted after 6/30/2021 or even those which were submitted before or on 6/30/2021. Asking this due to age out concern for my child. What would be the legal status of children in this situation?
The child status situation would be something to discuss with your lawyer. I believe there is flexibility on the “seek to acquire” requirement in cases where seeking to acquire is impossible due to reasons outside the applicant’s control. But I don’t know the legal nuances.
Now my wife and I can’t work (we’ve been waiting for EADs for 7 months), and we can’t leave the country either to work. We’re both going to lose our job offers and there’s nothing we can do beyond begging our congressional reps, but for an issue that seems to have no priority at this point. This is so disappointing. Create 10 jobs and just get jerked around 😦
I’m glad that you’re contacting your Congressional reps at least, because your stories are reason #1 to motivate Congress to get this fixed. I’m guessing that the jobs you and your wife would have been doing are jobs that your district will suffer for not having. Terrible situation!
Per discussions with different lawyers, USCIS will be adjudicating interim benefits (i.e EAD/AP) for pending AOS meanwhile.
Strangely, some I 526 were approved on July 1. Unless it was done on June 30 and uploaded on July 1.
Can u share ur PD and country from u applied
Mine is Dec 7, 2018, got approved June 28, Indian PP currently in US. But I was tracking cases on the tracking app, shows some July 1 approvals.
Was your petition Direct or thru RC?
Which tracking app? Can you share please? Thank you !
Case Tracker on iOS
This is list of updates dated from 2021-07-01 (I am not sure it is correct to show WAC number in public site, so I leave here only PD, also this data collected from 2015-2020 Fiscal year petitions only):
Priority Date Last Case Status ; Last Update
2018-12-10 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-10-11 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-03 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-04 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-06 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-07 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-07 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-07 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-07 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-10-05 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-10 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-12-13 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2019-05-21 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2019-06-03 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2019-09-09 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2019-10-22 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2019-11-13 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2019-11-18 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2016-12-08 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2015-01-16 Withdrawal Acknowledgement Notice Was Sent 2021-07-01
2015-07-06 Withdrawal Acknowledgement Notice Was Sent 2021-07-01
2015-07-22 Case Was Reopened 2021-07-01
2015-07-27 Case Was Reopened 2021-07-01
2015-09-22 Withdrawal Acknowledgement Notice Was Sent 2021-07-01
2016-04-25 Response To USCIS Request For Evidence Was Received 2021-07-01
2016-09-30 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2016-10-12 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2014-09-28 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2017-03-17 Response To USCIS Request For Evidence Was Received 2021-07-01
2017-11-03 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-03-22 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-03-23 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-09-06 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-09-12 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-09-26 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
2018-10-04 Case Was Approved 2021-07-01
I am also create some charts with all I-526 Petitions updates for 2015-2020 Fiscal year. My telegram Bot will post updates every week, you can find it here:
https://t.me/eb5stats/
Thanks its really great information can i know why they process 2019 petitions when 2018 cases are still pending are these 2019 cases of countries other than china Vietnam and India
Looks like they are processing Direct I526 petitions…. is that true?
Unfortunately all I can is just check data from WAC numbers. Inside USCIS site response I did not find any information related to country or I-526 type (direct or regional center). So I can not say what type of petitions is process or what country. This is stats for the LAST 90 days for 2015-2020 fiscal year petitions:
2015: Case Was Approved – 43, Case Was Denied – 8
2016: Case Was Approved – 36, Case Was Denied – 11
2017: Case Was Approved – 59, Case Was Denied – 34
2018: Case Was Approved – 145, Case Was Denied – 21
2019: Case Was Approved – 278, Case Was Denied – 5
2020: Case Was Approved – 8, Case Was Denied – 0
Also there are many other status changes (hundreds), like “Case Was Sent To The Department of State”, “Document Was Mailed”, “Notice Explaining USCIS Actions Was Mailed”, “Notice Was Returned To USCIS Because The Post Office Could Not Deliver It”, “Withdrawal Acknowledgement Notice Was Sent” , etc.
Hi Suzanne,
First of all, I really appreciate all the work and research that you do. You deserve all the appreciation and respect.
I and my wife had filed i526 (RC) petition back in March-2018, for which, an RFE was issued in April 2021. We responded to the RFE already and the petition is still not adjudicated, unfortunately.
Based on the USCIS guidelines, looks like they won’t take any actions on our response. (Am I right in my understanding?) – And so, my i526 is not going to be adjudicated and 3 years of my money, time and efforts were in vain? – Is there any likelihood that they will adjudicate i526 from the past, in the worst case that the RC program never get reauthorization??
What is the future now? How likely will the RC program be reauthorized and how soon? These are the questions I have. I understand you might not know the full details, but any insights or industry talks will be helpful.. as I am losing hope every passing day. Especially when it took so long and now this..
Bhavin, I suggest that you listen in to the various webinars being offered on reauthorization, if you are anxious to follow the progress. This is were I get all my information. I have recordings and future invitations here: https://blog.lucidtext.com/reauthorization/#events
Apparently a majority want the RC program reauthorized. So the program should of course get reauthorized — unless the effort is stymied by stupid political miscalculation, greed, and hubris. From my standpoint as an observer, I don’t discount any possibility at this point. I know that AIIA is advocating for provisions that will at least protect existing investors, no matter the outcome. Getting involved in the advocacy effort may help you to feel less hopeless.
HI Suzanne – in the past when the RC program has been reauthorized after a lapse have we seen an impact to subsequent USCIS processing times (specifically have we seen USCIS taking longer)?
The 2018 RC program lapse was cited by IPO Chief Sarah Kendall as an excuse for lower productivity/increasing processing times. It shouldn’t be an excuse to work less.
Hey Suzanne,
We originally had our interview date on July 27th, however, the US embassy has emailed us about refusing our I-5 visas today because we are ineligible to receive a visa due to the regional center expiry. Just wanted to update you.
We were told before by the NVC that they would cancel the interview a week before if not renewed but for the embassy to straight up refuse our visa is pretty scary. Does that mean we have to start all our visa process from scratch when the regional center is renewed?
Thank you for sharing this experience. I wonder what your lawyer has to say about the embassy email, and what it means? The word “refuse” can be hard to interpret the immigration context (see for example the USCIS EB-5 page, which talks about “refusing” I-485, which the lawyers say only means not accepting incoming I-485 filings). It seems odd/unlikely that Department of State would want/intend to send RC applicants back to square one, considering that the July Visa Bulletin anticipates the possibility of near-term reauthorization, and that the July Visa Bulletin still has Chart B open to regional center applicants to start visa applications even during the lapse. But it’s possible that embassy staff too are confused about what’s happening. Please keep us updated as you hear more!
We have emailed our attorney and still waiting for a response, I hope he knows anything. I will keep updating the blog once I receive more news.
In the meantime, I really hope we get reauthorization soon so we could finish from this mess. It’s becoming fairly annoying to keep guessing what will happen with us and very stressful!
Nonetheless, thank you very your insights. Its highly appreciated!
So whats next? Whats going to happen with re-authorization?