EB-5 Processing Statistics for I-526 and I-829 Petitions

USCIS has released an updated set of processing statistics for petitions filed under the fifth employment-based preference category (EB-5) for foreign investors.     It is interesting to note that the number of I-526 applications (for initial EB-5 green card) have more than doubled compared to 2010 (4,156 compared to 1,955) while the approval rate has remained fairly steady at around 80%.   The rate of I-829 filings (application to remove condition) have dropped off at 546 (compared to 2,345 and 768 for the previous two years).   The approval rate for I-829 has remained steady at around 90%.

Detailed EB-2 Processing Statistics

In addition to the general summary of EB-5 processing data, the report provides a breakdown of the receipts, approvals and denials all the way back to 2005, broken down by quarter.     It is interesting to note the trend of increasing I-526 filings starting approximately in 2008-2009, when the recession started.   For example, the current rate of I-526 filings has quadrupled in comparison to 2008 or 2009, while the approval rate has remained steady.    At the same time, when seen in conjunction with the I-829 (removal of condition) processing data, we see a high rate of I-829 filings in 2011 to early 2012, with a dropoff over the past two quarters of 2012.

Regional Center Applications

USCIS has released some information on the applications for a “regional center” certification.  In 2012, there were approximately 50-60 regional center applications in each of the first three quarters.    So far in 2012, there were only 30 regional center applications approved (with the remaining applications under review currently).