During 2015 alone, $4.378 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) was generated by the EB-5 program. That equals more than $1 billion per quarter. Comparing that to 2014, that is an increase of $1.82 billion.
IIUSA reveals that "in FY2015, more than 8,700 I-526 petitions were approved by USCIS. With a 77.8% increase from the last year, FY2015 is the first year that the Program has shown its capability catalyze local economic development across U.S. communities. That is almost $12 million in FDI every single day in FY2015. Since the Great Recession, EB-5, "the Program", has blossomed from $3.2 million in FY2008 to over $4.3 billion in FY2015, experiencing over 1,260% growth and attracting a total of over $13.05 billion in capital investment to the U.S in the past seven years."
Another significant accomplishment was the overwhelming increase in I-829 approvals. Last year, there were 1,067 approvals, with just 11 I-526 denials.
"A total of 2,767 I-829 petitions were filed to USCIS in FY2015, a modest growth of 10% from FY2014. However, the unprecedented volume of I-829 petitions that USCIS has received within the past fiscal year indicate an increasing amount of EB-5 investment is delivering its promise of creating American jobs, as well as helping foreign qualified investors to realize their American dreams of moving to the United States with their loved ones.
Furthermore, the average approval rate of I-829 petitions since FY2008 is over 92%. Particularly, the I-829 approval rate in FY2015 is a recording breaking 99%. The high approval rates for I-829 petitions evidence that the Program is creating actual economic impact both according to industry economists as well as the EB-5 adjudicators from USCIS."
Still, there were nearly 17,500 I-526 petitions pending and awaiting processing by USCIS, representing $8.68 billion in capital investment.
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