Friday, January 18, 2019 - USCIS is continuing to timely issue I-797 for regional center-affiliated Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur post the December 22, 2018, government shutdown. In addition, I-797 continues to display a priority date that matches the date the file was received by USCIS.
This is great news for petitioners of backlogged countries such as China and Vietnam or petitioners of countries expected to backlog in 2019 such as India. Petitioners can continue to file and obtain priority dates without waiting for the government shutdown to end. Because more prospective immigrants want lawful permanent residency through the EB-5 program than the limited numbers of immigrant visas allows, not everyone (China, Vietnam and soon India), can immediately get an immigrant visa. How long you must wait depends on your priority date. An earlier priority date places you and your family in the best position for visa availability in the immigrant visa queue.
Please note, that as of December 22, 2018, there is a hold on adjudication of regional center-affiliated Forms I-526 (whether filed before or after the expiration date).