The USCIS Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) recently released the quarterly processing statistics for I-526 and I-829 petitions through Q2 (January – March) of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Below are some highlights from those reports provided by IIUSA.
- Since FY2008, the EB‐5 Program has generated over $25.7 billion in capital investment to the U.S. economy
- The number of I‐526 petitions filed during Q2 FY2018 declined to 1,607 (44% decrease from last quarter), the lowest level since June 2016; while the number of I‐526 petitions adjudicated reached a historical high of almost 4,000 in Q2 FY2018
- USCIS approved almost 3,650 I‐526 petitions during January to March 2018 ‐ the highest level in the EB‐5 history
- The number of I‐526 pending at USCIS declined for the second consecutive quarter to 22,607 as of March 2018
- The number of I‐526 petitions adjudicated by USCIS showed a consistent year over year growth over the last 5 years
- The total number of I‐526 petitions filed in the first half of FY2018 was 4,469, a 37% decline from the peak level in FY2016
- USCIS received 957 I-829 petitions in Q2, FY2018, which reveals a 9% decline from the last quarter but a 33% increase year‐over‐year
- The number of I‐829 approvals in Q2 FY2018 reached a historically high level of almost 1,500, a 66% increase from the previous quarter and a 400% year‐over‐year increase
- I-829 approval rates remained above 90% for the 5th consecutive quarter
- The average approval rate of I‐829 petitions remained above 90% for five consecutive quarters since Q2, FY2017
- Pending I‐829 petitions at USCIS increased by 12% from the last quarter to 7,447 as of March 2018
- The total number of I‐829 petitions filed and adjudicated in the first half of FY2018 both reached all-time highs, indicating an increasing trend of success in EB‐5 job creation and investor’s removal of condition