U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data for Q4 regarding I-526 and I-829 petitions. Below are the highlights and trend analysis findings.
I-526 Data Highlights:
- USCIS received 6,500+ I-526 petitions in Q4, which was almost equal to the combined number of petitions received for the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
- I-526 approvals dropped in Q4 by 25% to 2,185, which can likely be attributed to the large increase in receipts and longer processing times.
- FY2015 saw a large increase in the number of total filings, with over 14,000 receipts.
- In total, there were 17,367 petitions pending with USCIS as of 9/30/15, representing approximately $8.7 billion in foreign direct investment into the U.S.
- For FY2015, EB-5 accounted for $4.378 billion in FDI, representing a 71% increase year-over-year.
I-829 Data Highlights:
- In Q4, USCIS received 499 I-829 petitions, which represents a 35% decrease from Q3 and a 49% decrease year-over-year.
- 461 I-829’s were approved in Q4, a 72% increase in approvals from Q3, which had previously been the most productive quarter of the year.
- There are currently 4,049 pending approvals, a slight increase from the Q3 total of 4,007.
Processing Times
I-526 processing times slightly increased, from 13.8 months to 14.4. This can be attributed to the fiscal year deadline that surfaced with the "sunset" date in September. During that same time period, I-829 processing times were trimmed back from 15.5 months to 15.4 months.
To view the full report from USCIS, click here.