USCIS published quarterly statistics for all application and petition form types for the fourth quarter (Q4) in fiscal year (FY) 2021, including the latest data between July 1st and September 30th for Form I-526, Form I-829, Form I-924, and Form I-924A.
With this new dataset, we are now able to review the trends of Form I-526 statistics for the entire FY2021, which was a year filled with significant developments for the EB-5 industry, including the vacation of the new EB-5 regulations and the lapse of the Regional Center Program.
IIUSA produced a comprehensive data report (members-only) to inform our stakeholders of the latest trends for Form I-526, including the demands for EB-5, the adjudication of I-526 cases, the average approval rates, and the current I-526 case backlog at USCIS.
(Form I-526 Statistics by Fiscal Year)
KEY DATA HIGHLIGHTS
Form I-526 Filings:
- A total of 814 EB‐5 investors filed their I‐526 petition in fiscal year (FY) 2021 (October 1st, 2020 – September 30th, 2021), down by 81% from the last fiscal year. In particular, USCIS received 456 I-526 petitions in Q4 (July 1st – September 30th) during the lapse of the Regional Center Program.
Form I-526 Adjudications:
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USCIS adjudicated only 3,048 I-526 cases in FY2021, a 11% decline from the last fiscal year. The volume of I-526 completion in FY2021 was at its 10-year low.
Form I-526 Approval Rate:
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The average approval rate of I-526 petitions dropped significantly in Q4, down to 16% in the last quarter of FY2021. That means, IPO has denied 84% of the I-526 cases that the agency adjudicated in Q4 FY2021.
- It’s unclear whether or not the historical low I-526 approval rate in Q4 was because USCIS was denying new I-526 cases that were associated with an approved regional center and filed during the lapse of the Regional Center Program.
Form I-526 Backlog:
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At the end of FY2021 (September 30th, 2021), more than 13,000 I-526 cases were still pending at USCIS and awaiting adjudication.
For more in-depth data analyses, download the full report here (Members Only)
BOOKMARK THE I-526 DATA DASHBOARD
Key I-526 statistics and data trends, all at your fingertips
In 2021, IIUSA launched this new interactive I-526 data dashboard: https://iiusa.org/i526data/
This new online tool features historical trends of the demand for the EB-5 Program and the most up-to-date statistics on Form I-526 petitions, including:
- Estimated amount of EB-5 investment inflows to the U.S. economy;
- Number of I-526 petitions filed by EB-5 investors;
- USCIS’s productivity in processing I-526 cases;
- Average approval rates for I-526 petitions; and
- The latest news and analyses regarding USCIS adjudication trends;
Add this new interactive I-526 Data Dashboard to your bookmark and stay up-to-date with the key statistics most relevant to EB-5 investors.
