On November 16, 2020, USCIS published quarterly statistics for all application and petition form types for the third quarter (Q3) in fiscal year (FY) 2020, including the latest data between April and June for for Form I-526, Form I-829, Form I-924, and Form I-924A.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant challenges to business communities worldwide, the EB-5 community is also adjusting in an era of the new regulations that became effective in November 2019. With many new developments in the EB-5 industry, IIUSA produced this data report (members-only), highlighting key statistics and insights regarding the latest I-526 quarterly data including the estimated EB-5 capital inflows in 2020, the recent number of I-526 petitions filed by EB-5 investors, the volume of I-526 adjudications, the average approval rates and the I-526 backlogs.
(Form I-526 Statistics by Quarter)
KEY DATA HIGHLIGHTS
Form I-526 Filings: Only 40 EB-5 investors filed their I-526 petition in Q3 FY2020 (April – June 2020). While the quarterly I-526 filing volume slightly recovered from the total of 21 petitions that were filed in the last quarter, it remained in a extremely low level largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased minimum investment amounts and the unreasonable visa backlog for certain countries among other issues. Overall, only 61 I-526 petitions were filed between January and June 2020 in the era of the new EB-5 regulations.
EB-5 Capital Investment Inflows: We estimated that at least $46 million in EB-5 investment was raised between January and June 2020 under the new minimum investment amounts.
Form I-526 Adjudications: USCIS adjudicated 922 I-526 cases in Q3 FY2020, a growth of 59% comparing to the same time period one year ago. However, the quarterly I-526 adjudication volumes dropped significantly in the last two years.
Form I-526 Approval Rates: The average approval rate of I-526 petitions was 62% in Q3 FY2020, continuing to drop in the last two quarters. As the data chart below indicated, the quarterly average I-526 approval rate has experienced a high level of fluctuations in 2020.
Form I-526 Backlog: At the end of Q3 FY2020 (June 30, 2020), nearly 16,000 I-526 cases were still pending in USCIS and awaiting adjudication, a minor decline of 4% comparing to the previous quarter.
(Average Approval Rates for I-526 Petitions)
INTRODUCING THE NEW I-526 DATA DASHBOARD
Key I-526 statistics and data trends, all at your fingertips
It’s our pleasure to introduce you the new interactive I-526 Data Dashboard available on IIUSA’s website: 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.
