Last month, USCIS published the quarterly statistics for Q4 FY2023 and concluded the data release for the entire fiscal year 2023. The latest data are important to shed some light on the trends of the EB-5 Program in the past year, including demand for EB-5, USCIS processing trends, approval rate, and case backlogs.
Overall, the demand for EB-5 continued to grow in FY2023. the volume of I-526 case filing in the past fiscal year, including Form I-526 (direct EB-5) and Form I-526E, increase by 215% year over year and the amount of fund raising through the EB-5 Program rebounded back to the pre-pandemic levels (over $2 billion).
In addition, USCIS started to report the number of I-526E case approvals and denials for Q4, showing that the approval rate for I-526E in FY2023 was 100%. However, the agency only approved 63 I-526E cases in the past fiscal year and the 2,431 I-526E cases were still pending, as of October 1, 2023.
The volume of legacy I-526 adjudications in FY2023 reached its highest level since FY2019, with 3,253 cases processed in the past fiscal year. While the average approval rate of legacy I-526 cases bounced back from the historical low in FY2022, it was still below 70%.
(From the Data Report: EB-5 Investment Inflows by Fiscal Year)
KEY DATA HIGHLIGHTS
EB-5 Investment Inflows:
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Overall, we estimate that nearly $2.3 billion in EB-5 investment has been raised since the inception of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (the “RIA”).
Case Filing:
- In FY2023, USCIS received 2,431 I-526E petitions and 185 I-526 direct EB-5 filings. The combined volume of I-526E and I-526 filings during the past fiscal year, including both direct EB-5 and regional center cases, increased by 215% from FY2022.
Case Processing:
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USCIS processed a total of 3,316 I-526 cases in FY2023, including 3,253 legacy I-526 cases and 63 I-526E petitions. For the first time since the RIA was signed into law, USCIS started reporting the numbers of approved and denied I-526E cases in the Q4 FY2023 data release. 100% of the processed I-526E cases were approved by the agency, according to the latest statistics.
Case Approval Rate:
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The average approval rate for legacy I-526 cases in FY2023 was 66%, showing improvement from the historical low of 49% in FY2022. However, it remained well under the average level between FY2014 and FY2021.
Case Backlog:
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In FY2023, USCIS increased productivity in processing legacy I-526 cases by 176%, leading to a continued decline in the number of pending petitions. As of October 1, 2023, there were 9,257 legacy I-526 cases pending at USCIS, marking the first time in the last 10 years that the number of pending I-526 cases dropped below 10,000.
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: 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-526E, Form I-526 (direct) and Form I-526 (legacy) 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.
