On July 19, 2023, USCIS published quarterly statistics for all forms for Q2 FY2023 and made some significant updates on EB-5 data reporting. For the first time ever, USCIS started to release data on the new EB-5 related forms, including Form I-956 (Application for Regional Center Designation), Form I-956F (Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise), Form I-956G (Regional Center Annual Statement), Form I-956H (Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program), and Form I-956K (Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters).
In late September, USICS published another set of Form I-956 related statistics for Q3 FY2023, offering additional data insights for EB-5 regional center trends. After more than one year since the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (the “RIA”), we can finally analyze the new data and identify trends in EB-5 regional center applications, the number of EB-5 projects available in the market, and USCIS’ adjudications of these new regional center-related applications.
Furthermore, we conducted a reverse-engineering analysis by combining the year-to-date totals for FY2023 with the data from both Q2 and Q3. This allowed us to calculate the numbers of forms received and approved for Q1 FY2023, as well as the total figures for FY2022 across all applicable forms, including Form I-956, Form I-956F, Form I-956G (receipts only) and Form I-956H (receipts only).
(Form I-956 Regional Center Application Statistics by Quarter)
KEY DATA HIGHLIGHTS
Form I-956 (Application for Regional Center Designation):
- Throughout the first three quarters of FY2023, USCIS received a total of 249 Form I-956 applications seeking regional center designation. In total, our calculations indicate that over 350 Form I-956 regional center applications have been submitted since the enactment of the RIA.
- Between Q1 and Q3 of FY2023, a total of 77 regional centers have received approval for their Form I-956 applications.
Form I-956F (Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise):
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According to USCIS, 137 EB-5 projects were launched in the first three quarters of FY2023. The RIA requires that a Form I-956F must be filed with USCIS before an EB-5 investor may submit any associated I-526E petition. The statistics of Form I-956F filings shed crucial light on the trends of available EB-5 projects in the marketplace.
Form I-956G (Regional Center Annual Statement):
- In FY2023, 307 regional centers submitted their Form I-956G annual statements to USCIS, with the majority of filings occurring during January and March 2023 (Q2 FY2023).
Form I-956H (Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program):
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Since the RIA’s enactment, a total of 2,635 Form I-956Hs have been filed, with 1,816 (or 69%) of them submitted during the first three quarters of FY2023.
Form I-956K (Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters):
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412 individuals have filed their registrations to USCIS as a “third-party promoter” since the publication of the new Form I-956K in January 2023.
For more in-depth data analyses for the regional center related trends, download the full report here (Members Only)
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