U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published data for FY Q2 (Jan-March) pertaining to the number of I-526 petitions (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur) and I-829 petitions (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions) received, approved, denied and pending.
IIUSA members can access data reports, below, to visualize key EB-5 industry trends.
I-526 Petition (Read Report)
- Drastic (86%) decrease in 526 filings from the last quarter with only 848 526 petitions filed in Q2. This quarters filing volume was the lowest since 2011.
- A Modest (75%) increase in the number of 526 approvals since last quarters drop. A total of 1,864 526 petitions were approved in Q2, accounting for $932 million in FDI; however, it’s still lower than the Q2 2015 in a year-over-year comparison;
- A large increase in the number of 526 denials. A total of 637 petitions were denied the second highest total of denials in Program history.
- 8% decrease in total number of pending petitions. With the lower number of filings USCIS was able to make a dent in pending petitions this quarter.
- The 526 approval rate was 75% in Q2 which is the third quarter in a row where the approval rate has decreased. The approval rate is at its lowest level in the past two years.
* I‐526 petitions completed refers to the number of I‐526 petition processed (either approved or denied) by USCIS Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Data Set: Form I‐526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. Prepared by: Lee Li, Policy Analyst, IIUSA
I-829 Petition (Read Report)
- 845 829 petitions were filed in Q2 representing a 20% increase in a year over year comparison. The difference between 526 and 829 filings in Q2 was unprecedentedly low.
- 421 829 petitions were approved in Q2 . Approvals have returned to historical levels after a large increase last quarter.
- The approval rate decreased slightly from the last quarter to 97%.
- Over 4,700 petitions were pending with USCIS, an 11% increase from last quarter and a 34% increase in a year over year comparison.
* I‐829 petitions completed refers to the number of I‐829 petition processed (either approved or denied) by USCIS ** The number of I‐829 denial of the 2nd quarter and 4th quarter in FY2013 were withheld by USCIS Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Data Set: Form I‐829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions. Prepared by: Lee Li, Policy Analyst, IIUSA
