Attention EB-5 stakeholders and applications, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will no longer accept single or combined payments on Form I-526 of I-526E with other forms including I-485, Form I-765 among others.
Additional details can be reviewed below as well as on the USCIS EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program website here.
From USCIS
Beginning Thursday, September 1, 2022 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will no longer accept a single, combined fee payment when an applicant or petitioner files Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, or Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor, together with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form 131, Application for Travel Document, or Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Petitioners may combine the fee payment for Forms I-485, I-131 and I-765. However, petitioners must send a separate fee payment for Form I-526 or I-526E.
If a petitioner or applicant submits a single, combined fee payment for Form I-526 or I-526E and the other forms, we will reject the forms for improper fee payment and return the fee.
Background
USCIS is transitioning to electronic processing of immigration benefit requests. As we complete this transition, we will be using multiple systems to receipt and process various types of immigration benefit requests. The Form I-526 and I-526E petitions and related applications are not all processed in the same system, so a separate payment instrument for each of these forms is required. We acknowledge that using multiple checks or payments for petitions and related applications is more burdensome than using one payment. However, we believe that the advantages of electronic processing to both the agency and to the public outweigh the impact of submitting individual fee payments…Read More