Congress mandated the Form I-829 phase of the EB-5 immigration process to take a maximum of 180 days for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to make a ruling on EB-5 investor. The “decision on the petition shall be made within 90 days of the date of filing or within 90 days of the interview, whichever is later.” This standard sets up an enforceable, mandatory adjudication timetable.
The Congressional Research Service has stated plainly: “USCIS is required by statute to interview immigrant investors within 90 days of submitting Form I-829, but the agency also has the authority to waive that requirement," however, that same report noted that the USCIS interviewed only 44 Form I-829 applicants out of 2,714 forms in FY 2018, meaning only 1.6% of applicants were interviewed by USCIS.
WR Immigration Partner Joey Barnett writes that in nearly every I-829 case, USCIS has violated the statutory deadline because it took no action within 90 days of a filing’s receipt – not scheduling an interview, not waiving an interview deadline or interview, and not making a final decision.
Read the entire EB5 Investors article here.