USCIS Issues EB-5 Petition Statistics- Large Growth In Initial EB-5 Applications

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) recently released updated statistics about how many EB-5 Investor Visa Petitions it has approved since the program started in 1991.   The EB-5 immigrant visa allows qualifying investors (and certain family members) to gain permanent residency in the United States in return for a half million to million dollar investment within the United States.   Among other requirements, the investment must create 10 full-time US worker positions.

The statistics show the receipts, approvals and denials for the I-526 (To request the immigrant visa) and the I-829 (to remove the conditions to permanent residency after two years of EB-5 permanent residency).

A quick review of the data shows that the visa preference category is being used much more often – and may soon become oversubscribed for some categories.