{"id":21199,"date":"2020-09-24T10:27:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T10:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/wordpress\/?p=21199"},"modified":"2025-03-17T07:37:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T07:37:50","slug":"usciss-processing-time-calculations-is-non-transparency-a-way-to-avoid-case-inquiries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ar\/usciss-processing-time-calculations-is-non-transparency-a-way-to-avoid-case-inquiries\/","title":{"rendered":"USCIS\u2019s Processing Time Calculations: Is Non-Transparency a Way to Avoid Case Inquiries?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beginning in August 2020, I-526 processing time ranges were split into two categories<\/a> by United State Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). One range is assigned to Chinese EB-5 investor applicants, and the other range covers everyone else in the program. Following a shift a few months prior to the visa availability processing approach<\/a>, this split makes sense. The Chinese backlog for EB-5 petitions is substantial, and the country\u2019s investor pool is subject to much longer wait times on I-526 adjudication. Check the I-526 estimated processing times<\/a> on USCIS\u2019s official website, however, and the clarity ends.<\/p>\n

Who Are the \u201cUnspecified\u201d EB-5 Applicants?<\/h3>\n

There you will find not just two estimated processing times, but three. Listed are the Chinese range, the range for investors from everywhere but<\/i> China\u2026 and a third, \u201cunspecified\u201d time range. Your initial thought may be, \u201cIt must be an average of the two,\u201d but simple math says it\u2019s not. USCIS doesn\u2019t offer any explanation or formula, either. In fact, the calculation methodology<\/a> shown on the site doesn\u2019t even appear to have been updated after the change in processing approach. Instead, it reads, \u201cwe generally process cases in the order we receive them.\u201d This is consistent with the first-in-first-out (FIFO) approach that was replaced<\/a> in the spring of 2020. That isn\u2019t the most concerning inconsistency, however\u2014that\u2019s the issue of reported case inquiry dates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

Is the Wait to Inquire<\/i> About a Wait Time Really So Much Longer Than the Wait Itself?<\/h3>\n

According to the USCIS website, EB-5 investors \u2013 whether from China or elsewhere \u2013 are waiting between five and six years before they\u2019re even allowed to inquire<\/i> about an abnormally long I-526 petition processing time. Yet, historical processing data<\/a> for FY2020 puts the average time for I-526 petition adjudication (at least up to June 30) at just over a year (13.7 months).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, based on two assumptions, the upper limits for both time ranges aren\u2019t really plausible either. Those assumptions are as follows:<\/p>\n