{"id":181055,"date":"2022-12-22T05:40:44","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T05:40:44","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-21T15:26:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T15:26:16","slug":"what-is-the-order-in-which-i-526-petitions-are-processed-by-uscis","status":"publish","type":"faq","link":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/faq\/visa-application-and-approval-timing\/what-is-the-order-in-which-i-526-petitions-are-processed-by-uscis\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the order in which I-526E petitions are processed by USCIS?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Beginning in March 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adopted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/working-in-the-united-states\/permanent-workers\/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5\/questions-and-answers-eb-5-immigrant-investor-program-visa-availability-approach\">visa availability approach<\/a> in deciding which order to adjudicate I-526E petitions. This model prioritizes I-526E petitions by EB-5 applicants for whom an EB-5 visa is either immediately\u2014or soon to be\u2014available.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i6zim2tzt6k?rel=0;&amp;autoplay=1&amp;mute=1&amp;loop=1&amp;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"678\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With the former first-in, first-out (FIFO) method, USCIS adjudicated I-526E petitions in the order in which they were filed. As a result, in many circumstances, EB-5 applicants without visa numbers available would have <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/2020\/11\/11\/compiling-an-i-526-petition-what-eb-5-investors-should-expect\/\">their I-526E petitions<\/a> processed ahead of those with visa numbers available, due to the fact that the earliest filed petitions were generally from oversubscribed nationalities.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, China has been considered an oversubscribed country, with the demand of EB-5 visas originating from China exceeding the number of available EB-5 visas for allocation. Currently, <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5affiliatenetwork.com\/current-trends-in-the-chinese-eb-5-market\/\">China\u2019s backlog is significant<\/a>, followed by India.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FAQ-177_image-2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While USCIS had previously used the FIFO method to determine the order in which to assess I-526E petitions, the switch to the visa availability approach reportedly \u201cbetter aligns the EB-5 program with congressional intent\u201d and \u201cmakes it more consistent with other USCIS operations,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/news\/news-releases\/uscis-adjusts-process-for-managing-eb-5-visa-petition-inventory\">news release on the USCIS website<\/a>. In the same news release, USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans goes on to explain that the visa availability approach gives eligible EB-5 investors from traditionally underrepresented countries a fairer chance at receiving EB-5 visas without having to undergo overly lengthy processing times.<\/p>\n<p>The visa availability approach takes into account the EB-5 investor\u2019s country of birth, which is information they should provide on their I-526E petition, as well as Chart B of the <a href=\"https:\/\/travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/en\/legal\/visa-law0\/visa-bulletin.html\">Department of State Monthly Visa Bulletin,<\/a> which shows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/green-card\/green-card-processes-and-procedures\/visa-availability-and-priority-dates\">visa availability for the petitioner\u2019s<\/a> home country. USCIS uses these two factors to calculate the order in which to assess I-526E petitions.<\/p>\n<p>However, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) introduced another aspect to the order of I-526E petition processing. It established new visa set-asides, through which new applicants from traditionally backlogged countries can enjoy <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/2024\/05\/22\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-eb-5-processing-times\/\">remarkably short processing times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Under the RIA, 32% of the total yearly quota of EB-5 visas are reserved as set-aside visas\u201420% for investments in rural areas, 10% for investments in high-unemployment regions, and 2% for investments in designated infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n<p>Rural EB-5 investments also qualify for the priority processing of Form I-526E by USCIS. Among all EB-5 investment categories, petitions from <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/2024\/06\/21\/rural-eb-5-investment-a-faster-path-to-u-s-green-cards\/\">rural TEA projects<\/a> are processed first, offering the shortest adjudication times for rural EB-5 investors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"faq-topic":[191],"class_list":["post-181055","faq","type-faq","status-publish","hentry","faq-topic-visa-application-and-approval-timing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/181055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faq"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/181055\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faq-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq-topic?post=181055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}