USCIS released EB-5 data for the Q2: January 2016 through March 2016. This data showed how many I-526 Immigrant Petition for Alien Entrepreneurs and I-829 Petition By Entrepreneur To Remove Conditions were received, approved, still pending, and denied.
The data showed that USCIS received significantly less I-526 Petitions in Q2 of 2016 than they did in Q1 of 2016. Q1 of 2016, the previous quarter, spanned October 2015 through December 2015. They only received 848 I-526 Petitions in Q2 of 2016, while they received 6,277 in Q1 of 2016. It's important to remember that while 848 is a very small number for Q2, 6,277 for Q1 is extraordinarily high.
USCIS has processed more I-526 Petitions in Q2 than the previous quarter. Additionally, the data also showed that USCIS has reduced the amount of pending I-526 petitions. However, there a is a drastic increase in the amount of I-829 Petitions pending. It seems as though, USCIS has allocated resources to reducing the I-526 Petition backlog.USCIS continues to increase the number of I-526 Petitions denials. About one quarter of I-526 Petitions were denied in Q2. The number of I-829 Petition denials, on the other hand, continues to be a very tiny number. This may indicate that USCIS is focused on denying unqualified EB-5 investors or EB-5 projects at the I-526 Petition stage as to avoid spending time and money removing them at later stages.Although the number of I-526 Petitions filed was far less than in previous quarters, the number may rise again as the September 30, 2016 date approaches. EB-5 investors will want to file their I-526 before this date to avoid the potential increase in investment amount.Click here to read USCIS report. 