The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released updated EB-5 petition data through the end of Q1 of FY16.
At the end of FY15, ambiguity surrounding EB-5 reform legislation resulted in record-breaking numbers of EB-5 petition filings. In line with NES Financial predictions, ongoing efforts to draft reform legislation through the end of December appear to have sustained increased petition filings.
Q1 of FY16 has seen 6,277 I-526 petitions filed; in comparison, two years prior, only 6,346 petitions were filed in all of FY13.
These increased filings have continued to exceed the adjudication capacity of the USCIS.
The USCIS currently has a backlog of 21,988 pending I-526 petitions and 4,256 pending I-829s, which is only expected to increase further as the rate at which petitions are filed continues to outpace the rate at which the USCIS is able to adjudicate them.
| Quarter | Pending I-526 | Pending I-829 |
| FY15 Q1 | 13,569 | 3,080 |
| FY15 Q2 | 13,731 | 3,524 |
| FY15 Q3 | 13,129 | 4,007 |
| FY15 Q4 | 17,367 | 4,049 |
| FY16 Q1 | 21,988 | 4,256 |
As a result, average processing times have continued to increase.
I-526 petitions now average 16.3 months, I-829 petitions average 16.9 months, and I-924 petitions average 9 months for adjudication. Previously, I-526 petitions had averaged 15.5 months, I-829 petitions averaged 15.7 months, and I-924 petitions averaged 7.9 months.
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