Today, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced that it will be changing the way in which it adjudicates I-526 Immigrant Petitions for Alien Entrepreneurs (i.e., immigrant visa petitions based on an investment under the EB-5 program). While historically, the service has used a first-in, first-out basis for these petitions, as of March 31, 2020, it will switch to a "visa availability" approach.
This change will apply to all cases pending as of March 31, 2020, and will result in USCIS prioritizing adjudication of petitions connected to individuals from countries where visas are currently available or will soon be available. USCIS currently employs this approach in other contexts, including the adjudication of certain I-130 Immigrant Petitions for Alien Relative. The stated reasons for the change were both ones of fairness and of better enabling applicants from countries where visas are immediately available to use their annual per-country allocation of EB-5 visas. The announcement made clear that this was a change in adjudication procedures only and did not create legally binding rights or change substantive requirements.
D&S will continue to monitor this developing situation and provide updates as they become available.