[HOT] Current CSC processing times of EB-5 related petitions/applications

As of January 28, 2012, according to the latest CSC Processing Report, I-526s are taking 8 months, and I-829 is taking 6 months to be adjudicated. That's just too long. I-526 adjudication time has to get down under 3 months to be fair to RC operators and EB-5 investors.

The EB-5 related applications that are reviewed and adjudicated by California Service Center are: I-526, I-485 and I-829 applications. The below estimates of the "current" processing times is the best estimates for the above types of applications. It should be noted that although CSC publishes monthly processing times reports, the processing times for EB-5 cases are not divided into regular or Regional Center cases.

* Note that USCIS has recently stated during a national EB-5 teleconference what experienced EB-5 practitioners had suspected all along, that the processing times listed on these so-called "processing reports", are the times it takes for the case to get to the adjudicator's desk, not the time it actually takes for the cases to get decided. This means depending on situations, cases can take a lot longer than the processing times listed in these reports. This means the processing report is not really an accurate processing report! I think they should rename these reports to "the times it takes to reach examiner's desk report", don't you?

We would say that the processing times for I-526s and I-829s specified in the CSC Processing Times reports are not accurate or up-to-date.

As of November 14, 2010, the following is our guideline:

I-526s: Anywhere between 6 ~11 months. If an RFE is issued on some issues, whether by mistake or not, it can drag on. Seems like there is not enough staff.

I-829s: 6 months at least.

* Appears that the processing times are getting delayed rather than shortened.

Undermining the accuracy of the USCIS processing times report is that they do not distinguish between the processing times of regular, direct EB-5 cases and regional center EB-5 cases. In addition, the processing time for I-485 appears to cover all employment-based I-485 applications, and does not focus specifically on I-485 applications based on I-526 approvals. Lastly, CSC often does not appear to be adjudicating cases in chronological order, i.e. First-In, First-Out basis. Although our experiences do not jive with the processing time reports published by CSC, it is only natural that there be some variances in processing times among individual cases. However, there is no doubt in general there has been a significant improvement in the processing times.