The EB-5 Visa Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) created Changes in EB-5 Visa Adjudication. With the introduction of the Reserved visa set-aside categories.

Where an applicant files an EB-5 Visa investment-based petition in one of these new Reserved set aside locations, USCIS has moved forward with prioritizing these applications for adjudication.

While there is no consistency with the adjudications, our law firm has seen some Rural based set aside investment applications approved within 4 to 6 months of filing and others are approved within 10 months of filing. Our office has also seen high unemployment set aside applications approved in approximately 10 to 12 months after filing. While it is unclear if these specific adjudication times will continue into the future.  It  is very clear is that USCIS is certainly prioritizing the adjudication speed.

Where the investor was located inside of the United States at the time of filing the I-526e  petition, the investor had the option of concurrently filing the adjustment of status at the same time. Where that occurred USCIS will immediately begin the process of adjudicating the adjustment of status. The ultimate outcome of the adjustment of status approval will result in permanent residency or green card for the applicant. This process can take three to six months (or more). Where the applicant did not file an adjustment of status but is inside of the United States, the applicant may still be able to also file an adjustment of status post I-526e approval.

Where the investor is located outside of the United States. The approval of the I-526e will trigger a notice to the National Visa Center (NVC) to begin the process of adjudicating the immigrant visa at the consulate of choice.  This process will typically take approximately 4 to 6 months, however it can easily take longer depending on the consulate.

A new development has come to light where the NVC is requesting that the applicant select the category that he or she would like to be assigned to.  Specifically, the applicant must select whether he or she would like to be assigned to one of the two Unreserved categories OR be assigned to the Reserved category. The applicant will be required to make this selection at the NVC stage regardless of how the I-526e was submitted in the original filing. It is still unclear the impact of making this post I-526e  approval selection will have.   However, making the correct selection will be especially important for those applicants who are historically charged to retrogressed countries.