Congratulations to ARCFE Group 13 investor who received Advance Parole and EAD card approvals in just under four months of filing their petitions concurrently under the new EB-5 law!
This is great news not only to our investor alone, but also to many others who have or are planning to file their petitions concurrently. The average expected processing time for the I-765 Work Authorization (EAD card) is around ~3-4 months, and I-131 Travel Document (Advance Parole or AP) is ~8-14 months. These record-time approvals signal a positive sign that the USCIS is following through with their promise to increase processing efficiency.
Investor can expect to receive both the EAD card and AP within 30 days from the notice date. They will be able to legally work in the U.S. beginning from the “Start Date” on their EAD card; and will be able to travel and re-enter the U.S. using their AP without applying for any additional visa, all while waiting for their I-526E to be processed.
EB-5 Concurrent Filing
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“RIA”) offers great benefits to investors and their families, including concurrent filing. Concurrent filing allows investors who are already in the U.S. under a different visa category to file their I-526E petition at the same time with form I-485 to adjust their status without leaving the U.S. This also gives investors and their families immediate freedom to live, study and work in the U.S. while waiting for their Green Cards to be approved.
When investor chooses to do concurrent filing, they will need to file these four forms at the same time:
Form I-526E (“Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor”)
Form I-485 (“Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status”)
Form I-131 (“Application for Travel Document”) – Advance Parole
Form I-765 (“Application for Employment Authorization”) – EAD Card
Our investors who are currently residing in the U.S. under F-1/H1B visa have successfully filed their petitions for Adjustment of Status concurrently with their EB-5 I-526E petitions. Many of them have successfully obtained their EAD card within 3-4 months of filing!
AOS At All-Time High
FY2022 saw an unprecedented high number of visas issued to Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications, with 37% of total visas compared to 31% in FY2021. Many industry professionals noted that this could be due to the local U.S. consular offices do not have enough capacity to process the overwhelming number of applications filed for consular processing, leading to more visas being issued through AOS to avoid visa wastage.
Data Source: Suzanne Lazicki
Read more here: https://www.arcfe.com/2023/03/09/%e3%80%90arcfe-news%e3%80%91-fy2022-annual-report-for-eb-5-visa-issuance/
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