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AVS EB-5: 12 Years and Still Perfect Record of I-829 Approvals

August 5, 2024

High-fives and cheers erupted at the office on that spring day of 2011 when we received the USCIS approval for American Venture Solutions Regional Center. As we launched our first EB-5 offerings, the enthusiasm was palpable about the future of EB-5. Everyone involved – the Regional Centers, the U.S. Job Creating Enterprises in which the EB-5 capital was invested….even the USCIS – sincerely believed at the time that EB-5 investors could reliably count on navigating the process from initial I-526 filing through I-829 approval of permanent US residency in 4-5 years.

BOY were we wrong.

Between USCIS adjudication delays, COVID, repeated expirations/renewals of the old EB-5 program and its final ending in June 2021, many EB-5 investors have faced the reality of a decade or more of waiting. Thankfully, since the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) and its long-overdue changes to the program, we are seeing positive trends in adjudication timelines. But for those Pre-RIA EB-5 investors in the pipeline, the process marches on….so it is important to celebrate these victories as they trickle in.

In the past month, 3 AVSRC investor families finally got their I-526 immigrant visa appointment letters and 2 (waaaaaay overdue) AVSRC investor families – from two different AVS EB-5 offerings -received their I-829 approvals. While these successes may not appear to be as dramatic as that initial approval of the Regional Center, they are every bit as important. Each of these milestones means a family will finally be able to immigrate as EB-5 conditional residents to the U.S. or that after years in conditional residency, families finally have the peace of mind that comes with permanent residency…and the opportunity to seek U.S. citizenship and U.S. passport!

For the past 13 years, AVSRC has maintained a 100% approval record on I-829s, a record we intend to preserve going forward on behalf of those investors still in the pipeline.

BREAKING: Investors in EB-5 Projects by Existing RCs Can Now File I-526E Right Away

The USCIS has just agreed to a settlement which resolves two pending lawsuits filed against the government, paving the way for approved EB-5 Regional Centers like American Venture Solutions (“AVS”) to begin filing new EB-5 investor petitions (I-526E) without waiting for USCIS adjudication of new Regional Center compliance form.  When the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 was passed earlier this year, Congressional intent and the law’s language made it clear that the purpose of the law was to enhance investor protections and improve transparency in the EB-5 program.  To the shock of the industry, USCIS responded to the law by concluding that it meant that all previously approved and operating EB-5 Regional Centers were effectively terminated.  That prompted a series of lawsuits in which IIUSA, the leading EB-5 industry group (in which AVS is an active member), joined as a plaintiff.  While the settlement resolves a number of
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