The USCIS Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) recently published the Fiscal Year 2017 Q3 I-526 and I-829 statistics.I-526The most recent quarterly statistics show that in the third quarter of FY 2017 (April to June) there were 4,402 I-526 petitions filed, a 154% increase from FY 2017 Q2. The dramatic increase in petitions filed may have been caused by the fact that the EB-5 Regional Center Program was up for congressional reauthorization twice during this period of activity. According to historical data the I-526 approval rates remained high at 90% and are above the 36 month average of 88%. The number of total I-526 petitions pending increased by 11% from 22,152 to 24,621.I-829The number of I-829 petitions received was just 660 in FY 2017 Q3, an 8% decrease from the previous quarter. Despite the decrease, the number of petitions approved by USCIS jumped from 287 to 863 in Q3. As a result of fewer petitions filed and an increased number of approvals, the total number of I-829 petitions pending fell slightly from 7,709 to 7,645 (a 1% decrease).
