I filed my I-829 in December 2014. Back then processing times were around six months. By March they climbed to over 12. I am in the middle of a divorce in my home country, with the court ruling expected to hit my wallet around July 2015. If I will not be able to sell our EB-5 shares, which I could sell back to the regional center for a discount, I will have to sell my house, liquidate assets with great losses and possibly go bankrupt. Given that USCIS is obligated by law to process I-829s within three months, could tailor my case in such fashion to be acceptable as an expedite criteria? Under what circumstances can the I-829 petition be expedited?
Answers
Fredrick W Voigtmann
Immigration attorneysThe USCIS has specific and limited criteria for expediting action on an application or petition. One criterion is severe financial loss to an individual. Another one is for a humanitarian situation. While most expedite requests are not granted, there is no downside or disadvantage to requesting expedited action if you feel your case is strong, i.e. if you can document that you are very likely to suffer a severe financial loss if your I-829 petition is not adjudicated quickly.
Ed Beshara
Immigration attorneysThe I-829 processing by the USCIS cannot be expedited. The I-829 has to be approved first before you can exit the EB-5 project and usually sell your EB-5 interest in the New Commercial Enterprise at fair market value. In an EB-5 compliant project there is no guarantee as to what dollar amount you will receive back from the USCIS.
Jinhee Wilde
Immigration attorneysThere is no obligation for USCIS to process the I-829 within three months. While the request for expedite could be submitted citing extreme financial hardship, you may not be successful. Perhaps the divorce terms could be negotiated to allow splitting the EB-5 investment returned funds to be deferred until the I-829 is approved. If your spouse's permanent residency is also tied to your EB-5, it will behoove her/him to wait until the removal of condition is approved before insisting on getting the EB-5 investment back.
John J Downey
Immigration attorneysI think if you wrote to them with this same story and had a member of congress follow up, it would be your best bet. Any expedited process with the government usually just adds more time to the wait.
Parisa Karaahmet
Immigration attorneysUnfortunately, absent some unusually compelling circumstance, the I-829 cannot be expedited.
Vaughan de Kirby
Immigration attorneysNo - regrettably there is no expedited procedure available.
Salvatore Picataggio
Immigration attorneysThe EB-5-related forms are usually not subject to expediting but for some kind of extreme hardship. It will probably be a case-by-case determination.
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