Starting July 2023, USCIS has implemented a new processing workflow specifically designed for pre-Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) I-526 petitions. This initiative aims to improve review times, reduce the processing backlog, and ensure consistent adjudications for I-526 applications.
3 new USCIS workflows
USCIS has structured the petitions into three distinct workflows:
1. The first queue encompasses petitions without an available or soon-to-be-available visa.
2. The second queue includes petitions with an available or soon-to-be-available visa but lacking a project review.
3. The third queue is dedicated to petitions with an available or soon-to-be-available visa, associated with a reviewed regional center project or a direct (standalone) project. Petitions in this queue will be reviewed according to a first-in, first-out order.
Under this new system, petitions sharing the same project will be assigned to the same adjudicator(s), streamlining the review process. Subsequent petitions should only require a source of funds review.
Eliminating the need for multiple project reviews
Immigration lawyer Dennis Tristani expresses confidence that this revised approach should reduce inefficiencies in case review, and substantially reduce the chances of multiple reviews for the same project. 'USCIS should grant deference to I-526 petitions when project documents have previously undergone review,” he says” “If the project portion of an individual I-526 petition has already received approval through a legacy I-924 or I-526, there should be no need for a re-review.'
What does this mean for post-RIA investors?
While this is good news for pre-RIA investors, many of whom have petitions waiting over four years for adjudication, as of now, USCIS has not indicated if it will apply a similar approach to post-RIA petitions. Tristani sees this as evidence that the Immigration Service “isn’t close” to formalizing regulations or concrete policy for the RIA, even nearly 16 months after its passage.
See the USCIS announcement
