Washington, D.C., June 3, 2022: Today USCIS released two critical new forms for the renewed EB-5 Regional Center visa program. The first is the business plan approval form. Under the new rules of the EB-5 Regional Center program, every approved regional center must file an application to USCIS for a business plan approval prior to accepting new investors.

The new form, designated Form I-956F “Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise” is thus critical to the ability of regional centers to raise capital, and to the visa process of each new EB-5 investor. Filing fees for Form I-956F are $17,795 per application.

Access to the form is set out below:
Form I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise
06/01/2022 03:44 PM EDT

Additionally, USCIS released a new form for a Regional Center’s annual reporting to USCIS. Designated Form I-956G “Regional Center Annual Statement”, this form carries a filing fee of $3,035 per form.

Access to the form is set out below:
Form I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement
06/01/2022 03:53 PM EDT

Though the release of these forms is helpful, the burden is squarely on USCIS to show concrete progress in the EB-5 program. That means first and foremost transparent USCIS statements on efforts to provide prompt responses to a Business Plan approval application. In the recent past, the exorbitant $17,795 fee has not resulted in faster adjudications. Under the pre-March 2022 I-924 Exemplar application system, which essentially served the same purpose as the new Form I-956F, USCIS managed to drag out its adjudication times to over 3 years. Delays rendered the entire business plan approval system to be largely moot. Construction projects would frequently be completed prior to the USCIS issuing a business plan approval.

Donoso & Partners, a leading immigration law firm based in Washington, D.C., will continue to report on developments regarding the immigration law and policy through our news section of donosolaw.com.