Recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective September 4, 2021, the validity period for conditional green cards has been increased from 18 months to 24 months. Beneficiaries of this extension include EB-5 investors filing Form I-829 and marriage-based immigrants filing Form I-751.
This extension marks the second time USCIS has extended the validity of conditional green cards, following the initial extension in 2018. In 2018, the validity period was increased from 12 months to 18 months; this time, it has been extended from 18 months to 24 months.
According to U.S. immigration law, EB-5 applicants are first granted a two-year conditional green card (also known as conditional permanent residence). Applicants must file Form I-829 within 90 days before the expiration of this two-year period. For I-829 applicants: those who had already filed their I-829 application before September 4 will receive a new receipt notice indicating the 24-month extension; those who file after September 4 will directly receive an I-829 receipt notice reflecting the 24-month extension.
Please note that the 24-month validity period begins on the expiration date of the conditional green card. If the 24-month period expires and the applicant's I-829 is still pending, the applicant must schedule an appointment with their local USCIS field office to have an I-551 extension stamp placed in their passport to extend their green card status.
This extension by USCIS not only significantly alleviates the pressure on immigration processing but also provides applicants currently in the I-829 adjudication period with an additional six months of valid legal status in the United States. For EB-5 applicants, this is highly positive news.
This once again demonstrates that USCIS is continuously optimizing, improving, and refining its immigration services to enhance processing efficiency. Previously, USCIS updated its Policy Manual regarding matters such as expedited processing, extending the validity of EADs for immigration applicants to 2 years, and issuing Requests for Evidence (RFE) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID). Subsequently, USCIS has further simplified case processing procedures and reduced green card interview requirements. These developments suggest that immigration policies during the Biden administration may become more rational, open, and humane.
Currently, the EB-5 Regional Center Program remains in a suspended state. When and in what manner it will be reauthorized remains to be seen. Worldway Group will continue to monitor the situation closely and share any updates as soon as they become available. For more details, please call the Worldway Group service hotline: Mainland China: 400-138-2929; Hong Kong: (852) 2802 8798.
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