In an era where high-net-worth families around the world are increasingly seeking overseas identities and assets, the U.S. EB-5 investment immigration program remains the golden pathway to obtaining a U.S. green card. It not only provides applicants and their families with a route for long-term residence, education, and career development but also offers dual value in capital allocation and identity planning.
However, all investments come with risks. EB-5 investments must also be “at-risk”, as explicitly stated in the EB-5 legislation. For applicants, identifying and addressing "uncertainties" as early as possible is a key step to safely obtaining a green card. The approval of I-956F is a "watershed" moment in this process.
What is I-956F?
I-956F is a pre-approval for projects under the new U.S. investment immigration law enacted in 2022. It clearly states that only when a project's I-956F approval is granted will the investor's personal application I-526E be accepted; if the project's I-956F approval is denied, the investor's I-526E application will also be unable to be approved.
In other words, the approval of the project's I-956F is a prerequisite for the processing and successful approval of the individual I-526E application, and its outcome directly determines the success or failure of the investor's immigration application.
What does I-956F approval mean?
When an EB-5 project's I-956F is approved, it means:
• The immigration agency has reviewed and approved that the project meets the new legislation's "rural TEA" criteria, thus enjoying a 20% reservation of rural visa quotas.
• The U.S. immigration agency recognizes the project's business plan and employment model. In the future, when reviewing the project investors' I-526E applications, the immigration agency will only need to review the investors' personal documents.
In simple terms, with the project's I-956F approval, the investors' I-526E enters the "fast track" for approval!
The denial rate of I-956F cannot be ignored
Choosing already approved projects is more secure
According to the latest data, the U.S. immigration agency processed 54 I-956F applications in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, with 37 approved and 17 denied, resulting in a denial rate of 31.48%; in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2025, a total of 177 I-956F applications were processed, with 132 approved and 45 denied, leading to a denial rate of 25.42%. This indicates that a considerable number of projects have not yet met the basic requirements set by the immigration agency for EB-5 projects.
Once a project's I-956F is denied, the corresponding I-526E application of the investor typically faces the risk of "denial of the individual application + invalidation of priority date", forcing a reset of the immigration process. This is why the industry refers to the priority selection of I-956F approved projects as the "certainty choice".
Exclusive Market
Worldway holds two approved EB-5 rural projects with I-956F
Helping investors obtain green cards steadily, accurately, and quickly
In the context of increasingly fierce competition among global EB-5 projects and the growing scarcity of quality quotas, Worldway Group leverages its strong brand strength and professional service advantages to provide investors with higher certainty choices.
Worldway Group, ranked among Asia's top 500 brands, has focused on investment immigration for over 20 years, specializing in U.S. investment immigration for 19 years, and has a professional team with over 19 years of service experience, successfully assisting more than 6,000 families in immigrating to the U.S., with extensive experience in processing thousands of U.S. green cards.
Currently, the two projects for which Worldway serves as the exclusive agent in Greater China and have received I-956F approval are: the "Great Smoky Mountains - Marriott Hotel" EB-5 rural project and the "Florida Lakeside Jewish Community" EB-5 rural project, which further assist investors in achieving U.S. identity planning steadily and efficiently, quickly embarking on a new life in the U.S.
Global quotas are limited, and seats are scarce—first come, first served; opportunities should not be missed!
The grandfather clause is entering its final countdown
The earlier the submission, the more secure it is
It is worth noting that the EB-5 grandfather clause has entered its final 11-month countdown (expiring on September 30, 2026). Applications submitted before this date will be protected under the current policy. Opportunities are fleeting; the earlier the submission, the more secure!
(For details, please click to read: Worldway and Huawei, Tencent, etc. honored as "Asia's Top 500 Brands")
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