USCIS, in an effort to improve the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program, has published a draft of changes for public comment. Based on meetings with internal and external stakeholders regarding the current adjudication policies and practices, USCIS has taken a series of steps. These steps include introducing a direct email contact between Regional Center practitioners and the USCIS adjudication team, introducing an accelerated process and premium processing for some applicants and petitioners, using an expert decision board to assist adjudicators in making final decisions on Regional Center petitions, bringing in economists to help guide and support USCIS’ adjudication team and hiring a consulting firm to help reengineer the adjudication process to ensure a more efficient system.

USCIS states that additional reforms are planned in the future. In addition, USCIS plans to consolidate various EB-5 changes into a single overarching policy statement that will bring together constructive stakeholder input into a single statement.