According to data released by USCIS, I-526 and I-829 petition approval rateshave increased since 2005. The number of EB-5 regional centers approved by USCIS has also increased over the past few years.

Approval rates of I-526 “Immigrant Petition by an Alien Entrepreneur” applications steadily increased from 2005 to 2009, before hitting a peak of 89% in 2010 and declining slightly to 78% in 2012.

I-526 Statistics

 

Fiscal Year	Receipts	Approvals	Denials	Approval Percentage
2005	332	179	156	53%
2006	486	336	124	73%
2007	776	473	148	76%
2008	1,257	640	120	84%
2009	1,028	1,262	207	86%
2010	1,955	1,369	165	89%
2011	3,805	1,563	371	81%
2012	4,156	3,002	775	79%
Grand Total	13,795	8,824	2,066	81%

Approval rates for I-829 “Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove the Conditions” applications, the application which is filed by the alien entrepreneur following the two-year conditional residency period, has also increased since 2005, hitting a peak of 96% in 2011 before declining slightly to 94% in 2012.

I-829 Statistics

 

Fiscal Year	Receipts	Approvals	Denials	Approval Percentage
2005	37	184	112	62%
2006	89	106	108	50%
2007	194	111	49	69%
2008	390	159	68	70%
2009	437	347	56	86%
2010	768	274	56	83%
2011	2,345	1,067	46	96%
2012	546	639	42	94%
Grand Total	4,806	2,887	537	84%

Statistics about I-924 “Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program,” used by regional centers to achieve USCIS recognition, reveal a somewhat downward trend in approval rates for I-924 applications.

I-924 Statistics

 

Fiscal Year	Receipts	Approvals	Denials	Approval Percentage
2010	152	78	41	51%
2011	278	123	58	44%
2012	163	30	44	18%
Grand Total	593	231	143	39%

In the first and second quarters of 2013, USCIS has reportedly received 325 I-924 applications and has approved 65 I-924s and denied 13 I-924s, resulting in an approval rate of 20% for the year thus far. However, the total number of approved regional centershas grown rapidly over the last few years. There are now around 243 approved EB-5 regional centers in 40 states and two territories, as compared to just 45 regional centers in 2009.