Investors who file a new Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, on or after Nov. 21, 2019, may use the priority date of a previously approved Form I-526 petition, subject to certain conditions.

USCIS will not allow the petitioner to use the priority date of a previously approved Form I-526 petition for a subsequently filed petition if: The investor was already admitted to the United States under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act using the priority date of the earlier-approved petition; or USCIS revoked the previously approved petition for fraud or willful misrepresentation by the petitioner, or because the approval was based on a material error.

As part of their new Form I-526 submission, investors may provide USCIS with a statement requesting the earlier priority date along with a copy of the approval notice (Form I-797) for the previous Form I-526. Investors can request a duplicate copy of the earlier approval notice using Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition.

For investments outside of a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), the minimum investment amount increased from $1 million to $1.8 million. For investments in a TEA, the minimum investment amount increased from $500,000 to $900,000.  These amounts represent an adjustment based on inflation, as authorized by the law. Beginning on Oct.1, 2024, and every five years thereafter, these amounts will automatically adjust for petitions filed on or after each adjustment’s effective date, and DHS may update this figure by publication of a technical [...]

Investors who filed a Form I-526 petition before the effective date of the final rule may establish eligibility under the minimum investment requirements in effect when they filed the petition.

These investors must meet the requirements in effect when they filed the petition—this includes the requirement to show they can meet the prior minimum investment amount of either $500,000 or $1 million by having either invested or been actively in the process of investing the required amount at the time of filing. Petitioners must show actual commitment of the required amount of capital at the time of filing but do not need to have fully contributed their capital investment to the new commercial enterprise before the effective date of the new rule—instead, [...]

They can only file together if the investor is deceased. Otherwise, each derivative must file a separate Form I-829 petition. If the derivative is filing a separate petition from the investor, the derivative should attach a copy of the investor’s Form I-797, Notice of Action, relating to the investor’s Form I-829.

No, derivatives may still request to be added to a pending I-829 if they pay the biometric fee and are otherwise eligible to be classified as the principal’s derivatives. The new rule standardizes the process for those derivatives who file an individual Form I-829 petition and cannot be included on the principal investor’s Form I-829, generally because the principal fails or refuses to file a Form I-829.

Yes.