Process and timing
Consular processing
Also called CP, immigrant visa processing.
Consular processing is the route to permanent residence through a US embassy or consulate abroad, on Form DS-260 and an interview, rather than by adjusting status inside the United States. It is the only route for an investor who stays outside the country, and it is open by choice to one already inside.
What it decides
22 CFR 42.63(a)(1) requires the application on Form DS-230 or Form DS-260, in practice the electronic DS-260; 22 CFR 42.61(a) sends the applicant, unless the Department directs otherwise, to the consular office with jurisdiction over their place of residence; 22 CFR 42.62 requires personal appearance and an interview, though the appearance of a child under 14 may be waived at the officer's discretion; and 22 CFR 42.67(a)(3) governs the oath and biometric signature on the DS-260 at that interview. It is the only route for an investor who remains outside the United States, because adjustment under INA 245 requires presence in the country, but an investor already inside may choose it as well. USCIS sends the approved I-526 or I-526E to the Department of State's National Visa Center, where it waits until a visa number is available; only then does the NVC ask for fees, the DS-260 and civil documents. Concurrent filing does not reach this route: 8 U.S.C. 1255(n), added by the RIA, makes an I-485 timely when filed with the petition and applies to adjustment alone. So there is no interim work permit, since 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9) ties the employment authorization document to a filed I-485, and no advance parole, which 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii) ties to a pending adjustment application. Two costs fall only on this side: the State Department immigrant visa application processing fee of $345 per person for employment-based applications (22 CFR 22.1, item 32(b)) and the USCIS Immigrant Fee of $235 per person, payable after the visa is issued and before the green card is produced (Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26). Conditional residence attaches when CBP admits the investor at the port of entry, not when the visa is issued (8 U.S.C. 1186b(a)(1)), and that admission date starts the two years: the I-829 is filed during the 90 days immediately preceding its second anniversary (8 U.S.C. 1186b(d)(2)(A)(i)).
Where this is explained properly
Pages here that go into consular processing rather than mentioning it.
Related terms
- National Visa CenterThe Department of State office that holds an approved EB-5 petition, collects the visa fees and supporting documents, and notifies the investor as a visa number nears, in the gap between petition approval and the consular interview. It handles only investors who will apply for the visa abroad; an investor adjusting status inside the United States never passes through it.
- Adjustment of statusAdjustment of status is the process under 8 U.S.C. 1255 by which someone already in the United States becomes a permanent resident without leaving, on Form I-485, instead of collecting an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. An EB-5 investor who adjusts is granted conditional permanent residence for two years, the same status a consular applicant receives on admission.
- Concurrent filingConcurrent filing is submitting Form I-485 together with Form I-526 or I-526E, or while the petition is still pending, instead of waiting for the petition to be approved. 8 U.S.C. 1255(n) permits it whenever approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available to the investor.
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