Deference

What it decides

Two regimes run side by side. For a petition filed on or after 14 May 2022 the deference is statutory: approval of the regional center's Form I-956F is binding on the adjudication of every later petition by an investor in that offering and on their Form I-829, unless the applicant engaged in fraud, misrepresentation or criminal misuse, the approval would threaten public safety or national security, there has been a material change that affects eligibility, evidence affecting eligibility was not disclosed during the adjudication, or the earlier adjudication involved a material mistake of law or fact. For an earlier petition USCIS applies its own policy, which withholds deference where the underlying facts have materially changed, where there is fraud or willful misrepresentation, or where the earlier decision was legally deficient, meaning an objective mistake of fact or law rather than a second opinion on a judgment call. Deference runs to the project, not to the person: USCIS still reviews each investor's lawful source of funds and other individual eligibility criteria de novo.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(F)(ii), with (F)(iii)(II) on timely amendments being folded into pending petitions; 6 USCIS-PM G.3(A)(2), Previous Determinations and Amendments, page current as of 5 August 2026. The statute carries only the post-2022 rule; the pre-14 May 2022 deference policy, and the de novo review of each investor's source of funds, exist only in the Policy Manual.