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Industry association IIUSA (Invest in the USA) published on September 10 its analysis of USCIS I-526E data for the third quarter of FY2026 (April 1 – June 30, 2026). The headline: investor demand and capital formation remain strong, but adjudications are slowing, the approval rate is falling, and the backlog is growing.
Key figures for the quarter
| Metric | FY2026 Q3 |
|---|---|
| EB-5 investor petitions received | 1,665 (1,599 I-526E; 66 standalone I-526) |
| I-526E adjudications | 904 (687 approvals, 217 denials) |
| I-526E approval rate | 76% |
| Standalone I-526 approval rate | 31% |
| Legacy pre-RIA I-526 approval rate | 18% |
| Pending I-526E (as of June 30) | 11,192, up 25% year over year |
| Pending legacy I-526 | 960 |
FY2026 through Q3
- India-born investors filed 1,977 petitions and China-born investors 1,970 — essentially even.
- IIUSA estimates $4.18 billion of EB-5 capital raised in the first three quarters of FY2026.
- Nearly 20,000 investor petitions have been filed since the RIA took effect.
Reading the trends
- Approval rate down from 94% to 76%. FY2025 saw quarterly approval rates as high as 94%; this quarter’s 217 denials mark a clear rise. IIUSA’s public summary does not break down denial reasons; investors should focus on source-of-funds and project-document quality.
- Adjudication volume below the FY2025 second-half peak. Each FY2026 quarter has produced far fewer I-526E decisions than the record pace of late FY2025, while receipts have not fallen — hence the growing inventory.
- Project preferences diverging. Chinese and Indian investors continue to favor rural projects; Indian demand for high-unemployment-area (HUA) projects is rising in FY2026; investors from Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, and most other markets still predominantly choose HUA projects.
What it means for applicants
- A growing inventory suggests longer I-526E waits outside the rural priority lane; on the visa side, the reserved categories remain Current (see the October 2026 Visa Bulletin).
- A falling approval rate is a reminder that completeness and source-of-funds quality matter more than filing speed.
- The KPIs on our home page and Data Hub have been updated to this quarter’s figures.
Further reading: Rural vs. High-Unemployment Projects · Five Common Source-of-Funds Pitfalls
Sources
- IIUSA, “I-526E Data Analysis for Q3 FY2026: Strong EB-5 Demand Continues as Adjudications Slow, Denials Increase and Pending Inventory Grows” (September 10, 2026), based on USCIS quarterly statistics