USCIS Releases September 2025 EB-5 Adjudication Data: Approval Rates Remain Strong at 88.3 Percent

USCIS released detailed EB-5 adjudication statistics for September 2025 on October 5, 2025, demonstrating continued strong approval rates and improving processing performance. The September 2025 data showed overall approval rate of 88.3 percent across all EB-5 categories, with rural reserved category approvals at 90.1 percent and high unemployment category approvals at 87.8 percent. Unreserved category approvals were reported at 85.6 percent.

The data further demonstrates that processing times continue to improve, with rural and high unemployment cases averaging approximately 19 months for September adjudications, compared to 20 to 22 months in prior quarters. Vermont Service Center processing times for reserved categories averaged 20 months, while California Service Center times averaged 23 months. Across all service centers, unreserved cases averaged 27 months for September adjudications.

USCIS indicated that the positive trends reflect continued staffing investments and workflow optimization initiatives implemented in recent months. The agency projected that processing times will continue to improve modestly through the remainder of 2025. Industry analysts note that the strong approval rates and improving processing times provide confidence that visa retrogression is unlikely through the end of 2025 and likely through 2026.