Court tosses EB-5 investor’s ‘unreasonable delay’ suit, limiting leverage over USCIS processing backlogs

On 15 October the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed Huang v. USCIS, a lawsuit that sought to compel a decision on an EB-5 immigrant-investor petition pending since 2024. Judge Royce Lamberth held that the Immigration and Nationality Act bars jurisdiction over discretionary adjudications and that the plaintiff failed to respond to USCIS’ motion to dismiss. The ruling undercuts a litigation strategy increasingly used by foreign investors frustrated with processing times that now exceed four years for some EB-5 cases. While courts in the Ninth and Seventh Circuits have occasionally entertained similar Mandamus-Act suits, the D.C. District Court signalled it would not intervene absent clear statutory duty and egregious delay. For regional centers and corporate development projects that rely on EB-5 capital, the decision means continued uncertainty: investors waiting on Form I-526 approval may be reluctant to release funds, slowing construction timelines and job-creation targets. Employers sponsoring EB-5 candidates for managerial roles should adjust onboarding assumptions accordingly. Immigration counsel note that the case also underscores the procedural risk of missing response deadlines: Judge Lamberth treated the investor’s silence as conceding USCIS’ arguments. Going forward, litigants will need stronger records of harm and prompt briefing to survive early dismissal.