The sequence is petition adjudication, then visa availability under the Visa Bulletin, then consular processing or adjustment, then admission as conditional residents. Each stage has its own timeline, and reserved categories for rural or high-unemployment projects may move differently from the unreserved queue. No adviser can promise a date.
Four stages, each with its own clock
Hypothetical example: the family hopes to enrol their younger children in a US school for a particular September. They should understand that the calendar is not theirs to set. The investor petition is adjudicated by USCIS in the order and at the pace its processing data shows, and the family should consult current published times rather than an anecdote.
Once approved, the family needs a visa number, which the monthly Visa Bulletin shows as current or backlogged for their country of chargeability and category; projects in reserved rural or high-unemployment categories have their own allocations, which is one reason the project's designation matters. Consular processing then requires document collection, a medical examination and an interview. Only after admission does the two-year conditional period begin, and the I-829 window opens ninety days before its second anniversary.
A realistic plan treats the school year as a hope, keeps the West Kelowna home until admission is certain, and avoids commitments that assume a date the process has not yet produced.