President Biden’s Executive Order, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans,” promotes the efficient and fair adjudication of immigration benefits by applying deference to previous adjudications as a significant mechanism in the adjudication of new petitions or applications. Generally, USCIS now should defer to
As previously blogged (see EB-5 Regulations Published for Public Inspection), the EB-5 regulations have been published as of July 24, 2019, as final, to take effect Nov. 21, 2019. Below is a summary of the changes that will impact the EB-5 program:
Today, OMB posted that they have concluded their review of the Obama-era EB-5 regulations. On Jan. 13, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking to significantly raise minimum investment levels and other programmatic changes to the EB-5 program (see related GT EB-5 Insights post here). It is unclear what
At a recent EB-5 industry forum, Mr. Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Department of State (DOS) Immigrant Visa Control & Reporting Division, provided key insights on what the latest data suggests regarding the future availability of visas in the EB-5 category.
Top EB-5 Visa Users in FY2018: China, Vietnam, and India
In terms of EB-5
On Oct. 30, 2018, USCIS issued an update to the USCIS Policy Manual clarifying the types of agreements that constitute an impermissible debt arrangement. USCIS revised Part G, Volume 6, Chapter 2, Section A.2. to reflect various scenarios where an operating agreement of a new commercial enterprise will or will not constitute an impermissible redemption
Today, OMB published the bi-annual Unified Regulatory Agenda. This important transparency tool reflects agency rulemaking updates and plans for the immediate future. The updates are broad and encompass all areas of rulemaking. The dates provided by the agency are best thinking at the time and are subject to change. For purposes of this blog, we
The EB-5 Program is a complicated decision that requires much thought, diligence, and preparation. In light of this, it is important for an investor to know their rights. With recent headlines highlighting the problems with some EB-5 projects, it is important for a potential investor to know that the EB-5 program does work and is
In a welcome bit of news for the EB-5 industry, USCIS released updated processing times dated as of April 30, 2014 which show USCIS is processing I-924 applications in approximately 4.4 months. Earlier this year, the processing of I-924 applications was moved to the new Immigrant Investor Program Office (IIPO) in Washington D.C. The new EB-5 Program Director Nicholas Colucci oversaw this transition and, during the February 2014 USCIS EB-5 Public Engagement, expressed optimism that the move to the IIPO and ramp-up of new staff at the IIPO would lead to shorter processing times. This new announcement by USCIS appears to be the fruits of that labor by Mr. Colucci and the IIPO and is significantly less than the most recent processing time reports, which pegged the I-924 application processing time at approximately 12 months.
Continue Reading I-924 Processing Times Reduced to 4 Months
In 1998, the Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”) issued a precedent decision known as Matter of Ho that set forth the requirements of an EB-5 compliant business plan. According to Matter of Ho, as part of an I-526 petition an EB-5 investor must submit a comprehensive business plan demonstrating the following elements: