On April 9, 2019, Rep. González-Colón (R-PR-At Large) introduced H.R.2173 – a bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reserve EB-5 visas each fiscal year for investors in new commercial enterprises in areas where a major disaster has been declared by the president. The bill is not publicly available as of this writing,… Continue Reading
Category Archives: EB-5 Legislation
Subscribe to EB-5 Legislation RSS FeedEB-5 Processing During the Government Shutdown
Posted in Department of State, EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, Government Shutdown, I-526, I-829, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, NOID, RFE, shutdown, USCISThe U.S. federal government shut down at the end of the day on Dec. 21, 2018, and the president did not sign into law the extension of the EB-5 program passed by the Senate. Until the shutdown ends, and the Regional Center EB-5 program extension is signed into law, no new I-526 petitions can be… Continue Reading
U.S. District Court for District of Columbia Issues Important Decision in Favor of EB-5 Investors
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, GT Alert, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, USCIS, VisaIn the matter of Huashan Zhang, et al. v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, et al. (United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018), plaintiffs challenged the decisions of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to deny their EB-5 immigrant investor visa petitions based upon USCIS’ erroneous interpretation… Continue Reading
USCIS Updates Policy Manual Regarding Impermissible Debt Arrangements
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Business Plan, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, UncategorizedOn 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… Continue Reading
OMB Publishes Fall 2018 Unified Agenda with EB-5 Regulatory Updates
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, EB-5, EB-5 Business Plan, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Processing Times, EB-5 Program, EB-5 Project, Immigration, Immigration Law, Investment, Proposed Rule, Uncategorized, USCIS, USCIS Public EngagementToday, 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 focus on EB-5… Continue Reading
Important Development for Vietnamese and Chinese EB-5 Investors in October 2018
Posted in China, Department of State, EB-5, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Processing Times, EB-5 Program, Green Cards, I-526, Immigrant Green Card, Immigrant Investor, Immigration, Immigration Law, State Department, USCIS, Vietnamese, VisaThis coming October, USCIS is allowing a number of foreign nationals to apply for adjustment of status earlier than they would otherwise be eligible. Specifically, USCIS has announced that it will allow individuals with immigrant petitions in employment-based categories to apply for adjustment of status based on the cutoff dates in the “Dates for Filing” Chart… Continue Reading
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Accepting Public Benefits
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Legislation, I-829, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, Immigration Reform, President Trump's Administration, USCIS, VisaThis is the fifth post in a series that discusses how EB-5 investors and their dependents can maintain eligibility for permanent residence and I-829 Petition approval. This blog focuses on accepting certain public benefits that may make an investor and/or his or her dependents a “public charge.” The Trump Administration has stated that USCIS will start… Continue Reading
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Criminal Issues and Taxes
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Legislation, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, Immigration Reform, President Trump's Administration, Tax Considerations, VisaThis is the fourth post in a series that discusses how EB-5 investors and their dependents can maintain eligibility for permanent residence and I-829 Petition approval. This blog focuses on criminal issues and tax issues. President Trump’s Executive Order, along with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implementation memorandum, prioritizes removable aliens who: Have been convicted… Continue Reading
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Termination of CPR Status
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, Immigrant Investor, Immigration, Immigration Law, Immigration Reform, President Trump's Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protections, USCISAs we previously reported, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum entitled “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens”[1] on June 28, 2018. This Policy Memorandum was issued in response to President Trump’s Executive Order (EO), “Enhancing Public… Continue Reading
Updates to USCIS Policy Manual on EB-5 Investors: Change of Regional Center Considered a Material Change by USCIS
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, I-526, Immigration, Immigration Law, USCISOn Aug. 24, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a significant update to its Policy Manual, Part G: Immigrant Investors. In its Policy Alert, USCIS outlined the changes to the Policy Manual. Notable among the updates was the following: Policy Highlight 5 Explains that USCIS considers a change in regional center affiliation a… Continue Reading
USCIS Ombudsman Releases Annual Report to Congress
Posted in EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, USCISOn June 30, USCIS released its Annual Report 2017 to Congress on matters relating to its mission – “Congress charged us with the duty to aid applicants and their sponsors who are experiencing difficulties applying for immigration benefits with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In addition, Congress bestowed on us the responsibility of identifying… Continue Reading
Congressional Spending Legislation Containing an Extension for the EB-5 Regional Center Program Passed in the House and Senate
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Legislation, LegislationToday, September 28, both the House and Senate have approved short-term federal spending legislation that contains an extension for the EB-5 Regional Center Program. The legislation extends the EB-5 Regional Center Program through December 9, 2016, with no changes to program policy. In December, following the federal elections, the Congress is expected to reconvene for… Continue Reading