On May 17, 2019, EB-5 Industry stakeholder groups, led by the EB-5 Investment Coalition, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The Real Estate Roundtable, IIUSA, Rural Alliance, Real Estate Board of New York, AILA, among others, submitted a joint letter to Senate and House Judiciary Committees leadership in support of principle reforms and reauthorization of the EB-5… Continue Reading
Category Archives: EB-5
Subscribe to EB-5 RSS FeedOMB Releases Spring Unified Regulatory Agenda; Provides Update on EB-5 and Other Pending Regulations
Posted in EB-5, OMBOn May 22, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the bi-annual Spring 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. As set forth in a Federal Register notice and using the Department of Homeland Security as an example, the Unified Agenda is explained as follows: This regulatory agenda is a semiannual summary of… Continue Reading
June 2019 Visa Bulletin Updates on EB-5 Retrogression
Posted in China, EB-5, I-526, India, Vietnamese, Visa, Visa BulletinThe U.S. Department of State just released the updated Visa Bulletin for June 2019. The monthly updated waiting list provides the latest information for foreign nationals who seek to become U.S. permanent residents by applying for immigrant visas at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad or filing adjustment of status applications. The Visa Bulletin for the… Continue Reading
Post Offering Obligations for EB-5 Issuers: “You Closed, Now What?”
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, GT AlertCongratulations! You have subscribed EB-5 investors, closed your offering, and provided the EB-5 funds to the project. Now what? As a general matter, EB-5 investors are either non-managing members of a limited liability company or limited partners of a limited partnership. In either situation, the EB-5 investor has limited managerial and voting rights, yet does… Continue Reading
May 2019 Update on Visa Backlog Times from U.S. State Department
Posted in China, EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, India, State Department, Vietnamese, Visa BulletinOn May 6, 2019, Charles Oppenheim, chief of the U.S. State Department Visa Control and Reporting Division, presented at the IIUSA Conference in Washington, D.C. on the state of visa backlogs for EB-5 immigrant visa applicants. Mr. Oppenheim reported on a number of important issues summarized in this blog. Between approximately Oct. 1, 2018, and… Continue Reading
New Bill Introduced to Use Economic Abilities of EB-5 to Assist Disaster Recovery in Declared National Disaster Areas
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Job Creation, EB-5 Legislation, LegislationOn 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
EB-5 Capital Redeployment: Top 10 Considerations for Investors When a Project Announces Redeployment
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Investment, UncategorizedIn a June 14, 2017 policy alert, USCIS updated its Policy Manual to provide further guidance regarding capital at risk requirements. Pursuant to the most recent Volume 6 of the Policy Manual, USCIS has confirmed and clarified that an EB-5 investor’s funds must sustain his or her investment “at risk” throughout the two-year conditional permanent… Continue Reading
Current EB-5 Processing Times
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Processing Times, UncategorizedCurrently, the average processing time for an I-526 petition ranges from 20.5 to 27 months, as shown in the screenshot from USCIS website below. For cases filed with an receipt date of January 29, 2017 or earlier that remain pending with USCIS, the investors or the attorneys of record can submit an “outside normal processing… Continue Reading
New Report Details Economic Value and Job Creation Impacts Under the EB-5 Program
Posted in EB-5On March 14, 2019, the EB-5 Investment Coalition, in cooperation with Invest in the USA (IIUSA), released the most comprehensive economic analysis of the EB-5 program to date. Laura Reiff, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Immigration & Compliance Practice, commented on the report: “Without the typical data limitations and constraints on economic analysis, premier industry economists… Continue Reading
President Signs Appropriations Legislation Extending EB-5 and More Government Functions
Posted in E-Verify, EB-5, EB-5 Program, Government Shutdown, President Trump's AdministrationCongress approved the Omnibus Appropriations legislation on Feb. 14, 2019. On Feb. 15, the president signed the legislation into law and announced additional executive actions to further address needs the Administration has identified at the southern border. Now, all 12 Appropriations bills for this fiscal year are complete and extended through Sept. 30, 2019, and… Continue Reading
Congress Prepares Action to Avoid Government Shutdown and Fund Vital Programs Such as EB-5
Posted in EB-5, Government ShutdownLate on Feb. 13, 2019, House and Senate Conferees on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations announced an agreement on DHS Appropriations for FY 2019 and the remaining six other outstanding FY 2019 Appropriations measures. The measure, HJ Res 31, or “the Omnibus,” is over 1,000 pages and deals with many areas of government, ranging… Continue Reading
Congress Passes Continuing Resolution Opening Government and Vital Programs such as EB-5 and E-Verify
Posted in Conrad 30 Waiver Program, Continuing Resolution (CR), E-Verify, EB-5As a continuation of an earlier posting, the U.S. Senate initiated a process by voice vote opening the US Government through February 15, H.J. Res 28, and providing for House and Senate consideration of Department of Homeland Security Appropriations, H. J. Res 31. These actions will provide funding for all remaining Appropriations bills subject to… Continue Reading
UPDATE: Government Lapse of Appropriations and Shutdown Status
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, EB-5, Government Shutdown, Legislation, President Trump's Administration, shutdown, UncategorizedAfter 35 days of closure, with multiple House bills debated and passed, and Senate bills debated, President Trump called a press conference the afternoon of Jan. 25 relating to ending the government shutdown. Standing in the Rose Garden, the president announced a deal to reopen the government for three weeks and provide for ongoing fiscal negotiations:… Continue Reading
February 2019 Visa Bulletin Updates
Posted in EB-3, EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, Visa, Visa BulletinThe Department of State (DOS) February 2019 Visa Bulletin shows considerably more movement in employment-based categories than in January. The EB-1 category will advance two months in all countries, with China and India advancing to Feb. 8, 2017, and all other countries moving forward to Dec. 1, 2017. The EB-2 category will remain current for all… Continue Reading
Three Greenberg Traurig Attorneys Recognized in EB-5 Investors Magazine
Posted in Awards & Recognitions, EB-5Three attorneys with global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP are listed in EB-5 Investors Magazine’s, “Top 25 Immigration Attorneys in the EB-5 Industry.” Laura Foote Reiff is included as one of the EB-5 attorneys in specialized fields, for her legislative work. Kate Kalmykov and Jennifer Hermansky are both recognized among the top 25 immigration attorneys…. Continue Reading
Current Trends on Indian EB-5 Investor Market
Posted in EB-5, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, U.S. State Department, Uncategorized, USCISIt is widely known that India has become a major EB-5 investor market in recent years, as EB-5 is becoming an increasingly popular option for Indian nationals who seek permanent residence in the United States; the fact that there has been a growing number of high-net-worth individuals in India clearly helps to stimulate this demand…. Continue Reading
URGENT UPDATE for Scheduled EB-5-Based Green Card Interviews
Posted in Department of State, EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Program, Government Shutdown, shutdown, USCISAs we alerted previously, the U.S. federal government shut down at the end of the day on Dec. 21, 2018. Because the EB-5 regional program was not extended, government agencies such as USCIS and the U.S. State Department will no longer be able to approve adjustment of status (green card) applications and immigrant visas based on… Continue Reading
New Congress Formed; House Passes Package of Legislation to Open Government and Re-Start Critical Programs Such as EB-5
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, EB-5, Government ShutdownOn Jan. 3, 2019, the 115th Congress gaveled to a close, and the newly composed 116th Congress, with the House under control of a Democrat majority and the Senate continuing under Republican control, convened. Appropriations legislation was among the first considered, with the House passing a bill that would open government by extending six… Continue Reading
UPDATE: EB-5 Visa Processing During the Government Shutdown
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, I-526, Immigrant Investor, USCISAs an update to our blog on Dec. 24, USCIS has since clarified that while the EB-5 Regional Center Program expired at the end of the day on Dec. 21, 2018, due to a lapse in congressional authorization to continue the program, USCIS will continue to receive regional center-affiliated Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien… Continue Reading
EB-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
Senate Passes Continuing Resolution Funding Government; Bill Goes to House
Posted in Conrad 30 Waiver Program, Continuing Resolution (CR), E-Verify, EB-5, ImmigrationThe U.S. Senate filed Continuing Resolution, Senate amendment to H.R. 695 – Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018 [Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, legislation on Dec. 19 to extend government programs and operations through Feb. 8, 2019 and to prevent a partial government shutdown on Dec. 21. From the Senate Appropriations Committee press release… Continue Reading
January 2019 Visa Bulletin Updates
Posted in EB-3, EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, Visa, Visa BulletinThe Department of State (DOS) January 2019 Visa Bulletin has resulted in mixed bag of retrogression for some and advancement for others. The EB-1 category moved forward approximately 3 months across the board. EB-3 China and India are both now at Dec. 15, 2016. The EB-2 category showed minor improvement for China to Aug. 1, 2015,… Continue Reading
President Signs Extension of Government Funding and Programs, such as EB-5 and other critical immigration programs, through Dec 21, 2018
Posted in Continuing Resolution (CR), EB-5, ImmigrationAs an update to this reporting- House Introduces Two-Week Continuing Resolution to Extend Vital Programs such as EB-5, on Dec. 6, the House passed H.J. Res 143 – FY 2019 Continuing Resolution Through December 21, 2018, by unanimous consent. The measure proceeded to the Senate and was approved by unanimous consent approximately one-hour after passing… 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