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Category Archives: Immigrant Investor

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By Nataliya Rymer on 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, Visa

This 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

By Greenberg Traurig on 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, Visa

This 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

By Jennifer Hermansky on 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, Visa

This 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

By Jennifer Hermansky on 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, USCIS

As 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

By Jennifer Hermansky on Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, President Trump's Administration, USCIS

EB-5 investors should maintain their eligibility for conditional permanent resident status, especially during any period of visa backlog occurring in between the time of I-526 Petition approval and when the investor’s priority date becomes current. This is the second post in a series that discusses how EB-5 investors and their dependents can maintain eligibility for… Continue Reading

By Sylvia Sobczyk on Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, I-829, Immigrant Investor, USCIS

Due to a recent system conversion at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), all I-829 receipt notices and ASC Appointment notices are now delayed 90 days or more.  This may be dismaying for many EB-5 investors and their dependent family members who may have waited a long time to reach this final step… Continue Reading

By Kristen W. Ng on Posted in I-526, I-924, Immigrant Investor, USCIS

On Nov. 7, 2017, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) held an EB-5 stakeholder program at their New York City field office. GT attorneys Kate Kalmykov and Kristen Ng attended the in-person session.  During the engagement, key members of the IPO addressed: 1) updates from the IPO; 2) priorities for… Continue Reading

By Sylvia Sobczyk on Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Program, I-526, Immigrant Investor, USCIS, Visa

USCIS recently announced the release of a new edition of Form I-526, with the new edition dated 04/10/2017. Starting on June 9, 2017, USCIS will only accept the 04/10/2017 edition.  Until then, investors can use the 12/23/2016 edition. Both editions of Form I-526 are available to download at no cost on the USCIS website. Investors… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Awards & Recognitions, EB-5, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa

The Business Immigration & Compliance Practice of Greenberg Traurig, LLP is pleased to announce that Jennifer Hermansky has been elevated to shareholder in the Philadelphia office. Hermansky focuses her immigration practice on both employment-based and family-based immigration. Specifically, she focuses her practice on EB-5 immigrant investor visas. She has prepared and filed many immigrant investor… Continue Reading

By Dillon Colucci on Posted in EB-5 Program, I-526, I-924, Immigrant Investor, Immigration, Regional Center, USCIS

The Immigrant Investor Program office (IPO) has decided to hold in abeyance I-526 Petitions until the adjudication of an associated Exemplar I-924 Petition, even when an associated I-526 Petition is past posted processing times. This has had a particularly detrimental effect on I-526 Petitions filed prior to Sept. 30, 2015, when there was a surge… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Events, Immigrant Investor

Kate Kalmykov and Jennifer Hermansky recently attended the Investment Immigration Summit MENA in Dubai. The Summit is the leading immigration conference in the Middle East, hosting hundreds of immigration agents and consultants, private bankers and wealth managers, law firms and government officials.  Hermansky provided an outlook for EB-5 in 2017.  Kalmykov presented a workshop on L-1… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff on Posted in Department of Homeland Security, EB-5 Investment, Immigrant Investor, USCIS, Visa

On Aug. 26, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking for an International Entrepreneur Rule, and provided an advance version of the proposed rule for public review. According to an announcement from USCIS, the proposed rule will allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to exercise discretion, on a… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff on Posted in EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, Immigrant Investor

Yesterday, the leading EB-5 Trade Associations/Coalitions sent a letter to the Senate and House Judiciary Committee Leaders and Members expressing support for extending the EB-5 Regional Center Program and recommending concrete changes.  This is a decisive moment for the EB-5 Industry as the key members of the community are all speaking with one voice This… Continue Reading

By Dillon Colucci on Posted in EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Program, Immigrant Investor, USCIS

The USCIS Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) held its first stakeholder engagement of 2016 on Feb. 3. Primarily speaking for USCIS were Nicholas Colucci, Chief of the IPO, Julia Harrison, Deputy Chief of the IPO, and Laurie McKenzie, the new Division Chief of Policy and Performance. Processing Times and Backlog Reduction Issues As has been… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in EB-5 Program, Immigrant Investor

EB-5 Investors magazine hosted a conference earlier this week focusing on keeping the  EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program a priority for lawmakers before it expires on September 30. Laura Reiff, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Business Immigration & Compliance Practice, is the executive director for the EB-5 Investment Coalition and was a panelist at the event. In… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff on Posted in EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Program, Immigrant Investor

The United States Conference of Mayors conference hosted their 83rd Annual Meeting on June 19-22, 2015 in San Francisco, California. The EB-5 immigration investor program was included in the adopted resolutions of the organization as listed herein: EB-5 IMMIGRANT INVESTOR PROGRAM WHEREAS, EB-5 is the designation for the fifth employment-based preference immigrant visa category established… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff and on Posted in EB-5 Program, Immigrant Investor

The EB-5 program is currently at risk of expiring Sept. 30, 2015.  Congress needs to act immediately to reauthorize this program which has a proven record for stimulating the economy and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. On March 23, 2015, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) released a statement explaining the merits of the EB-5 program and the… Continue Reading

By Dillon Colucci and on Posted in EB-5 Program, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Retrogression, USCIS

Following is the Chinese translation of a previously published blog post: 鉴于EB-5签证排期倒退迫近，现在就优先日期以及I-526申请批准书上涉及的有关内容做些基本介绍，正是一个合适的时机。美国联邦法律规定，每个财政年度EB-5签证的可用额度上限为10，000 名额. EB-5投资人提交I-526申请后，其I-526申请被美国移民局（USCIS）接收的日期，视为EB-5投资人的“优先日期”。排期倒退是指，签证额度达到上限后，美国国务院（DOS）必须根据过去的优先日期，给签证申请人划定一个截止日期，从而产生的时间滞期。打个形象的比方，EB-5签证好比是排队，EB-5投资人的优先日期就是其在长队中的位置。

By Dillon Colucci on Posted in EB-5 Program, I-526, I-829, I-924, Immigrant Investor, Uncategorized, USCIS

USCIS updated its processing times for the Immigrant Investor Program Office on Feb. 11, 2015. Unfortunately, the news is not welcome. Processing times ticked up slightly to 14 months for I-526 Petitions, 11.4 months for I-829 Petitions and 11.1 months for I-924 Applications. The I-924 Application processing time has risen a full seven months from a low… Continue Reading

By Dillon Colucci and on Posted in EB-5 Program, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Retrogression, USCIS

With retrogression looming, it is a good time for a quick primer on priority dates and the information contained on an I-526 petition approval. U.S. federal law caps the number of EB-5 visas that are available each fiscal year at 10,000. When an EB-5 investor files an I-526 Petition, the day his or her I-526… Continue Reading

By Nataliya Dominguez on Posted in EB-5 Program, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa

On Jan. 28, 2015, Congressmen Jared Polis (D-CO) and Mark Amodei (R-NV) introduced the American Entrepreneurship and Investment Act of 2015, which seeks to update and permanently authorize the EB-5 Immigrant Investor visa program. The bipartisan measure follows long-standing calls from numerous groups in the commercial, residential, hospitality, retail, and real estate industries to make… Continue Reading

By Dillon Colucci on Posted in EB-5 Program, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa

The U.S. State Department (the “State Department”) issued good news for Chinese EB-5 investors today. The October 2014 Visa Bulletin reflected the EB-5 visa is current for mainland-born Chinese EB-5 investors. As we noted in August, the State Department made an announcement that as of August 23, 2014, EB-5 immigrant visa numbers for Chinese nationals… Continue Reading

By Kate Kalmykov on Posted in Immigrant Investor

As previously reported by Greenberg Traurig’s EB-5 team, the U.S. Department of State recently announced that immigrant visa numbers for Chinese nationals in the EB-5 category will become unavailable through September 30, 2014 which will mark the end of Fiscal Year 2014. To  address this development, Greenberg Traurig and EB5 Investors magazine will host a… Continue Reading