On Aug. 24, 2023, USCIS announced further updates to Chapter 7 of the Policy Manual, made with the goal to expand the number of children who may be able to
Continue Reading USCIS Announces Further Updates to Policy Manual Regarding Interpretation of Child Status Protection Act Provisions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued updated guidance in its Policy Manual, which makes a key change in the interpretation of when an immigrant visa number “becomes available”
Continue Reading USCIS Updates Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) Age Calculation for Certain Adjustment of Status Applicants
Please join Greenberg Traurig Immigration & Compliance Practice Co-Chair Kate Kalmykov and Shareholder Nataliya Rymer for a presentation on the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) provisions and their application in
Continue Reading Dec. 6 WEBINAR | The Interplay Between the Child Status Protection Act and EB-5: When Are Children Protected?As you may know, the EB-5 immigrant visa category is expected to retrogress for Vietnam this year. Below is a guide to frequently asked questions pertaining to the announcement of
Continue Reading Retrogression FAQs for Vietnamese EB-5 Based Green Card Applicants
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。
Continue Reading 排期倒退、优先日期与I-526申请标准通知书
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 petition is received at USCIS is the EB-5 investor’s “priority date.” Retrogression is the term which denotes the time period when the visa cap is reached and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) must establish a cut off-date for visa applicants based on a priority date in the past. An analogy might be to consider the EB-5 visa category as a queue and an EB-5 Investor’s priority date as his or her place in line in the queue.
Continue Reading Retrogression, Priority Dates and I-526 Petition Approval Notices
On September 9, 2014 the U.S. State Department (the State Department) issued the October 2014 Visa Bulletin which reflected the EB-5 visa category as “current” for mainland-born Chinese EB-5 investors. However, there is speculation and anticipation that the EB-5 visa for mainland-born Chinese EB-5 investors will become unavailable during the U.S. government’s 2014-2015 fiscal year (the U.S. government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30). If this occurs, there will be impacts felt throughout the EB-5 industry.
Continue Reading A Look Forward: FY 2014-2015 & Possible Retrogression Effects
Background
Under the Immigration Nationality Act (INA), a person is defined as a “child” when he/she is unmarried and under the age of 21. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) allows principal applicants and their derivative beneficiaries to remain eligible for immigration benefits when the beneficiary has aged-out by turning 21. The CSPA was enacted to protect the applicants who aged out due to the delay in the adjudication of the petition or application.
Additionally, in order for an applicant to be protected under the CSPA, the applicant must “seek to acquire” the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence within one year of the visa availability [see INA Section 203(h)(1)(A)]. Under previous USCIS Policy, there are three ways to meet the “seek to acquire” requirement: