Based on a recent hearing in a lawsuit challenging certain EB-5 regulations, it appears the regulations may be struck down due to the illegal appointment of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretaries by the Trump Administration.[1] Enacted on Nov. 21, 2019, the regulations at issue had increased investment amounts from $500,000 to $900,000 for
On May 31, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus announced, “Following CHC Request, GAO Agrees to Open Investigation into Record-Breaking Immigration Case Backlog at USCIS,” in which Chairman Castro stated the following:
My colleagues in the Hispanic Caucus and I look forward to reviewing GAO’s findings. We must ensure that USCIS is meeting its Congressional
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed a sampling of unadjudicated I-526 petitions from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015 to obtain information on: 1) the ratio between investors who invested in Targeted Employment Areas (TEA) or non-TEA designated projects; 2) the geographic locations in which the projects were located; and 3) the capital
In its report published on Aug. 12, 2015, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified three areas for improvement and provided recommendations to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in relation to its administration of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. We summarized the GAO’s report here.
This article will examine the way in which three pending bills in Congress address the GAO’s recommendations. The American Entrepreneurship and Investment Act (H.R.616), the EB-JOBS Act (H.R.3370), and the American Job Creation and Investment Promotion Act (S.1501) have overlapping policy provisions designed to enhance agency oversight authority, promote program integrity, and enhance data collection. These bills provide Congress with a menu of policy ideas that answer GAO’s recommendations. In its response letter to the GAO, USCIS concurred in all of the GAO’s recommendations and agreed to implement them. Pending legislation, however, provides lawmakers with the opportunity to further support USCIS in making the changes the GAO recommended.
In its report, the GAO recommended that USCIS: 1) conduct future risk assessments of the EB-5 Program; 2) expand information collection through petitioner interviews and revised forms; 3) report immigrant investor information collected by USCIS; and 4) include a discussion about program costs and reasons for exclusion of such costs from a forthcoming study on the program by the Department of Commerce. . For the purposes of this article, we will not address the GAO’s fourth recommendation.
In the discussion underlying the recommendation for USCIS to conduct future risk assessments, the GAO cites two areas in particular. First, the GAO describes the challenges adjudicators can experience in verifying an investor’s lawful source of investment funds. Second, the GAO discusses the challenges associated with evaluating the legitimacy of an investment entity and USCIS’ limitations in dealing with suspected fraudulent investments.
Continue Reading Pending EB-5 Legislation Provides a Comprehensive Response to the GAO