On September 9, 2014, USCIS held a stakeholder conference call for individuals interested in the EB-5 Program with John Lion, Julia Harrison and Nicolas Colucci. This was the first stakeholder conference call for the new deputy director of EB-5, Julia Harrison, who has had a long career with USCIS.

Mr. Colucci gave a run-down of recent developments with the Immigrant Investor Program Office (IIPO) in his opening remarks. The IIPO currently has 83 employees and expects to hire another 10-12 in October. The IIPO goal is to hire approximately 110 employees by the end of the calendar year 2014. USCIS is also working on an interagency symposium with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal banking regulators, and the Departments of Commerce and Labor to increase EB-5 Program awareness, share knowledge and solicit ideas from each other for regulatory changes. Mr. Colucci also discussed the anticipated creation of a new engagement tool known as “EB-5 Interactive,” which would increase engagement with stakeholders, provide filing tips and discuss commonly issued RFEs and how to avoid such RFEs. USCIS is also implementing the Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendation to partner with the Department of Commerce to conduct a study on the economic impact of the EB-5 Program. Mr. Colucci anticipates that study to release its findings in the summer of 2015.Continue Reading Recent Updates from USCIS Leadership on EB-5