The Department of State (DOS) November 2018 Visa Bulletin shows movement in employment-based categories. The EB-1 category remained retrogressed for November 2018. Although it is likely that there will be some forward movement in December 2018 for EB-1 India, it will probably NOT return to “current” this calendar year. The EB-2 India category will likely move… Continue Reading
Category Archives: USCIS
Subscribe to USCIS RSS FeedOMB Publishes Fall 2018 Unified Agenda with EB-5 Regulatory Updates
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, EB-5, EB-5 Business Plan, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Processing Times, EB-5 Program, EB-5 Project, Immigration, Immigration Law, Investment, Proposed Rule, Uncategorized, USCIS, USCIS Public EngagementToday, OMB published the bi-annual Unified Regulatory Agenda. This important transparency tool reflects agency rulemaking updates and plans for the immediate future. The updates are broad and encompass all areas of rulemaking. The dates provided by the agency are best thinking at the time and are subject to change. For purposes of this blog, we focus on EB-5… Continue Reading
Proposed Immigration Rule – Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, Proposed Rule, USCIS, VisaUSCIS has proposed rules that could deny entry to non-immigrants seeking admission to the United States and adjustment of status to permanent residence to immigrants if they rely on public benefits for food, housing or medical care, and other forms of public assistance. The proposed rule – “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds” – is published in… Continue Reading
Important Development for Vietnamese and Chinese EB-5 Investors in October 2018
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, VisaThis 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
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Accepting Public Benefits
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, VisaThis 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
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Termination of CPR Status
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, USCISAs 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
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Criminal Issues and Material Misrepresentations
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, I-526, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, President Trump's Administration, USCISEB-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
Updates to USCIS Policy Manual on EB-5 Investors: Change of Regional Center Considered a Material Change by USCIS
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Legislation, EB-5 Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, I-526, Immigration, Immigration Law, USCISOn Aug. 24, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a significant update to its Policy Manual, Part G: Immigrant Investors. In its Policy Alert, USCIS outlined the changes to the Policy Manual. Notable among the updates was the following: Policy Highlight 5 Explains that USCIS considers a change in regional center affiliation a… Continue Reading
Maintaining Eligibility for Permanent Residence for EB-5 Investors: Nonimmigrant Status
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, EB-5 Investment, EB-5 Program, Executive Order, Green Cards, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, President Trump's Administration, USCISAs 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” on June 28, 2018. This Policy Memorandum was issued in response to President Trump’s Executive Order (EO), “Enhancing Public Safety… Continue Reading
UPDATE: USCIS Postpones Implementation of New Policy Memoranda on Notices to Appear
Posted in NTAs, USCISAs previously reported, on June 28, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum titled “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens.” USCIS has announced that because it is waiting for operational guidance on the Policy… Continue Reading
Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Oversight Hearing on EB-5
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, USCISToday, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held an oversight hearing on the Immigrant Investor EB-5 program. The well-attended full committee hearing focused on reported fraud within the current program and the path forward for EB-5. The sole witness was USCIS Director Francis Cissna. There were a few takeaways from the hearing, including: Director… Continue Reading
I-829 Petition Receipt Notices Valid for 18 Months as Proof of Status
Posted in I-829, USCISOn June 11, 2018, USCIS announced that Petitioners who file Form I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, will receive a Form I-797 receipt notice that can be presented with their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, as evidence of continued status for 18 months past the expiration date on their conditional… Continue Reading
USCIS Policy Alert on EB-5 Investors with Pending I-829 Petitions
Posted in I-829, USCISOn May 2, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Alert regarding an update made to the USCIS Policy Manual related to the documentation for conditional permanent resident (CPR) status provided by USCIS to immigrant investors with pending I-829 petitions. Every EB-5 investor with CPR status must file an I-829… Continue Reading
OMB/OIRA Publishes the Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory Actions
Posted in EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, USCISToday, the Office of Management and Budget via the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs published the Spring Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions . This bi-annual publication informs the public of regulations under consideration or planned by federal agencies. Agencies are not bound by these postings, but transparency in the rulemaking process is… Continue Reading
EB-5 Alert – Recent System Conversion at USCIS Results in 90+ Day Delay for I-829 Receipt Notices and ASC Appointment Notices
Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, I-829, Immigrant Investor, USCISDue 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
Homeland Security Inspector General Issues Report on USCIS Processing Times for Green Cards
Posted in Green Cards, USCISOn March 14, USCIS released an Inspector General’s report on Green Card Processing Times. The report found that green card processing times exceeded the existing 120-day goal by taking an average of 282 days to complete. The report identified processing times are greatly affected by interviews and vetting occurring at USCIS. The report made two… Continue Reading
Center for Regulatory Effectiveness Petitions DHS for Rulemaking to Reform EB-5
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, USCISOn Jan. 17, The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (The CRE), a Washington D.C. administrative watchdog group, filed a petition with the Department of Homeland Security to reform the EB-5 program to create jobs in rural America and areas of high unemployment. In making the announcement, The CRE posted:
OMB OIRA Releases Unified Agenda and USCIS Regulatory Priorities, Including H-1B, EB-5, and More
Posted in EB-5, USCIS, VisaOn Dec. 14, the Office of Management and Budget Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OMB) published the biennial Unified Agenda. A long-standing outgrowth of previous regulatory reform efforts, the Unified Agenda offers the public the “current thinking” of federal agencies on upcoming Agency regulatory priorities. Of importance to the immigration community, DHS USCIS posed… Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig’s Kate Kalmykov Recently Presented at the EB-5 Conference with USCIS IPO
Posted in Events, President Trump's Administration, USCISKate Kalmykov recently presented at the EB-5 Conference with the USCIS Investor Program Office (IPO) hosted by The Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute – Baruch College. Kalmykov’s panel addressed a hot topic for attendees on the EB-5 program, including redeployment of funds, visa backlogs, and the future of the EB-5 program under the Trump… Continue Reading
I-526 Practice Tips to Help Avoid RFEs and NOIDs on Third-Party Exchangers
Posted in I-526, USCISWe previously reported on the disturbing Request for Evidence (RFE) trend where investors and their attorneys were not receiving RFEs in the mail even though the case status showed that one was issued. We are now reporting on another trend, this time in the substance of the RFEs and the results from submitting responses, specifically… Continue Reading
USCIS Holds EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement in New York City Field Office
Posted in I-526, I-924, Immigrant Investor, USCISOn 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
I-526 TREND: Delays in Receiving Requests for Evidence
Posted in I-526, Immigrant Investor, USCISInvestors and their attorneys alike have taken note of a disturbing trend recently: when USCIS issues a Request for Evidence (RFE), it is oftentimes not received by either party. Typically, RFEs are mailed in hard copy, and a copy is mailed to the Investor, and a second copy is mailed to the attorney of record. … Continue Reading
New Trump Administration Policy in Support of Buy American, Hire American Toughens Visa Extension Process
Posted in H-1B Cap, President Trump's Administration, USCIS, VisaFor over a decade, filing an extension of nonimmigrant status in visa categories such as the H-1B was a fairly routine process for cases involving the same employer and same underlying facts. This changed yesterday. As part of the Trump Administration’s Buy American, Hire American: Putting American Workers First initiative, USCIS rescinded a long-standing policy… Continue Reading
The White House Releases Immigration Principles & Policies
Posted in Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Immigrant Visa, President Trump's Administration, USCIS, VisaOn Oct. 8, 2017, the White House released the promised Immigration Principles & Policies (Principles & Policies) which outline the Trump Administration’s position on immigration. This document is broken into three parts: 1) Border Security, 2) Interior Enforcement, and 3) Merit-Based Immigration. A summary of each part is broken down below.