Changes and Trends in EB-5 Investment Immigration
Is it the End of the EB-5 World as We Know it? How to Prepare for Potential Changes
Significant increases to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) filing fees are set to go into effect on April 1, 2024. However, a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado may delay that...more
Thanks to a final rule recently announced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), filing fees are about to increase on April 1, 2024, and filers who fail to make haste will end up paying more, or risk...more
The EB-5 immigrant visa investor program has been used as an alternative source of funding for many real estate developers. EB-5 investors have typically preferred real estate related projects, and EB-5 capital has been used...more
Congress has mandated that in a given calendar year, 140,000 employment-based green cards will be awarded to companies sponsoring foreign nationals for permanent employment in the United States. This mandate is effective on...more
Last week, USCIS issued significant Policy Guidelines concerning its stipulated attempt to address fairness concerns with coordinating I-526 petition adjudications with U.S. State Department visa allocations. ...more
Congress returns to Washington this week after the Thanksgiving recess to find a feast of leftover legislative items still on the table. Congress has a limited number of days remaining on the 2019 legislative calendar to...more
Earlier this month the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (H.R. 1044), an act that would radically change the way employment-based immigrant visas are allocated by eliminating...more
In our continuing series of reports, Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, shares his most recent analysis of current trends and future projections for the...more
The EB-5 Program has been extended for six months, through September 30, 2018, as part of the omnibus spending bill funding the federal government. Congress passed the spending bill early Friday morning and President Trump...more
There have been significant movements in Congress to try to come up with a final compromise bill to resolve the impasse that has been in existence for the past two and one-half years (2½) years. It is difficult to predict...more
U.S. immigration policy continues to be a subject of national debate, but almost everyone agrees that the EB-5 visa program has been a win-win for immigrants and the U.S. economy. Under the EB-5 program, foreign nationals can...more
Earlier this year we wrote about the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to combat fraud in the EB-5 immigrant visa program, with the filing of several federal lawsuits seeking the forfeiture of nine real properties...more
One of the more popular topics among EB-5 project owners and practitioners in recent years is the requirement that investors' funds remain "at risk" as a bona fide "investment." Complications arise regarding maintenance of...more
As reported by Ballard Spahr in previous Alerts, many members of Congress have proposed and considered several reform measures to the U.S. Immigrant Investor Program, known as "EB-5," over the past several years....more
With the inauguration just days away, what will the immigration landscape look like in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration? We can expect a lot of talk about enforcement, about the repeal of various executive...more
For those of us reading tea leaves after the election, the question remains: how will the election of Donald Trump to the office of the presidency affect immigration? Candidate Trump became well-known for his strong...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: USCIS proposes a regulation to grant special “parole” entry to certain foreign entrepreneurs backed by venture capitalists and angel investors. The rule is long and complicated, while the benefit granted...more
We previously warned that some individuals involved with arranging EB-5 investments may be required to register as broker-dealers (see "Immigrant Investor Program Raises SEC Broker Registration Issues" in the Summer 2014...more
Cutoff dates for EB-3 Philippines available, but backlogged to 2004. Cutoff dates for EB-3 China backlogged to 2004, while cutoff dates for Mexico and the rest of the world advance by three and a half months. Cutoff dates for...more
Cutoff dates for EB-3 Philippines become unavailable, cutoff dates for EB-2 China advance by four months, and cutoff dates for EB-3 for Mexico and the Rest of the World advance by six weeks. The US Department of State...more
The Commission prevailed on summary judgment in an action against a broker which alleged he misappropriated client funds. The agency also filed actions centered on: an audit failure; the EB-5 immigration program; undisclosed...more
The government’s EB-5 program is supposed to be a win win for everyone. For immigrants seeking admission to the United States it is supposed to provide a path to citizenship if the requirements, centered on the investment of...more
On August 23, 2014, the State Department announced that the employment based fifth-preference category (EB-5) is unavailable for Chinese nationals for the remainder of FY2014, through September 30, 2014, due to the large...more