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
EB-5 regional centers approved before the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) have been given new clarity and mercy about the new Integrity Fee, but they remain in limbo about filing I-956 amendments...more
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“RIA”) notes that “[a]n alien seeking to pool his or her investment with 1 or more additional aliens seeking classification under section 203(b)(5) shall file for such classification...more
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program has gone through significant changes in 2022 due to the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA). Created in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and...more
Subsequent to the March 15, 2022, enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (the “Integrity Act”), the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security...more
Key Points - USCIS’ deauthorization of previously approved EB-5 Regional Centers has been rescinded, and the EB-5 program is once again active. EB-5 investors will no longer be required to wait several months for...more
Following the March 15, 2022 enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (the “Integrity Act” or “RIA”), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), a component agency of the Department of...more
An agreement settling litigation against USCIS overturns its initial interpretation of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) and allows regional centers (RCs) that were designated before RIA enactment to sponsor new...more
After Congress passed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act in March 2022, USCIS announced that the act repealed the legacy Regional Center Program. Consequently, more than 600 existing regional centers were effectively...more
On April 29, 2022, USCIS held its EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 Listening Session and clarified that entities seeking to be designated as a regional center are required to file Form I-956, Application for Regional...more
EB-5 Regional Center Program reauthorized as part of Omnibus Spending Bill - After having lapsed over the summer of 2021, the EB-5 Regional Center Program (“RC Program”) was reauthorized as part of the Omnibus Spending...more
The Program allows federally authorized “Regional Centers” to pool foreign EB-5 visa applicants’ investments to exponentially fuel U.S. local and regional economies with projects that create and save thousands of American...more
In the evening hours of March 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.5 trillion spending bill that would fund the U.S. government through the rest of the fiscal year and provide $13.6 billion to respond to Russia’s...more
On March 15, 2022, the United States enacted the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (the 2022 Act) as part of a large omnibus budget package of legislation. The 39-page compromise legislation grandfathers existing workers...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on January 5, 2022, filed an unopposed motion to dismiss its August 2021 appeal to a district court ruling in Behring Regional Center LLC v. Chad Wolf, et al. The previous ruling...more
National Interest Exceptions Issued for U.S. Entry from COVID-19 Restricted Countries/Regions Are Now Valid for One Year and for Multiple Entries - In our May 2021 Immigration Alert, we reported that India was added to...more
As of June 30, 2021, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program has lapsed, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has since rejected any submissions received on or after July 1, 2021, of the following...more
EB-5 Investments are a popular way of raising capital for franchise expansion. So it came as a bit of a shock last week the EB-5 Program was rocked by two major developments. EB-5 Modernization Rule Struck Down (For...more
While the news on the EB-5 investor visa appear promising, Congress has still failed to reauthorize the EB-5 regional center program beyond its June 30, 2021, sunset date. Reduced Minimum Investment Amount-... ...more
Following a shift in U.S. presidential administrations and changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson Walker partner Christian Triantaphyllis, who leads the Firm’s Investment Immigration practice, covers some potential...more
The EB-5 Investor Visa was created by an act of Congress in 1993, and it has proved to be a critical driver in American job creation since its inception. By some estimates, the program has brought in over $20.6 billion...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made significant changes to the Immigrant Investor Program (EB-5) through their establishment of new EB-5 modernization regulations. The EB-5 program permits individuals...more
The EB-5 immigrant investor program, first introduced in the early 1990s, has not had an overhaul since its inception. Major changes will apply to all I-526 petitions filed on or after the Effective Date of November 21, 2019....more
USCIS has published its new final rule significantly changing the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program to address concerns about fraud, abuse, and national security risks. The new regulations will become effective on November 21,...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has resumed processing of EB-5 Regional Center applications/petitions. The EB-5 Regional Center Program has been authorized and extended for three weeks in connection with the...more
Government shutdowns seem to be the norm these days. Whether they last 6 days or 60 days, the impact on E-Verify and visas is the same. Since the partial government shutdown began on Dec. 22, 2018, while lawmakers discuss...more