Speaking from the Oval Office this afternoon, President Trump proposed replacing the EB-5 Program with a new program that would offer “gold cards” for $5 million to wealthy foreign nationals seeking residency, and...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
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
This blog shall provide a brief summary of the status of the pending lawsuit related to the New Regulations issued by USCIS and effective November 21, 2019, as well as a status report on pending legislation....more
For the past 4 weeks, the EB-5 industry has been anxiously awaiting the status of the pending complaint filed in the United States District Court in the District of Columbia by a Florida regional center against USCIS and...more
On December 6, 2019, the Treasury announced that the final regulations had been issued and sent to OMB for approval. On December 19, 2019, the final regulations package, totaling over 500 pages, was officially published....more
Saul Ewing Arnstein and Lehr LLP has been extremely active in navigating the current status of the EB5 industry and determining what courses of action need to be taken given the existence of the new regulations ("New...more
Innovation, creativity, economic outlooks and some transformative ideas for the future were the key themes discussed at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s 11th Annual Real Estate Conference in Baltimore, which was attended by...more
On September 27, 2019, Francis Suarez, the Mayor of Miami, sponsored an OZ Expo conference for the City of Miami. ...more
IIUSA hosted a very targeted annual conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss the status of the EB-5 industry and focused on various specific matters of interest to the group....more
Five attorneys of the Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP firm attended the annual OZ Expo Conference in Las Vegas. The conference was very well attended with an estimate of 1,400 participants and further solidifying that the OZ...more
The Treasury Department has just released the second round of proposed regulations on opportunity zones. This 169-page regulatory package addresses some of the questions raised after the first round of regulations, and may...more
The OZ industry is experiencing some degree of frustration due to the delay in the updated proposed regulations being issued by the Treasury Department. ...more
Recent Proposed Regulations -
Recently, USCIS has sent new regulations related to the EB-5 Program to the Office of Management Budget ("OMB"). Thereafter, the proposed regulations would then be sent to the General...more
Current Press -
The Opportunity Zone industry has been receiving continuous press, almost on a daily basis. The latest article I received was a report in the February 27, 2019 Wall Street Journal on page B6....more
The Opportunity Zone industry is getting substantial attention, as noted by the enclosed article published by the New York Times related to "Wall Street, Seeking big tax Breaks, Sets Sights on Distressed Main Streets." ...more
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP attorneys Ronald Fieldstone, Rohit Kapuria, Jay Rosen and Roger Bernstein attended the Opportunity Zone Expo Conference in Los Angeles on January 25, 2019. Much to their surprise, the...more
I just attended the combined AILA/IIUSA Conference in Chicago. The low attendance reflected the general mood of the industry that there is significant pull back in EB-5 investments in various jurisdictions, especially in...more
Linked is a letter submitted, a few weeks back, by IIUSA in support of the proposed rulemaking of USCIS to adopt regulations (the "Regulations") that will have a material impact on the EB-5 Program, including a list of...more
IIUSA had its annual meeting in Washington, DC. The meeting focused a lot on the status of the industry, retrogression, new legislation and collective marketing efforts....more
Now that Congress has provided a clean extension until September 30, 2018, there are several issues that need to be addressed and factors that need to be taken into account in connection with the overall EB-5 industry and its...more
There appears to be significant momentum from the Republican contingent in the Senate and the House to pass an EB-5 reform bill entitled, "The EB5 Immigrant Investor Visa and Regional Center Reform Act" (the "Draft Bill") in...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