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
A recent Wall Street Journal headline announced “SEC Looks Into Kushner Cos. Over Use of EB-5 Program for Immigrant Investors.” It is not unusual to hear that a company is being investigated by the government over...more
Like Elsa, the Princess in Disney’s classic Frozen, once again the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has utilized its power to freeze. In this case, the freezing of assets. In what has become an increasingly common...more
The chances of a stand-alone EB-5 bill gaining consensus with lawmakers on Capitol Hill are low. With the GOP failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, lawmakers may be spending time readjusting priorities in unexpected ways...more
Our colleague Rebecca Zeidel just published a terrific blog posting on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kokesh v. SEC, in which the Court imposed a five-year statute of limitations on agency-sought disgorgement in...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has just published three new decisions in connection with administrative proceedings against two well known immigration lawyers, as well as against a third lawyer. One party has...more
IN THE SPOTLIGHT - - SEC Sanctions Unregistered EB-5 Investments Broker SECURITIES - - FINRA to Assess Member Firms’ Culture - SEC Seeks Fund Responses to Distribution-In-Guise Guidance ...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
Budget hearings were a focus this week as the Chair of the SEC and Chairman of the CFTC visited Capitol Hill. Both sought substantial increases, requesting more money for technology, inspections and enforcement. While the...more
So you want to use the government’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (“EB-5 Program”) to raise cash? Be aware that the SEC will be looking over your shoulder to determine whether you are acting as an unregistered broker-dealer...more
Non-Enforcement - The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program has Provided a Breeding Ground for Securities Fraud - Back in 1990, Congress created the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) EB-5...more
The FCPA in 2016: DOJ and SEC Focus on International Cooperation and Investigation of Individuals - Why it matters: As we reported in our December 2015 newsletter, both SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney and DOJ...more
Non-Enforcement - Investment Management Division Director Address to Investment Company Institute - Division Director David Grim addressed the ICI on December 16, 2015. In his remarks, Grim noted 2015 was the 75th...more
The SEC prevailed in one court case this week but lost in another. In an investment fund fraud action the agency won at trial. In the First Circuit, however, it lost in an appeal of the long running action against two former...more
The EB-5 program was designed by Congress to stimulate job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. In return for an initial investment of $1 million in a new commercial enterprise that creates or preserves at...more
The Sixth Circuit last week concluded that Morrison, which held that Section 10(b) does not have extraterritorial reach, is inapplicable to Advisers Act Section 10(b). The DC Circuit, on rehearing, reaffirmed its prior...more
The EB-5 program is supposed to provide a path to a permanent green card. The program was designed to create that path for foreign national who invest specified sums in the U.S. that create jobs – a win win for everyone....more
On Monday July 6, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") charged Luca International Group, LLC, a San Francisco area oil and gas company, and its affiliated companies ("Luca") and certain of its executives,...more
The Ninth Circuit upheld a conviction for illegal tipping, following Dirks but raising doubt regarding its adherence to Newman in an opinion authored by Judge Rakoff, sitting by designation. The Commission filed settled...more
The SEC brought another custody rule action this week – against the outside auditors alleging that one examination was insufficient and the others incomplete thereby causing the client to violate the surprise audit...more
The EB-5 program was designed to create a path to becoming a permanent residence in the U.S. for certain immigrants while facilitating job creation in the United States. Initiated in 1990, the program gives a foreign...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
As participation in the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) Immigrant Investor Program or “EB-5 program” grows, regulatory interest is showing a commensurate uptick. On November 20, 2013, Associate Director Stephen...more
Announcements last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS) indicate that investments made through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (the EB-5 Program) will be...more