Latest News
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized regulations which may upend the EB-5 investor visa program. The rule, which increases minimum investment amounts in TEA areas to $900,000 from $900,000 and all other areas to $1.8 million from $1.8 million, will go into effect on November 21, 2019. The adjustments to the minimum investment… Read More
New rules will be published by the government on July 24, 2019 that will take effect on November 21, 2019. The main rule changes that are confirmed as of now are: TEA (Targeted Employment Area) investment amount for the EB-5 visa has been raised to $900,000, while areas outside a TEA will now require a… Read More
The congressional appropriations bill passed last month included an extension of the EB-5 Regional Center program through September 30, 2019. We expect that the program will be extended in the future as well. This change will not affect applications from investors who are looking to create their own business. Immigration Options for Indian Nationals Many… Read More
Recent news out of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) suggests that an increase to the EB-5 minimum investment amount may come in the next few months. OMB recently moved a regulation that would increase the minimum investment amount to the review stage, the last stage before the rule will be finalized, published and… Read More
Over the past few weeks, I have been posting thoughts on the key EB-5 developments of 2018. We’ve covered changes to the Regional Center Program, as well as the shifts in wait times and utilization that the program has seen recently. Today I’ll be closing out our 2018 review series by discussing the changes that… Read More
Information Regarding I-829 Receipts In order to file for the removal of conditions on their permanent resident status, investors must complete the I-829 Form. It will only be approved if an EB-5 investor can prove that 10 jobs were created and the investment was maintained at risk. The USCIS will issue a receipt once the… Read More
U.S District Judge Trevor N. McFadden declared that a Chinese citizen’s investment of loan proceeds in the U.S. holds up as a cash investment and can be used to qualify her for for the EB-5 program. This determination was a direct rejection of the stance held by USCIS that loan money should be considered debt… Read More
In my last article we discussed obstacles and issues that faced the EB-5 program in 2018. These issues have largely arisen due to larger political factors, which recently resulted in a 35 day government shutdowns that just ended last week and drove volatility into basically all immigration conversations. The Regional Center Program has not been… Read More
2018 was an interesting, and not altogether positive, year for the EB-5 program. Frequent political battles impeded the creation of a long term extension for the Regional Center program, wait times for Vietnam and India continued to increase and the program continued to be largely unusable for Chinese citizens (unless they are willing to wait… Read More
The Department of Homeland Security has published a new rule, effective December 23, 2016, that raises immigration filing fees. The last time USCIS updated the fee schedule was on November 23, 2010. The current USCIS fee schedule and the new fees, effective in December, are displayed in the table below. Form Title Current Fee New Fee… Read More