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In a continuation of its effort to encourage eligible immigrants to become U.S. citizens, the Obama administration is proposing adjustments to the immigration benefit fee schedule that would raise the cost of some benefits but reduce naturalization fees for certain low-income immigrants.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its proposed changes to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fee Schedule on May 4, 2016, affecting its fees for services.  The proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register (81 FR 26904, 5/4/16) and is open for comment. Comments are due by July 5, 2016. The proposed changes are likely to go into effect this fall.

According to USCIS, it conducted a comprehensive fee review, after refining its cost accounting process, and determined that current fees do not recover the full costs of the services it provides.  Accordingly, it has stated that adjustment to the fee schedule is necessary to fully recover its costs for services and to maintain adequate service levels.  DHS proposes to increase USCIS fees by a weighted average of 21 percent and add one new fee.  In addition, DHS proposes to clarify that persons filing a benefit request may be required to appear for biometrics services or an interview and pay the biometrics services fee, and make a number of other changes.  USCIS last adjusted its fee schedule in 2010.

This chart summarizes the proposed changes.  The range of fee changes varies, for example, increasing by $45 for an application for naturalization and by $195 for an application for a fiancé visa. The rules also include a new fee of $3,035 to recover the full cost of processing the Employment Based Immigrant Visa, Fifth Preference (EB-5) Annual Certification of Regional Center, Form I-924A.  In addition, the DHS proposal would clarify that people who apply for a benefit may be required to appear for biometrics services or an interview and to pay the biometrics services fee, among other changes

Largely exempt from the increases, however, are low income immigrants who wish to become U.S. citizens.  Under the proposed rule, “DHS would charge a reduced fee of $320 for naturalization applicants with family income greater than 150 percent and not more than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.”

“DHS is proposing this change to increase access to United States citizenship,” the proposed rule explains.  The allowance effectively cuts in half the current cost of naturalization — $680, including the $85 biometric fee for these individuals while seeking an additional $45 increase in the cost of naturalization applications for those immigrants who can afford it.

Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL), who has been promoting naturalization and voter registration across the country as a means for immigrants to “Stand Up to Hate,” cheered the rule.  “Right now, a lot of immigrants face a difficult choice: pay $700 or so for the chance to take all the tests and apply for citizenship, or pay $450 to renew a green-card for five years,” Gutiérrez said in a statement.

“Now, the math is much better,” he continued. “You can apply for citizenship and a fee waiver and become an American citizen – with all the rights, duties and honor of citizenship – for a more attainable price or maybe even for free.  The new calculation is going to mean that millions of those who are already eligible can finally take the step and apply for citizenship.”

Applicants can apply for a fee waiver if their income is below or 150 percent of the poverty line, they are receiving a means-tested benefit, or they are experiencing “financial hardship.”

In recent years the Obama administration has put an emphasis on encouraging the estimated 8.8 million eligible legal permanent residents in the U.S. to naturalize and become citizens. Immigration activists, like Gutiérrez, have also embarked on campaigns to help immigrants naturalize and register to vote in a bid to influence the upcoming 2016 election.

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Alka Bahal is a Partner and the Co-Chair of the Corporate Immigration Practice of Fox Rothschild LLP. Alka is situated in Fox Rothschild’s Roseland, New Jersey office though she practices throughout the United States and at Consulates worldwide. You can reach Alka at (973) 994-7800, or abahal@foxrothschild.com.

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 various immigrant preference categories with AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association).

Below are highlights from the most recent “check-in with Charlie” (April 13, 2016), reflecting his analysis of current trends and future projections for the various immigrant preference categories.

This month, Charlie examines the final action date movements in the May 2016 Visa Bulletin and his analysis of current trends and future projections for the various immigrant preference categories.

Family-Based Projections. Because most family-based demand is generated at overseas posts, Charlie has greater visibility into those categories and is able to move the final action dates more consistently than the employment-based categories, which has a high percentage of USCIS-based (adjustment of status) filings. As a result, dramatic fluctuations in the family-based categories tend to be rare and typically occur only when there is a surge in family-based applicants responding to the agent of choice letter and becoming documentarily qualified.

As noted in the May Visa Bulletin, the final action dates for FB-4 China and India will remain at July 22, 2003, consistent with the final action date for FB-4 Worldwide. However, we can expect to see changes soon due to an increase in demand in both of these categories in recent months. The FB-4 India final action date will likely retrogress, possibly as early as June. It may also be necessary to hold or retrogress the FB-4 China final action date in late summer.

New Final Action Date for EB-4 and Certain Religious Workers (SR) Preference Categories. In May, a final action date of January 1, 2010 will be imposed for EB-4 and certain religious workers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The imposition of a final action date for these countries in these categories is primarily attributable to a spike in demand for adjustment of status over the past two months for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJS) applicants. As noted in the Bulletin, any forward movement in these categories this fiscal year is unlikely.

Charlie advises that the per country limit for this category has already been reached for these countries for this fiscal year. Given EB-4 Worldwide demand, it is unlikely that there will be any additional “otherwise unused numbers” to allocate to these countries. Similarly, it is extremely likely that EB-4 India and Mexico will also become oversubscribed at some point during the summer months.

EB-5 China. Although demand in this category is increasing, I-526 petitions are being acted upon more quickly so the final action date may continue to advance slowly. Charlie has good visibility into demand in this category since most of these cases are at the NVC, although they are becoming documentarily qualified at their own pace.

EB-2 and EB-3 Philippines. EB-2 Philippines remains current and Charlie expects it to remain so for the foreseeable future. With regard to EB-3 Philippines, Charlie expects the final action date to continue to advance a few months at a time, consistent with movement over the past few months. He does not foresee it returning to the Worldwide final action date this fiscal year.

There is significant pent up demand in this category and given the greater level of visibility into it, Charlie is able to more the final action date consistently. Currently, the Texas Service Center has more than 1,600 EB-3 Philippines cases in the pending demand file and the Nebraska Service Center has more than 1,200. Demand at the U.S. Consulate in Manila is about half of that at USCIS. Charlie hopes that the EB-3 Philippines final action date will advance as far as mid-2010 by the end of this fiscal year.

EB-2 and EB-3 China. Recently, number usage for EB-3 China has exploded due to the EB-3 downgrade effect that Charlie has been expecting. Although anticipated, there was no advance warning as to when this demand would materialize, to what extent, or for how long. Demand for EB-3 China numbers exceeded 400 in March alone. EB-2 China spiked to 850 in March. April demand in both categories is expected to be at least on par with March demand, and may possibly exceed it. As a result, it would most likely be necessary to retrogress EB-2 and EB-3 China in June in an effort to hold number use within the annual limit.

EB-1 Demand and Impact to Other Categories. EB-1 demand from USCIS increased almost 100 percent from February (2,500+) to March (5,000+) which reflects more than 95 percent of the EB-1 Worldwide demand. This spike leaves fewer numbers to potentially spill down to other categories, which will impact EB-2 final action dates. Members should expect that the EB categories that typically rely on unused EB-1 numbers, such as EB-2 India, will be impacted. It remains to be seen whether a cut-off date will need to be established for any EB-1 countries this fiscal year.

India Employment-Based Final Action Dates. The final action date for EB-2 India will advance modestly, from November 8, 2008 in April to November 22, 2008 in May. Similarly, EB-3 India will creep forward from August 8, 2004 in April to September 1, 2004 in May. EB-3 demand, after the initial allocation of numbers, has been increasing by 100 month over month from January to February and February to March.

A number of factors make it difficult for Charlie to accurately predict movement in these categories. Increased EB-1 usage negatively impacts the supply of available visas for EB-2 India, and upgrades are currently driving EB-2 India demand. As a result of these two factors, there may be fewer numbers available to EB-2 India than previously expected.

When USCIS requests an EB-2 number in an upgrade case, it also asks that the previously requested EB-3 number be cancelled. Charlie has no visibility into EB-2 upgrade demand until USCIS completes adjudication of the I-485, requests an EB-2 number, and cancels the EB-3 number. This lack of visibility can potentially result in unexpected and dramatic changes in the EB-2 India final action date, as well as other employment-based preference categories.

You may access the May 2016 Visa Bulletin here and the April 2016 Visa Bulletin here.

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Alka Bahal is a Partner and the Co-Chair of the Corporate Immigration Practice of Fox Rothschild LLP. Alka is situated in Fox Rothschild’s Roseland, New Jersey office though she practices throughout the United States and at Consulates worldwide. You can reach Alka at (973) 994-7800, or abahal@foxrothschild.com.

Congress in 2015 tried to tackle new EB-5 reform legislation, but instead chose to extend the program without any changes until September 30, 2016. This was a result of an impasse on issues relating to increase in the capital threshold amount and the change in the metrics used to determine what is a (“TEA”) targeted employment area. The contentious debate on these issues provided both developers and regional centers one more year of status quo in the program.

What will happen this year is anyone’s guess. What we do know is that Congress is holding hearings on EB-5 reform. These hearings provide the opportunity for individuals in the EB-5 industry to voice their opinion as to the future of the program.

On Wednesday April 13th 2016, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its second hearing of 2016 on the EB-5 Program titled, The Distortion of EB-5 Targeted Employment Areas: Time to End the Abuse.  The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from several witnesses including the Executive Director of IIUSA, Peter Joseph.  IIUSA is the national non-profit trade association representing EB-5 developers, regional centers and other professionals that are in the EB-5 space. Peter Joseph in his testimony pointed to several critical issues that the Committee should consider in the long term reauthorization of the EB-5 legislation. Those issues include:

  • Increase visa capacity to enhance economic impact of EB-5 and address the backlog of

investors currently waiting for visas to be available.

  • Staff commercially viable processing system at USCIS that addresses existing backlogs

and prioritizes predictability and length of processing times for EB-5 related petitions and

applications.

  • Avoid retroactive application of new law and reform to protect the existing EB-5

investors and their families and the billions of dollars in financial commitments and

contractual obligations.

  • Ensure all EB-5 investors with petitions currently filed, or at a later stage in the EB-5

process, are guaranteed adjudication (not approval) and eligibility for immigration

benefits throughout the entire EB-5 process (I-526 petition, EB-5 visa issuance, and I-829 petition)

regardless of future reforms, lapses, or expiration of the program.

  • Continue to allow economic impact models including indirect/induced job creation to

count for EB-5 purposes (using the same econometric models that are generally accepted

as economic policymaking tools by government, academia, and business).

  • Improve program integrity, including through enhanced oversight and reporting

requirements of Regional Centers that are not unduly burdensome, such as site visits

funded by user fees.

  • Clarify geographic (including targeted employment areas (TEAs)), structural, and

industry project characteristics that enable consistent adjudication of EB-5 petitions and

applications.

The issues that Peter Joseph mentioned in his testimony on Capitol Hill clearly mirror the position that most in the EB-5 industry have taken on EB-5 reform. The program has been largely a success with a substantial amount of foreign capital being invested in job creating projects in the United States. Everyone in the EB-5 space would like to see an extension of the EB-5 legislation for at least a five (5) year period.

Since 2008, the Program’s annual contribution to foreign direct investment inbound into the U.S. grew over 1,200% to total almost $5 billion in fiscal year 2015 alone. This investment capital is creating tens of thousands of jobs for U.S. workers in diverse communities by funding projects in a wide variety of industry sectors across the country.

Will Congress take any action this year to reform the current EB-5 legislation? I believe not.

This is a Presidential election year. It is very likely that Congress will defer on making any substantive changes to the EB-5 program until 2017. Immigration reform legislation has never passed both houses of Congress in an election year.

The economic benefits of the EB-5 program are not in dispute. The major issue that Congress needs to address is improving the compliance portion of the legislation. This will provide transparency to the program. Something that is much needed.

 

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 various immigrant preference categories with AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association).

Below are highlights from the most recent “check-in with Charlie” (March 10, 2016), reflecting his analysis of current trends and future projections for the various immigrant preference categories.

This month, Charlie examines the final action date movements in the April 2016 Visa Bulletin and provides his projections for monthly final action date movement through the first calendar quarter of 2016.

Final Action Date Movements Consistent with Prior Predictions. The Final Action Dates in the April 2016 Visa Bulletin are consistent with Charlie’s predictions last month (see below).  In February, Charlie predicted that we would continue to see forward movement of up to five months in EB-2 and EB-3 China, and in April, EB-2 China will advance one month and EB-3 China will advance one and a half months. This modest advancement is attributable to an increase in I-485 cases in these categories coming to completion.

Charlie indicates that he has limited to no visibility into immigrant visa demand at USCIS until USCIS completes adjudication of an I-485 and requests a visa number. The difference in USCIS processing times at various offices makes it difficult to predict future demand and thus, difficult to adjust the Final Action Dates in such a way as to avoid volatility over the course of the fiscal year. For example, when the February Final Action Dates were announced in early January, USCIS reported 400 India EB-2 applicants who were eligible for final action, but by the end of February, USCIS had requested an additional 300 of these numbers. When an abrupt increase in demand such as this occurs, it is impossible to know whether it represents a sustained increase in demand in that category, whether it is the result of preference category upgrades or downgrades, or whether it merely represents a one-time reallocation of adjudication resources. Additional transparency and data analytics into pending I-485s would be helpful, and it is hoped that USCIS’ use of the Dates for Filing will eventually provide such insight.

Although it is imperfect, Charlie must make assumptions regarding upcoming demand based on the available data and his prior experience in an effort to stabilize Final Action Date movements. Charlie prefers to advance the Final Action Dates conservatively in the hope of avoiding a retrogression later in the fiscal year, especially in categories that are subject to upgrades and downgrades. Unfortunately the need to generate sufficient demand to use all numbers available under the annual limits often requires aggressive forward movement of the dates. This is the case with the EB-3 Worldwide cut-off date which has advanced 16 months in the past year, and is only one month behind today’s calendar date.

Forward movement in the EB-3 China Final Action Date has been slow due to concerns that EB-3 downgrade cases (from EB-2 China) may soon come to completion and result in a spike in demand in that category.

April movement in the Indian employment-based categories is also consistent with Charlie’s predictions last month. The EB-2 India Final Action Date will advance less than one month in April, moving to November 8, 2008. Forward movement in this category could be slower than originally expected due to increasing demand in this category which can be attributed to upgrades from EB-3 India. Additionally, EB-1 Worldwide usage continues at a steady pace, making it unclear how many numbers might be available to fall down for potential use in EB-2 India. This should become clearer in the coming months as additional demand data becomes available. The EB-3 India Final Action Date will also advance only three weeks to August 8, 2004.

Announcing the NVC EB-5 Investor Assistance Desk. The April Visa Bulletin also included an announcement regarding the new National Visa Center (NVC) EB-5 Investor Assistance Desk. The NVC has created a dedicated email address (NVCeb5@state.gov) to address EB-5 inquiries. This email box will be staffed with officers who are knowledgeable in EB-5 matters in an effort to improve customer service.

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As we did not post Charlie’s predictions from last month, here are his February 2016 predictions:

EB-2 and EB-3 China. Final action dates for EB-2 and EB-3 China will continue to advance in March. EB-2 China will advance five months from March 1, 2012 to August 1, 2012.  Charlie believes that there is potential for EB-2 China to continue to advance monthly at this same rate.  EB-3 China will advance more dramatically in March, from October 1, 2012 to June 1, 2013, and Charlie believes that this category has the potential to continue to advance five months each month.  However, it is extremely important to remember that changes in USCIS demand patterns could drastically alter cut-off date movement and require corrective action at some point.

Charlie is watching these two categories and the interplay between them closely. In the February Bulletin, the EB-3 China final action date was seven months ahead of EB-2 China.  In March, the final action date for EB-3 China will be ten months ahead of the EB-2 China final action date.  Over the past two years, when the final action date for EB-3 China advanced beyond EB-2 China, EB-2 applicants responded by filing new I-140s to downgrade to EB-3, thus shifting the demand from EB-2 to EB-3.  The surge in EB-3 demand slowed the advancement of the cut-off date and ultimately led to retrogression of that category.  Although Charlie expects a similar pattern this year, significant EB-3 China demand has not yet materialized.

Note that while the filing dates for EB-2 and EB-3 India have not changed since last month (they remain at July 1, 2009 and July 1, 2005 respectively), the filing date for EB-2 China will advance five months (from January 1, 2013 to June 1, 2013) and the filing date for EB-3 China will advance 19 months (from October 1, 2013 to May 1, 2015). Charlie indicated that EB-3 China usage is split evenly between consular filings and adjustment of status filings at USCIS.  If USCIS were to permit adjustment of status filings for EB-3 and EB-2 China, it may help generate sufficient demand to balance out the final action dates in both of these categories.

EB-2 India. A fair amount of demand is starting to materialize in EB-2 India, including EB-3 upgrades. This is starting to slow the advancement of the final action date for EB-2 India, which will advance only one and on-half months in March (from August 1, 2008 to October 15, 2008).  Charlie expects this category to advance at a rate of up to three months.  When EB-1 and EB-2 Worldwide demand is assessed in June, more numbers may fall down to this category which could impact its movement.

EB-5 China. Charlie predicts that EB-5 China will continue to advance slowly and at a rate which would avoid the need for a retrogression.

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You may access the April 2016 Visa Bulletin here and the March 2016 Visa Bulletin here.

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Alka Bahal is a Partner and the Co-Chair of the Corporate Immigration Practice of Fox Rothschild LLP. Alka is situated in Fox Rothschild’s Roseland, New Jersey office though she practices throughout the United States and at Consulates worldwide. You can reach Alka at (973) 994-7800, or abahal@foxrothschild.com.

Since September 30, 2015 Congress has considered several immigration bills that would have completely overhauled the EB-5 program. All of us in the space, especially attorneys, had prepared ourselves for the inevitable change of the current EB-5 regulations. We all knew that the minimum capital threshold requirement would increase to $800,000. In addition, the targeted employment area (“TEA”) definition would change, thereby eliminating important metropolitan areas such as New York City from consideration. All of this was occurring against the backdrop of Congress trying to pass the appropriations bill so that our government would not run out of money.

Congress has been wanting to revamp the EB-5 program for a significant period of time. All of the recently introduced EB-5 bills contained measures to increase compliance and make the program safer for foreign investors that were seeking a “Green Card”.  Developers and attorneys lobbied for reform that would not be onerous and would provide a certain amount of compliance. Most of us did not want the new legislation to be the “death knell” of the EB-5 program.

Well, we all got our wish. Congress voted to renew the EB-5 program in its present state until September 30, 2016.  What will happen between now and the expiration of the legislation is anyone’s guess.  But I think the writing is on the wall. Congress seeks to reform the EB-5 program on two fronts. The first is the minimum investment capital threshold requirement. It is a foregone conclusion that prior to September 30, 2016 Congress will pass EB-5 legislation that increases the minimum investment in a targeted employment area (“TEA”) to $800,000. The second is on the compliance front. Congress will include provisions in the new bill that require “on-site audits” of projects and regional centers.  In addition, Congress will require all principals that have equity in a regional center to submit to a Federal background check. This will ensure that the players in the EB-5 space are not unscrupulous characters.

All in all, the changes would be welcome by most in the industry. The impact that the higher investment amount would have in China and other markets is something that is yet to be seen. All of us though are breathing a sigh of relief for the EB-5 extension.

 

As Congress works to pass renewal legislation to the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program that will expire on December 11, 2015, most observers in the EB-5 space have no idea what will happen. Initially most of us thought that Congress would not have the time to review and vote on several new bills that would overhaul the program. Everyone guessed that Congress would “punt the ball” and pass interim legislation extending the program again until May 2016. Well as of this afternoon, it looks like Congress might actually pass one of the bills. The bill that looks most likely to pass would completely redefine the requirements of an eligible EB-5 regional center based project. The minimum capital threshold requirement would jump from $500,000 to $800,00 for a project in a TEA census tract. A project developed in a non-TEA census tract would stay at $1,000,000.

The bill contains a 5 year extension of the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program. It also includes an enhanced compliance provision. The compliance section of the bill provides for annual site visits by USCIS personnel. USCIS personnel would be authorized to request job creation documents from the project developer and/or regional center. It would also require that ownership of regional centers be limited to individuals who are nationals or permanent residents of the United States.

Greater compliance and transparency in the EB-5 program translates into a new background check that would be required of all principals of regional centers. As a result, no person shall be permitted to be involved with any regional center, new commercial enterprise, or job-creating entity if the person has been found to have committed  a criminal or civil violation involving fraud or deceit within the previous 10 years; a civil violation resulting in a liability in excess of $1,000,000 involving fraud or deceit; or a crime resulting in a conviction with a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year. The bill also limits ownership of regional centers where the principal has a final order entered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a violation of law or regulation involving fraud or deceit.

As part of the bill’s compliance provision, principals of regional centers would have to execute an attestation that would certify that their regional center was in full compliance with all SEC regulations. All regional centers will have to pay an annual fee in order to continue with their USCIS designation. The fee for regional centers that have 20 or more investors the preceding year shall be $25,000.00 Those regional centers with less than 20 investors shall be $10,000.

Also, the ability of investors to receive funds that have been gifted will be restricted. Gifted funds may be counted toward the minimum capital investment requirement only if such funds were gifted to the alien investor by the alien investor’s spouse, parent, son, or daughter, but not children, sibling, or grandparent and such funds were gifted in good faith and not to circumvent any limitations imposed on permissible sources of capital.

A bit of good news in the bill is that census tracts can still be combined (up to 12) and averaged in order to qualify a geographic area as a TEA. This seems to be a concession made to important metropolitan areas such as New York City that have benefitted from the EB-5 program.

The EB-5 picture should be come clear by the end of this week as Congress wrestles with a challenging task, an overhaul of the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program.

The Immigration Service has issued a reminder to designated EB-5 Regional Centers to file a Form I-924A Supplement to Form I-924 no later than December 29, 2015.  The I-924A filing is required in order for a Regional Center to show its continued eligibility for designation and participation in the Regional Center program.  This filing requirement applies to all approved Regional Centers issued a designation letter dated on or before September 30, 2015.  It does not include terminated Regional Centers nor those with pending I-924 Applications.

Regional Centers that do not file an I-924A may lose their designation and participation in the Regional Center program.

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Ms. Wadhwani is a partner in the Immigration Practice Group of Fox Rothschild LLP.  She may be reached at cwadhwani@foxrothschild.com.

The Fox immigration team has expanded in size and scope.  We have welcomed two prominent attorneys; one to the Miami office and one to the New York office.  Before coming to Fox, Scott Bettridge (Miami) and Rogelio “Roy” Carrasquillo (New York) worked together to develop a significant practice that combines immigration and corporate representation, particularly involving Latin America and Puerto Rico.  Scott and Roy have skill and experience in handling complex corporate transactions, including  broad EB-5 experience.

Their addition greatly enhances both our corporate immigration and EB-5 practices.  The Fox EB-5 team combines immigration, corporate, tax, pre-immigration tax planning, IP and Real Estate attorneys in our comprehensive nation-wide practice. Scott and Roy are welcome additions and will assist Fox clients in navigating the tricky immigration waters.  To learn more about our new partners, see Scott Bettridge’s bio page and Rogelio “Roy” Carrasquillo’s bio page.

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What will Congress do with the soon to expire EB-5 regional center program?

That is the question that most everyone in the EB-5 world is asking each other. Congress chose on September 30th of this year to “kick the proverbial can down the road” until December 11, 2015 with an interim extension of the current legislation. As of the date of the writing of this blog Congress has before it several bills that seek to extend the EB-5 Pilot Program.

The possible changes on the horizon include increasing the minimum investment amount to $800,000.00 for TEA’s and $1,200,000.00 for other areas. Since there has been no change in the capital contribution amount since the creation of the program, most think this amendment will proceed.

The other change that would be controversial would modify the definition of a targeted employment area. The TEA’s would be limited and potentially not include state designations based on aggregated census tracts. This could eliminate many TEA’s.

In addition, it is anticipated that the regional centers will come under greater scrutiny by USCIS. This could include more comprehensive and frequent reporting requirements, as well as the ability of the agency to suspend regional center designation for those centers that do not fulfill reporting requirements or have little or no business activity.

Congress will also examine whether regional center principals can be non-resident aliens. Most regional centers currently are owned by U.S. Citizens or lawful permanent residents.  There are many non-resident aliens that are interested in creating regional centers and developing projects, especially in South Florida.

Developers, as well as investors are rushing to complete exemplars for projects and file individual I-526 immigrant visa petitions in order to “grandfather” their projects and/or investor applications under the present statutory requirements. It is noteworthy however, that no one is certain that “grandfathering” will be part of the final legislation. Will this all be for naught?

What we can be sure of are that changes to the EB-5 regional center program will occur before the end of the year. The changes to the program will hopefully make it better. The program will survive.

 

On September 30, 2015, President Obama signed a Continuing Resolution to extend funding of the US government through December 11, 2015, and temporarily avoid a government shutdown.  See http://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-passes-government-funding-bill-prior-to-midnight-deadline-1443623598.  The Continuing Resolution contained extensions for several important immigration programs including:

  • EB-5 Regional Centers
  • Conrad 30 J-1 Physician Waivers
  • Nonminister Religious Workers, and
  • E-Verify.

These programs were continued unchanged until December 11, 2015.

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Ms. Wadhwani is a partner in the Immigration Practice Group at Fox Rothschild LLP.  She may be reached at cwadhwani@foxrothschild.com.