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Update on the EB-5 Regional Center Program

Sep 30, 2021 | Investor Visas

September 2021 will come and go without a reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program, leaving over 85,000 foreign nationals in immigration limbo after investing a minimum of $500,000 into the U.S. economy.  Since the program lapsed on June 30, 2021, the EB-5 Industry has made efforts to spare current EB-5 Regional Center investors the headaches that have occurred due to the cycle of short-term reauthorizations by coming to a potential agreement on reforming and extending the Regional Center Program for multiple years.  Nevertheless, it appears that the U.S. Congress will seek to finalize legislation on the EB-5 Regional Center Program by December 3, 2021, the date that the federal government continues to run towards in the currently proposed “Continuing Resolution”. 

USCIS has not released anymore guidance regarding the current Regional Center Program lapse, aside from what WR Immigration posted in early July.  Two big unanswered questions are: (1) Will USCIS continue to adjudicate interim benefits (work and travel authorization) for pending adjustment applicants based on an approved Regional Center Form I-526, and (2) How long will USCIS continue to hold pending Regional Center Form I-526’s in abeyance without further reauthorization?  We do not have the answer to the second question, and USCIS refuses to answer the first publicly.  It has been noted in litigation and advocacy efforts through the American Immigration Lawyers Association that USCIS will again begin to adjudicate Form I-765s and Form I-131s for pending adjustment applicants based on an approved Regional Center Form I-526, but our firm has not yet received an adjudication in months. 

Regarding the actual reauthorization of the Regional Center Program, there have been dozens of extensions in the past by USCIS.  It appears the EB-5 industry is united, and its goal is to attach the new EB-5 law to a “must pass” piece of legislation like an Omnibus budget. Watching the U.S. government (or any government) work through politics is unpleasant, and it sems the mood on Capitol Hill is ugly, with Democrats and Republicans seeking more power as opposed to working together. 

EB-5 investors may feel at loss on what to do, but there are some options.  For those in the United States, contact your congresspeople or senators and advocate for the U.S. government to hold up their end of the bargain based on your EB-5 investment.  For everyone, a new EB-5 investor-led advocacy group called American Immigrant Investor Alliance has taken the lead to protect existing investors by seeking congressional support on its Foreign Investor Fairness Protection Act (“FIFP”), which would require current applications and pending petitions be processed by USCIS on the basis of the law and regulations in place at the time they were submitted.

WR Immigration remains confident of reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program and is hoping to see meaningful reform and extension in the coming months.

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7 Things We Learned from New EB-5 Program Chief Sarah M. Kendall

By: Joseph Barnett Earlier this week, new Immigrant Investor Program Office Chief Sarah Kendall addressed the EB-5 community at the AILA/IIUSA EB-5 Industry Forum in Chicago, Illinois. We are happy to see this type of engagement by USCIS and are hopeful for continued dialogue to address the concerns of immigrant investors and regional centers. Here are seven things we learned from Ms. Kendall: 1. Minor Investors Ms. Kendall confirmed there is no age limit for minors filing as the principal investors but indicated that USCIS will continue to look at issues of contractual capacity and voidability of investment contracts. 2. Bridge Financing Ms. Kendall indicated it was difficult to provide specific guidance on the issue of bridge financing because of the “diversity of work and financial arrangements and structures.” She noted that the term of the loan, by itself, does not disqualify financing as a bridge loan that would receive credit for job creation purposed and that USCIS will look at interim nature of loan and contemplation of future receipt of EB-5 (or other) capital to repay the bridge financing. This is inconsistent with language in RFEs previously issued by USCIS. Additional guidance clarifying this important issue is required to provide certainty for […]

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WR Secures First Form I-526E Approval

WR Immigration, a distinguished U.S. law firm that specializes with EB-5 visas, has secured its first approval on a Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor since the U.S. Congress passed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“RIA”).       This is particularly exciting news because it only took around 8 months for USCIS to approve the Form I-526E, without any Request for Evidence related to the immigrant investor’s lawful source of investment capital.  It appears that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is following Congress’ mandate in the RIA to prioritize the processing of Form I-526Es related to qualifying investments in rural areas.    USCIS must first approve a Regional Center’s Form I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise prior to approving any Form I-526E filed by an immigrant investor in that EB-5 project.  WR Immigration filed a writ of mandamus lawsuit against USCIS on the pending Form I-956F earlier this summer and was able to get USCIS to take action and approve the Form I-956F.      Even more exciting is that the immigrant investor, a Chinese national, will face no visa backlog and can immediately apply to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou for an immigrant […]

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