WR Immigration Partner Cliff Rosenthal and Senior Associate Josune Aguirre Gamez discuss strategies and share their expertise and knowledge to help give you the roadmap to a successful Sports Visa. As well as the journey, what to expect and the dos and don’ts when applying for your Sports Visa. Watch below!
By Joey Barnett The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) finally released its long-awaited Report of the Visa Office 2023 over the weekend. In particular, we have been waiting for the release of Table V, which counts the full number of immigrant visa numbers issued in FY 2023 – both immigrant visas issued abroad by U.S. consulates and embassies and adjustment of status applications approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) for those in the U.S. Here are 5 things to know: 1. Total Number of EB-5 Visas Issued9,817 unreserved EB-5 visa numbers were used in FY 2023. This actually exceeds the annual limitation for unreserved. To understand how and why that occurred, make sure to listen to former Head of Visa Controls at DOS, Charlie Oppenheim, during our Chatting with Charlie: Live EB-5 Investor Outlook on March 28 at 11:00a PST. 2. Adjustments v. Immigrant VisasDespite the ability of those lawfully in the U.S. to now file an adjustment of status, 85% of unreserved EB-5 visa numbers came from visas issued abroad. Over 63% of all unreserved visa numbers were issued to mainland-Chinese nationals who generally have the earlier priority dates. 3. No Reserved Visa NumbersNo reserved visa numbers […]
Yesterday, the U.S. government filed an “Unopposed Motion for Voluntary Dismissal” in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on their appeal of a June 2021 decision of a lower district court that invalidated the implementation of the November 2019 EB-5 Modernization Rule. That rule had raised the minimum investment amount from $1 million to $1.8 million and, from $500,000 to $900,000 for targeted employment areas (TEAs). Reducing the investment amount is welcome news for the EB-5 industry that has been stymied by this regulation. Most importantly, this withdrawal of appeal confirms the minimum investment for investors who create ten jobs in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) is back to $500,000. It also confirms that states have the authority to designate areas as a TEA. This decision has no impact on the reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center program. EB-5 investors should know this dismissal does not impact the two biggest issues in EB-5, that is the Regional Center reauthorization, or whether USCIS will continue to hold pending Regional Center I-526s or I-485s in abeyance until reauthorization. We hope to have some news on these two issues soon, so stay posted. At this time, “direct” EB-5 remains an […]
