USCIS Announces major EB-5 Fee increase

The fee increase will go into effect beginning April 1, 2024. Filing fees for EB-5 immigrant petitions will also see significant increases under the new rule. The Form I-526e  (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur/Standalone and Regional Center Investor) will be raised to $11,160, from $3,675. The Form I-829 (Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status) fee will be raised to $9,525 from $3,835.

EB-5 Clients seeing Approvals in about 1 year!

Under the new RIA Act, USCIS had promised to expedite the adjudication of EB-5 petitions filed within the new Set-Aside locations. -We are finally seeing this come to light. -Several of our clients have received their I-526e petitions approved in about 1 year! It appears that the USCIS is focusing on Both the High Unemployment locations and Rural locations.        

USCIS clarifies the sustainment period for EB-5 petitions

The new RIA rules that came into effect 2022,  removed the requirement for EB-5 investor to maintain their investment throughout their conditional residence. USCIS specified the starting date for the two-year period under section 203/b)(5)(A)(i) of the INA for EB-5 investors seeking to remove conditions on their permanent resident status based on an EB-5 immigrant visa petition filed after the new regulation came into effect. The New rules modified section…

USCIS updates their approach to adjudicating EB-5

USCIS has updated their approach to adjudicating the I-526 / EB-5 immigrant visa petitions. By Darren Silver Partner. Darren Silver & Associates, LLP dsilver@darrensilver.com In a July 18, 2023 announcement USCIS explained that they have decided to adjudicate the I-526 applications under a new system. According to the announcement: “The purpose of updating the visa availability approach is to enable USCIS to increase productivity and more efficiently process Form I-526…

Partial Installment Investment EB-5

Filing an EB-5 Green Card with a Partial or an Installment  Investment amount. By Immigration Attorney Darren Silver The EB-5 program is an investment-based program which requires an investor to invest a minimum of $800,000 into a qualifying Regional Center project or a Business Enterprise. The investor is required to file a form known as an I-526e and with that form will also need to provide specific evidence and information…

EB-5 News USCIS Extends Green Card Validity for I-829 investors

EB-5 News USCIS is extending the validity of Permanent Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status for 48 months beyond the card’s expiration date. This change started on January 11, 2023, for Form I-829. USCIS has updated the language on Form  I-829 receipt notices to extend the validity of a Green Card for 48 months for individuals with a newly filed Form I-829. USCIS will issue…

Why EB-5 is a natural next step for H-1B visa holders

EB-5 Investor Magazine recently explored the large uptick in interest of H1-B Holders looking at the EB-5 Green Card path. As our law firm is located in California, we do work with many H-1B holders out of Silicon Valley who are looking for either an alternative path or a much faster path to move on to the freedom of permanent residency and away from being tethered to and employer. Since…

New EB-5 Rules March 2022

Effective March 15, 2022 new EB-5 Rules will be issued with an effect date of 60 days later. Some Key highlights of. the new EB-5 Rules: Investment amounts: The minimum amount for a Target Employment Area (either rural or high-unemployment area) investment is now $800,000; a standard or non-TEA investment is $1,050,000. Grandfathering past investors: The bill maintains eligibility of all pre-enactment investors, as of when they filed their I-526,…

All Direct EB-5 Visa Applicants are current

December 2021 Visa Bulletin “Current” for All Direct EB-5 Visa Applicants By AILA’s EB-5 Committee The December 2021 Visa Bulletin was released on November 15. It states that China-mainland born EB-5 direct visa categories have become “current” for December. This is newsworthy because it is the first time all direct EB-5 applicants worldwide are “current” since the EB-5 visa categories became oversubscribed in 2015. It also appears to be the first time…