There is a more recent version of this article. Please see our most recent report from Mr. Charles Oppenheim. Our office just came back from a discussion session here in Washington, DC with Charles Oppenheim. Mr. Oppenheim is the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State. For many, [...]
USCIS has released an updated set of processing statistics for petitions filed under the fifth employment-based preference category (EB-5) for foreign investors. It is interesting to note that the number of I-526 applications (for initial EB-5 green card) have more than doubled compared to 2010 (4,156 compared to 1,955) while the approval rate has remained [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced the creation of a separate office which would be tasked with overseeing the EB-5 immigrant investor program. Yesterday, July 18, 2012, USCIS Director Mayorkas announced that his agency has and will continue to increase the number of staff dedicated to the EB-5 immigrant investor program. This [...]
USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas just announced a number of initiatives intended to boost the ability of immigrant entrepreneurs to obtain immigrant benefits for themselves, as part of the Obama administration's goal to boost hiring and jobs. Director Mayorkas has announced a number of initiatives and "clarifications" of existing temporary and permanent work visas which should [...]
Last week, in a press release, USCIS announced a number of significant enhancements to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program. Note that these are proposed changes which are expected to be published on June 17th for public comment and possible implementation at a later date. About the EB-5 Program In 1990, the U.S. Congress created the [...]
The NPR ran a story yesterday, March 5th, on the EB-5 investor visa program. While the story is intended for a general audience and is fairly general in nature, it is interesting to read (or listen to the podcast) a mainstream media story about this growing in importance and profile program. One of the points [...]
In a December 14, 2009, meeting, USCIS has provided some helpful information about the current state of the EB-5 program. I-526 Premium Processing Possible Later in the Year A review of the question of reinstating premium processing for I-526 petitions will be done during the second quarter of 2010. USCIS will reinstate premium processing if [...]
The October 2009 Visa Bulletin which is the first visa bulletin for the new FY2010 fiscal year was released earlier today by the State Department. This October 2009 Visa Bulletin has been widely expected not only to see the EB-3 category go back to some availability of visas but also to use the movement in [...]
USCIS has updated the list of regional centers which provide interested investors with an opportunity to put money in a specially-designated center and become eligible for EB-5 investor green card. There are currently 49 approved and active regional centers in 21 states. By contrast, as of 6/30/08, there were only 23 approved regional centers. According to [...]