COVID-19 Vaccinations Required for Immigrant Visa Applicants Beginning October 1st, 2021

August 27, 2021

Beginning October 1, 2021, all immigrant visa applicants will be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a medical clearance prerequisite. Medical evaluations, which are regulated by the United States Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), require immigrant visa applicants to meet certain health and vaccination standards before an immigrant visa

Update on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

August 23, 2021

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor “Regional Center” Program (“Program”) lapsed on June 30, 2021 due to the failure of the U.S. Congress to extend or reauthorize it before that date. Congress has not yet passed a law to reauthorize the Program. As a result, any investor and family members who do

Enterline and Partners Receives Approval for I-130 Proxy Marriage Petition

August 7, 2021

Enterline and Partners is pleased to share that we have received approval of an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (“I-130 Petition”) for one of our Philippines clients who was married by proxy. Our client, a U.S. citizen (Jack) and his Philippines wife (Jill), were married online with Jack being physically

Should I Apply for a Reentry Permit if I Need to Travel Outside the United States?

July 25, 2021

If you are a Lawful Permanent Resident (“LPR”) and need to travel outside the U.S for a temporary trip abroad, you generally do not need to apply for any special document to return to the United States. Your valid Form I-551, more commonly known as a “Green Card”, is usually

Enterline and Partners Successfully Expedites Another CR-1 Visa Through Direct Consular Filing

July 23, 2021

Enterline and Partners is pleased to announce another CR-1 immigrant visa has been issued by filing an expedited I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City (“Consulate”) through Direct Consular Filing (“DCF”). The petitioner, a U.S. citizen and beneficiary, a British citizen, were married

USCIS Issues Another Alert, This Time on the Court Order Regarding EB-5 Regulations

July 13, 2021

The United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (“USCIS”) has posted another Alert regarding the EB-5 immigrant investor visa. We post the complete Alert here for convenience. “On June 22, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in Behring Regional Center LLC v. Wolf, 20-cv-09263-JSC, vacated the EB-5 Immigrant

Alert – USCIS Changes Policy on EB-5 Regional Center Program Adjustment of Status Filings

July 9, 2021

One day after announcing its policy on handling EB-5 immigrant investor petitions and applications, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has reversed its decision on accepting Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (“Form I-485”). The updated “Alert” with this change has been posted on

USCIS Issues Alert on the EB-5 Regional Center Program

July 5, 2021

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has posted an “Alert” on its “Approved EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Centers webpage”. The Alert explains how the USCIS will handle relevant petitions and applications following the sunset of the Immigrant Investor “Regional Center” Program (the “Program”). We emphasis herein guidance related

The EB-5 Regional Center Program Will Lapse on June 30, 2021

June 29, 2021

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor “Regional Center” Program (“Program”) will lapse on June 30, 2021 due to the failure of the U.S. Congress to reauthorize or extend it before the expiration date. Because the Senate has adjourned for recess until July 12, 2021, the Program will remain unavailable as no legislation

AILA – Practice Advisory: Immigrant Visa (Green Card) Processing Delays

June 28, 2021

Update: The Department of State has updated their triad approach. For more information, click here. After enduring the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year, most U.S. embassies and consulates are not operating at full capacity. Due to limited appointment availability, a significant backlog was created for immigrant (IV) and nonimmigrant visa

USCIS Updated Policy Alert Concerning Direct Consular Filing at U.S. Embassies and Consulates

February 17, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released an updated policy memorandum advising the Department of States (“DOS”) on adjudicating Form I-130 Petitions for Alien Relatives at U.S. Embassies and Consulates through Direct Consular Filing (“DCF.”) The policy memorandum clarifies that USCIS will no longer accept and adjudicate routine I-130 Petitions

What is Lawful Source of Funds and Path of Funds for an EB-5 Immigrant Investor?

February 5, 2020

The investment capital that an EB-5 Investor may use for his or her investment, called the “lawful source of funds” (“SOF”), can come from any source as long as the investor can prove that the capital or funds were obtained lawfully. Some common SOF are salary and bonus income, dividends

USCIS to Change its Processing Policy for I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor EB-5 Petitions

January 31, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it is changing the way it will process Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, moving from a first-in, first-out basis to a visa availability approach. The Form I-526 Petition is filed by someone wanting to immigrate to the U.S. via the EB-5

The United States Supreme Court To Allow Public Charge Rule To Take Effect

January 30, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Trump Administration policy expanding the government’s ability to refuse immigrant visas and issue green cards to immigrants who are likely to become a Public Charge. The 5-4 ruling, which was divided on ideologically lines, will allow the new rule to

USCIS Scheduled to Increase Family-Based Immigrant and Naturalization Application Filing Fees

January 16, 2020

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has proposed to increase its filing fees for family-based immigrant visas and naturalization applications in 2020. Below are examples of the proposed fee increases. Spouse and Family-Based Immigrant Visas: Filing fees are scheduled to increase a nominal 3.74 percent from US$535 to US$550.

Immigrate to the United States if You Have Exceptional Ability in Science, Art or Business – The EB-2 visa

December 27, 2019

Are you a person with exceptional ability in science, art or business? Then you may qualify to immigrate to the United States and pursue a career in your area of expertise via the Employment Based Second Preference visa category, or EB-2 visa. To qualify as a person of exceptional ability

David Enterline speaks at Global Migration and Wealth Management, East Asia, Conference in Hong Kong

December 6, 2019

David Enterline spoke at the Global Migration and Wealth Management, East Asia Conference in Hong Kong November 4th and 5th, 2019. David was the discussion leader on the panel Evaluating the US investment landscape and its appeal to Chinese investors which focused on issues relevant to Chinese investors seeking to

David Enterline’s Thought Leadership Comments on the Investment Immigration Industry

December 5, 2019

As part of the GMWM East Asia event, organizers requested insight from its distinguished speakers on various Thought Leadership topics. The comments below were provided by David Enterline of Enterline and Partners. 1. In one sentence, how would you describe the state of the investment immigration industry today? The

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Extension

November 28, 2019

As has become the norm, the U.S. Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (“CR”) funding the U.S. federal government through December 20, 2019, while at the same time extending 29 other programs including the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The President signed the CR shortly thereafter. Also known as the EB-5

New EB-5 Regulations Effective as of November 21, 2019

November 27, 2019

On Thursday November 21, 2019, the “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Rule” went into effect 120 days after the final rule was published. The final rule makes regulatory changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program as we have written previously (Regulation change to EB-5 will increase the minimum investment to

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