At a recent IIUSA EB-5 Forum, Charles Oppenheim, the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) – the man who decides the DOS Visa Bulletin every month – responded to a question regarding visa allocation for persons from Hong Kong. The question
The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has announced that routine visa processing at Embassies and Consulates will resume on a post-by-post basis consistent with DOS’s guidance for safely returning to the full services. As on the ground conditions improve, DOS will begin providing services leading to the eventual full
In what appears to be a judicial game of tennis, the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit overturned a lower federal judge’s decision to stop the United States Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS”) public charge rule and is allowing DHS to continue to implement the rule. On
A federal judge has stopped the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) public charge rule which was recently allowed to proceed after an injunction was lifted by the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. Judge Gary Feinerman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
On October 19, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) premium processing fees will increase in accordance with the Continuing Appropriations Act signed into law on October 1, 2020.. USCIS premium processing allows a petitioner to receive a decision within 15 business days by submitting a Form I-907, Request
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) which oversees the visa adjudication process at U.S. Embassies and Consulates has not released any formal statement indicating that the 2019 Novel Coronavirus has resulted in the suspension of consular operations. A recent social media posting purported to be an official statement from the
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
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 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
The United States Department of State (“DOS”) is scheduled to release new guidelines giving consular officers further discretion to determine whether women who are applying for a B-1/ B-2 visitor visa primary purpose is to give birth in the United States. It is unclear how consular officers at U.S. Embassies
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is scheduled to increase its filing and processing fees for business visas in 2020. Below are examples of the proposed increased fees by visa category: L-1 and H-1B Visas: L-1 visa petitions (for temporary workers, non-immigrant) are scheduled to increase by 77 percent
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