December 2, 2020

Persons from Hong Kong Not Yet Subject to China Visa Allocation

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 was “are EB-5 applicants from Hong Kong now considered in the same category as mainland-born Chinese?” Oppenheim answered that at this time Hong Kong is still treated as a separate foreign state for immigrant visa purposes. This is good news for EB-5 investors and all other persons from Hong Kong who are eligible for immigrant visas because based on average processing times, Hong Kong applicants can expect to obtain their EB-5 visas in 24 to 30 months.

Not so for Chinese EB-5 investors who will continue to be subjected to prolonged waiting periods. The EB-5 visa category has an annual quota of approximately 10,000 visas. Once the annual quota is reached, each country may only take 7% of the visas from the EB-5 visa category. Because of high demand from China for many U.S. immigrant visa categories, Oppenheim estimated that if a Chinese investor files an I-526 Petition (as of November 19th, 2020), he or she may need to wait 17.2 years for the visa to become available.

On June 30, 2020, the People’s Republic of China passed the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, more commonly known as the Hong Kong National Security Law, as a direct response to ongoing protests in Hong Kong. In response, on July 14, 2020, President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020 (“Act”) and at the same time signed The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization. The intent of the Executive Order (“EO”) was to suspend or eliminate different and preferential treatment for Hong Kong, including the treatment of Hong Kong persons as separate from China nationals under the U.S. immigration laws. Later review of the Act and the EO raised questions whether the President’s Act and the EO altered U.S. immigration law in this manner.

Until now, DOS has not issued further guidance on the reallocation of Hong Kong persons to mainland China. Other comments from Department of State officials suggest that this is not forthcoming. With a new presidential administration coming into power in just a few months, it seems unlikely that this proposed change will take effect.

If you have questions about the status of Hong Kong persons and allocation of immigrant visas, contact us at info@enterlinepartners.com and speak with a U.S. immigration attorney based in Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Taipei. Our immigration attorneys have over three decades of experience assisting clients at the U.S. Consulates thorough Asia.
.

ENTERLINE & PARTNERS CONSULTING

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Office

Suite 601, 6th Floor, Saigon Tower
29 Le Duan Street
Ben Nghe Ward, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tel: +84 933 301 488

Email: info@enterlinepartners.com

Facebook: Enterline & Partners – Dịch vụ Thị thực và Định cư Hoa Kỳ

Website: http://enterlinepartners.com

Manila, Philippines Office

Unit 2507 Cityland 10 Tower 1
156 H.V. Dela Costa Street
Makati City, Philippines 1209

Tel: +632 5310 1491

Email: info@enterlinepartners.com

Facebook: Enterline and Partners Philippines

Website: https://enterlinepartners.com/language/en/welcome/

Copyright 2020. This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This article may be changed with or without notice. The opinions expressed in this article are those of Enterline and Partners only.

Categories: Immigrant Visa, U.S. Visa

Tags: DS-260 Immigrant Visa Application, EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa

Supreme Court Hands the Trump Administration a Partial Victory in Ongoing Birthright Citizenship Litigation

When Do Sponsor Obligations End Under Form I-864?

United States Announces New Visa Policies Targeting Chinese Nationals

our services

Over 18,000 successful customers with Enterline &
Partners, realizing the dream of immigration

Latest News

Enterline and Partners Succesfully Expedites I-130 Petition with Direct Consular Filing at the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City

Enterline and Partners is pleased to announce that our attorneys have successfully represented another client with Direct Consular Filing (“DCF”) of an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (“I-130 Petition”) at the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City (“Consulate.”) Our clients, a U.S. citizen and Vietnamese citizen, approached us after the U.S. citizen received a job offer which required his immediate relocation back to the United States. Following our consultation session in which we thoroughly discussed how DCF is adjudicated as well as advising that it remains discretionary, the couple decided to proceed and engaged our office to file the initial DCF request. Our team worked diligently in gathering all of the required and supplemental documentation needed before the DCF request could be filed. Once everything was finalized, we submitted the request. Less than a week later, the Consulate approved our DCF request and scheduled the client to file the

Supreme Court Hands the Trump Administration a Partial Victory in Ongoing Birthright Citizenship Litigation

The United States Supreme Court has given President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (“EO”) curbing birthright citizenship a partial victory. The ruling does not impact “Birthright Citizenship” but rather restricts district court judges from issuing nation-wide (or “universal”) injunctions against Executive Orders. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that lower federal court judges who issued nationwide injunctions against the EO went too far and granted the Trump Administration’s request to narrow the injunctions issued in Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts. While the Supreme Court’s ruling was a dramatic shift in how lower federal court judges have operated for years, the decision left enough room for challengers to the EO to prevent it from taking effect while litigation works its way through the federal court system. Specifically, the EO, which also suffered a setback by the Federal Court of Appeals will remain blocked for an additional thirty (30) days) allowing the

When Do Sponsor Obligations End Under Form I-864?

For immigrants to the United States, the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support (“Form I-864”), is a critical part of the family-based immigration process. It is a legally enforceable contract in which a sponsor agrees to financially support the intended immigrant, helping ensure that the immigrant does not rely on certain U.S. government benefits after becoming a permanent resident. By signing Form I-864, the sponsor takes on long-term financial responsibility, but this obligation is not indefinite. The U.S. government outlines specific situations under which the sponsor’s duties come to an end. When Will These Obligations End? A sponsors obligations under a Form I-864 end when the sponsored immigrant: A sponsor’s obligations under a Form I-864 also end if the sponsor dies. As such, the sponsor’s estate is not required to take responsibility for the sponsored immigrant following the sponsor’s death. Divorce does not terminate the responsibility, and if the sponsor dies,

Persons from Hong Kong Not Yet Subject to China Visa Allocation

CATEGORY

Over 18,000 successful customers with Enterline &Partners, realizing the dream of immigration

Latest News

Over 18,000 successful customers with Enterline &
Partners, realizing the dream of immigration