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 Investor Program Modernization Final Rule. While USCIS considers this decision, we will apply the EB-5 regulations that were in effect before the rule was finalized on Nov. 21, 2019, including:
- No priority date retention based on an approved Form I-526;
- The required standard minimum investment amount of $1 million and the minimum investment amount for investment in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) of $500,000;
- Permitting state designations of high unemployment TEAs; and
- Prior USCIS procedures for the removal of conditions on permanent residence.
In other words, we are applying the regulations in effect before Nov. 21, 2019, on this website and in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Investors. In addition, we again will accept the April 15, 2019, version of Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, because the Nov. 21, 2019, version of the form reflects updates from the now-vacated rule.”
The USCIS is stating that as a result of the Court order, it will apply the regulations that were in effect before November 21, 2019, and this means the minimum investment amount of $500,000. This confirms that investors may make investments at the $500,000 amount and qualify under the EB-5 program.
As a reminder, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor “Regional Center” Program remains unavailable pending a reauthorization of that Program, so a potential investor could not take advantage of the lower investment amount if the investment project relies on a regional center for job creation. However, an investor that is investing as a “direct” EB-5 (not utilizing a regional center) could now qualify.
If you have questions about the status of the EB-5 program, contact us at info@enterlinepartners.com and speak with a U.S. immigration attorney in Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Taipei.
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Copyright 2021. 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.
