In the meantime, here is a link to my recording of the 10/19 EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement, and an index to recording content. The following table considers which requirements created by RIA are specific to raising and deploying EB-5 investment, and thus naturally not applicable to RCs/NCEs that raised and deployed EB-5 funds prior to RIA and will not continue such activity after RIA. Job descriptions offer a view into the workings of an organization. USCIS interprets RIA to mean that every regional center, regardless of when designated and regardless of when or if it sponsored investors, needs to make its annual Integrity Fund payment of $10,000 or $20,000 to USCIS between tomorrow and March 31, 2023. LCR Analysis of SEF Statistics | April 2023 . Or maybe we and the IPO speakers on todays call are equally victims of a system that paralyzes communication by subjecting every decision and talking point to a thousand steps and checks. Organizational awareness was explicitly mentioned as a required competency in some job descriptions, and a clear priority throughout. 33 Comments. Without country caps to hold back and distribute demand, EB-5 categories will quickly become not-current across the board in the visa bulletin. USCIS also made changes to Volume 7 to add concurrent filing for EB-5 (now allowed since RIA) and to delete priority date protection for EB-5 (now not available since the EB-5 Modernization Regulation was rescinded). From 2018 to Summer 2022, the number of adjudicators assigned to I-526 fell by 61%. However, the words efficiency and productivity also appear several times, and four positions even include customer service among the required competencies. On July 12, USCIS announced a new Form I-526 and Form I-526E. Are expedite approvals and mandamus actions having a significant impact? So long as country cap victims are suffering in decade and multi-decade long queues, country cap beneficiaries cannot expect to rest easy in an unchallenged status quo. Surely IPO was right to ignore Suzanne when she wrote over and over to the IPO Customer Service Mailbox, begging for backlog-relevant I-526 data to enable backlog/wait time prediction! If the entire system cannot be improved with sufficient resources to provide reasonable processing for everyone, then pressure will build to improve processing times inequitably for at least a few constituents. To understand what a merely-FIFO queue for EB-5 visas would look like, its necessary to think about the distribution of the 80,000+ people currently queued up for an EB-5 visa (either already at the visa stage, or on the way at USCIS). USCIS should want to empower prospective EB-5 users to judge upfront whether and when EB-5 could offer an opportunity to immigrate. That last bullet point is especially urgent and significant. The Department of State has finished publishing its Report of the Visa Office 2022. Hmmm, Was this different treatment of Indians and Vietnamese an oversight, with the government remembering the unreserved limit in the new law for Vietnam while forgetting it for India? Editorialized about policy change implications of the Integrity Act (including change to the sustainment period requirement) and gave a target to finalize new EB-5 regulations at the end of CY2023. The I-956K instructions request that a promoter should submit Form I-956K before operating on behalf of any of the specified entities or promoting any offering under the EB-5 Regional Center Program. (See also the article Who are Promoters and What Requirements Apply to Them Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act? in the October 2022 Regional Center Business Journal, and the above-linked Federal Register invitation to submit I-956 comments to USCIS. However, I appreciate that USCIS put all of IPO leadership on-stage to speak to us, and the level of detail shared. It certainly has been a very active few days in the EB-5 industry, especially with the recent news of the amount of investment resetting to $500,000 immediately and today's activity in the U.S. Senate, which almost assures that the EB-5 Regional Center Program . The bright side is that consular problems affect not only EB-5 but also family-based visa issuance, and EB-5 benefits in 2023 from a share in FB visas that went un-issued in 2022 (as reflected in 2023s unusually high EB visa limit). The Federal Register has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the future USCIS fee schedule, with a public comment period open until March 6, 2023. The Processing Time column in the USCIS report indicates the median processing time of cases decided in the reported quarter. (607) 200-3758. [UPDATE: USCIS has now sent a second announcement email with slightly different content and additional info about fees, copied below. If USCIS starts to terminate regional centers for no fault except declining to raise new funds under RIA, the result will be loss of eligibility among EB-5 investors due to RIA an outcome that RIA sought to avoid in principle with Section 108 Protection from Expired Legislation. I wish that IPO will publish a list of approved and denied NCEs, to help regulate the market and stop denied NCEs from still soliciting EB-5 investment and sponsoring I-526E that can never be approved. USCIS admitted as recently as October 2022, in meeting with the litigation plaintiffs, that USCIS has not determined what will happen to regional centers that choose not to file Form I-956 and whether any of the RIA requirements apply to them.. I tend to disregard this number because its (1) not predictive (simply reflects one point of past performance) and (2) not generally applicable even to past performance (the processing time range behind this median is extremely wide, as further discussed below). Ive written about country cap bills several times over the years and they never passed, but the current version (the EAGLE Act H.R.3648/S.4567) is reportedly actively in play, with a chance to get attached to FY2023 appropriations. The word back has become extremely popular, but the regional center program is not back in the sense of back to the way it was before. Regional centers are moving forward and finding their feet on a new footing: a law with new requirements and restrictions. ), and on-going terrible performance by the Investor Program Office. In short, the Integrity Act does not clearly answer the question whether Congress meant to strip existing regional centers of their authorization. Close All Open All Alerts News Close All Open All 35 Comments. Who takes the risk that USCIS will find some pre-RIA regional centers and their projects not compliant under all the new rules? Now that youve applied your economist brain to the situation and realize the importance of this data for program integrity, please help make it happen! Here are answers gathered from the documents published today by USCIS. (The unused set-asides should carry over in future years, though the FY23 visa limits report doesnt show the carryover.) There are questions about the status of previously-approved regional centers and their investors, ongoing processing issues, and the prospect of new legislation to change everyones visa wait times. . The termination threat is a concern primarily because the new law defines devastating investor consequences from regional center sponsor termination (as further discussed in my previous post). Want to be updated with the latest news about U.S. Investor Visas? I have also created a new Processing Data page to house trend charts.). I am encouraged by the 21 alerts that Ive received since August 2022 from USAjobs.gov for job openings at IPO, and to see that new job descriptions include words like achieve efficiency, provide customer service, and respond to inquiries. EB-5 processing times exploded in recent years primarily because IPO has had fewer people working less productively on EB-5 forms. USCIS has yet to designate any regional centers under subparagraph (E) by approving I-956 applications. If youre with an RC that does not plan to raise new capital after RIA, and concerned about protecting past investors, you should also let USCIS hear your voice and reasoning, as soon as possible. Many jobs were posted as open exclusively to current USCIS employees, and all (except the secretaries) were limited to current or former federal employees, with some flexibility for veterans, military spouses, and Peace Corps. 18 Comments. This webinar is not for press purposes. IPO is hiring! I recommend that everyone read the text of the preliminary injunction, to see what it does and more important does not say. Yikes! Job descriptions offer a view into the workings of an organization. Lets see our industry warriors, fresh from successful I-956 battles, take up the fight to salvage processing conditions for investor petitions. June 17, 2022 Are thousands of good faith investors about to start seeing their I-526 and I-829 denied and their residence status revoked through no fault of their own, and for no fault in the investment or job creation, but simply because their good faith regional center sponsor decided to go passive (instead of choosing to solicit new investment under the Integrity Act, with compliance steps specifically relevant to soliciting new investment)? Amidst the flux on the USCIS website, litigation disputes, questionable new forms, and guidance thats here today and may be gone tomorrow, this reliable foundation remains: RIA is law. Everyone from prospective investors to DHS leadership to Congressional representatives should care if the EB-5 process is grinding to a halt because USCIS is stalling Step 1. As of today, the best I-526 data we have is mostly thanks to IIUSA communicating with the now-retired Charles Oppenheim at Department of State, and goes through 2021. (So far, Ive only succeeded in getting USCIS to answer in November 2022 a Freedom of Information Act request that I submitted in February 2020 for I-526 inventory by country, having previously fruitlessly tried to get country-specific I-526 data via IPO customer service requests. (For future reference, Im also adding this engagement to my Meeting Log of USCIS EB-5 engagement reports going back to 2009. 17 Comments. Every regional center application and new investor petition filed today will certainly be approved or denied with reference to the law as updated by RIA. I wouldnt exactly call it an engagement, since USCIS did not address many questions that we submitted in advance, and responded to the majority of in-person questions with thank you for your input and/or please send this question to the EB-5 Customer Service Mailbox (a notorious black hole). In August, after Trump made the . These dreadful numbers can trace back to factors including economic pressures on EB-5 projects, heightened risk from long processing delays, the legacy of extreme vetting philosophy, and rogue IPO staff alone in their home offices and apparently free to make up and apply idiosyncratic standards of proof for source of funds. IPO is still on track to deliver over-six-year processing times for I-526 and I-829, still chaotic in the date range of petitions being processed, and still denying a large percentage of I-526. not yet fully invested) when they file their Form I-526 petition as permitted under applicable requirements and, additionally, would not align with the sustainment period for those who filed prior to the 2022 Act, which runs approximately to the point of the Form I-829 filing, regardless of when they filed their Form I-526 or made their investment.. On April 11 and April 29, the USCIS website posted announcements to the effect that regional centers needed to wait for USCIS to approve new designation applications before sponsoring EB-5 investment. News The latest news on the U.S. EB-5 Investment Visa . I sensed a litigation subtext, with about half of the content discussing Integrity Act implementation in compliance with the Behring Settlement Agreement, and the other half explaining operations challenged by and exposed in Mandamus litigation. Which historically means that only China, India, Vietnam, Mexico, Philippines and Dominican Republic are in the country cap danger zone overall, and the last two can safely be disregarded for this report since theyve never been remotely significant in EB-5. The most recent docket item filed August 12 by DHS discloses that the parties are substantially engaged in settlement discussions, and an administrative resolution that may render further litigation of this case unnecessary.. Perhaps the agency could conclude that the centers must reapply but can operate consistent with the requirements of the Integrity Act pending their new applications. But now, USCIS is reaching out with a chance to talk. This is true because of when visas get allocated. IPO management might proudly point out that they have improved since the new EB-5 law, approving almost 100 I-526 in May 2022, compared with only 9 in February 2022. Is USCIS trying to group I-829 from different filing dates by project, to process the project all at once? The Federal Register has re-opened opportunity to comment on the new regional center forms I-956, I-956F, I-956G, and I-956K. The Investor Program Office is acting as if it could count on darkness and inattention. Consider: back in 2018, the median age of completed I-526 was 18 months. In recent statements, webinars, and reports on processing conditions across USCIS, I hear principled commitment to improve more than practical hope for broad-based change any time soon. Pay attention to volume trends, and to the distribution of filing dates being adjudicated. March 6, 2023 (Insights from jobpostings), IPO has had fewer people working less productively on EB-5 forms, compilation of IPO job postings in 2022/2023, An Open Letter to Kevin Muck at IPO about I-526 data and avoiding EB-5backlogs, wrote over and over to the IPO Customer Service Mailbox, the engagement was called in January 2023, RIA Implementation Status, one yearlater, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, USCIS Immigration and Citizenship data page, FY2022 Annual Report of the Visa Office for EB-5 visas issued bycountry, ready and registered at the National Visa Center, Department of State/AILA Liaison Committee Meeting February 9, 2023, presentation by Charles Oppenheim for IIUSA, EB-5 Integrity Fund FAQ, with notes on regional center status and investmentperiod, USCIS to Start Collecting Fee for EB-5 Integrity Fund. In addition to avoiding two of the three agenda topics previously announced for the engagement, the IPO speakers also provided no update on IPO operations or staffing, no update on form processing or procedures, and no estimated delivery dates for the many initiatives IPO ought to have in hand, including policy publication, regulations, timely processing study, website updates, or digitization. And the new EB-5 law encourages special priority for new I-526 associated with rural projects. In practice, IPO processing output has been very low for an office with 200+ employees mostly earning $100,000+ per year each. Surely nothing to do with the number of Indians who filed I-526 in 2018/2019, or our rate of adjudication! F. RETROGRESSION IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE (EB-5) FOR INDIA. (I assume that I-526 filings in 2022 didnt grow the queues very much, unless it turns out that most of the 829 receipts last year came from Indians). ], From: U.S. Report of the Visa Office 2022 does segregate EB-5 visas into 5th Unreserved and 5th Set-Aside categories, reflecting changes to visa availability made by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act enacted March 15, 2022. Why would anyone need to ask how many people are entering and lingering in the back of the queue at USCIS, when the Visa Bulletin reports conditions just fine at the terminus of the queue at Department of State?. A closer look at the data reveals other details of interest. In EB-5, Chinese investors who filed I-526 before 2018 and Indian investors who filed I-526 in 2019-2021 suffer from country caps, while others largely benefit. Filing I-526 does not lock in access to a visa. But who counts as investors in the preceding fiscal year for the purpose of fee calculation? On May 31, 2023, USCIS will start to send out Notices of Intent to Terminate to every regional center whose fee was not received on-time. IPO Chief Alissa Emmel stated that this (1) will not prevent the adjudication of related Form I-526 and I-829 filed before the passage of the Integrity Act, (2) may result in termination of the RCs designation, and (3) will not be the basis for denial of the I-526 or I-829 petitions. Before launching into details, a reminder that industry associations like IIUSA (for regional centers) and AIIA (for investors) are working on these issues, and you can join an association to help magnify your voice and interests in these volatile times. As per program regulations, the investment needs to create 10 new jobs in America for a period of few years. YaRus has been a large aggregator of news and social content in Russia and boasted some 70,000 pieces of content per day. Its supporters have long touted it as an important economic stimulus tool for economic . Until backlog problems resolve, we can expect to see civil wars over the insufficient few visas available. The plaintiff regional centers are trying to preserve as much of the pre-RIA status quo as possible, while DHS is fighting for time and leeway to ensure RIA compliance. Think about it, Kevin. The law and conditions that determine the EB-5 visa allocated are those that pertain at the time the visa is allocated a time years after investment under current processing conditions. Bad actors will not flourish in impunity underwritten by long processing queue times, policy uncertainty, misdirected adjudication, and lack of communication from USCIS. Is there an element of randomness in case assignment resulting from paper files and lax management? Witness how conditions have deteriorated since 2018, back when we thought two-year I-526 processing times were long. In a situation where I-526 filing numbers turn into future priority dates for visa issuance, why might anyone possibly want to ask about filing numbers? How much of the law has been implemented? The announcements give no indication that USCIS considered exceptions for regional centers that were not designated under the new law and do not have investors under the new law. (Personally I would not file I-526 relying on an I-924 exemplar approval without I-956F, since I-924 had half the content required for an exemplar under the new law plus different approval standards, and any material change cancels exemplar deference according to the new law.) Comment on the RIA impact on pre-RIA Regional Centers and investors. But the order finds that USCIS was likely in error to take for granted that RIA cancelled all pre-RIA regional center designations. (I could also discuss I-829 processing data, with similar concerns, but consider the I-526 problem in most urgent need of publicity as an integrity, public policy, and market issue.). ), From: Suzanne Lazicki
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