EB-5 PROGRAM EXTENDED WITHOUT CHANGES FOR TWO WEEKS
Washington D.C., Dec. 8, 2017 – The House and Senate passed a Continuing Resolution, H.J. Res. 123 on Thursday, December 7, 2017, that extends the federal budget and government agency functions until December 22, 2017. The Continuing Resolution was signed into law by the President on Friday, December 8, 2017. The Continuing Resolution keeps the […]
USCIS Director Cissna Advocates for Ending Diversity Visa Lottery and Restricting Family Immigration
Washington, D.C., December 8, 2017 – According to an opinion piece published in The Hill newspaper, the current Director of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) believes that the United States should eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery, and restrict family-based immigration. The Diversity Visa Lottery is an immigration program that allows persons from countries that […]
Winter Holiday Travel: What Visa Documents Do Students and Workers Need to Carry?
Washington, D.C., December 5, 2017: When making travel plans for the approaching winter holidays, foreigners in the U.S. should plan to obtain and carry certain immigration documents to assist with a smooth border procedure on their return to the U.S. We summarize some of the typical travel documents required for students and temporary workers in […]
District Court Vacates DHS Rule Delaying International Entrepreneur Parole Category
Washington, D.C., December 5, 2017: As reported in an August news item by I.A. Donoso & Associates, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously announced a rule which delayed the implementation of the International Entrepreneur parole category until March 2018 (the “Delay Rule”). The International Entrepreneur Parole Rule was finalized by the Obama Administration and […]
Top 5 Questions from Indian Investors Concerning the EB-5 Process
Washington, D.C. – November 27, 2017: Having travelled to India frequently during the last 12 months, attorneys Ignacio Donoso and Dennis Tristani at I.A. Donoso & Associates have met with dozens of successful and fascinating families from India, who have posed many interesting questions concerning the EB-5 visa process. We prepared this article summarizing the […]
EB-5 Update – USCIS EB-5 Processing: Not Quite First-in-First-Out
Washington, D.C. – November 20, 2017: The recent USCIS EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement held in New York on November 7, 2017 provided some frank statements by USCIS that their EB-5 processing system has improved, but is still suffering from certain longstanding problems. One issue that will sound familiar to both EB-5 industry experts and individual investors […]
Update on the USCIS EB-5 Stakeholder Meeting in New York
Washington, D.C., November 13, 2017 – U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) held a public meeting with stakeholders in the EB-5 industry in New York City on November 7, 2017. The Stakeholders Meeting provided very helpful information regarding EB-5 visa process and USCIS analysis of EB-5 projects. In relation to EB-5 visa process, USCIS indicated […]
Update: USCIS Interviews for EB-5 Investors
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently announced that it would begin requiring in-person interviews for employment-based immigrant visa applications (i.e., “green card” applicants) filed after March 6, 2017. This new policy does not change the process for visa applicants residing outside the U.S. It does, however, create novel procedures for green card applicants living […]
Update: Bridge Financing and EB-5
October 2017 Many EB-5 projects make use of a variety of different sources of funds, of which EB-5 investments are only one part. However, for many projects, the process of raising investments from EB-5 investors often takes many months, causing uncertainty for project developers about the timing of EB-5 capital to be raised and the […]
Premium Processing Now Available for All Petitioners Seeking H-1B Visas
WASHINGTON, D.C., – October 3, 2017 — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed Premium Processing today for all H-1B visa extension of stay petitions. USCIS Premium Processing is now available for all types of H-1B petitions. USCIS had suspended USCIS Premium Processing during the April 2017 cap season and has progressively re-started Premium Processing […]