DHS plans to expand the 601A waiver

Department of Homeland Security just published a proposed rule change to expand the current 601A waiver.

DHS proposes to expand its current provisional waiver process in two principal ways. First, DHS would eliminate current limitations on the provisional waiver process that restrict eligibility to certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Under this proposed rule, the provisional waiver process would be made available to all aliens .

Second, in relation to the statutory requirement that the waiver applicant demonstrate that denial of the waiver would result in “extreme hardship” to certain family members, DHS proposes to expand the provisional waiver process by eliminating the current restriction that limits extreme hardship determinations only to aliens who can establish extreme hardship to U.S. citizen spouses or parents. Under this proposed rule, an applicant for a provisional waiver would be permitted to establish the eligibility requirement of showing extreme hardship to any qualifying relative (namely, U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouses or parents). 

Once the new rules become effect, any family based immigration applicants will be able to file for 601A waiver based on extreme hardship to their USC parents/spouse or their LPR parents/spouse.  

Parents be aware: if your child entered the US illegally you may be held responsible

Under the US immigration law, anyone at any time "knowingly has encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided"  others to enter the US illegally may be liable under the law.  If parents did the above to help their children enter the US illegally this law also applies.  Simply giving money for the children to enter the US will qualify under this law.  

We have seen several cases where parents either took their children to the US and left them here without proper visas or provided material support for their children to enter the US illegally.  When they later applied for immigrant visa, the US consulate refused their visa applications.

There are ways to deal with this problem if you have competent legal counsel to assist you.

EB5: will the death bell ring soon?

Two leading senators have just introduced S.1501 that aimed at extending EB5 regional center law(which will expire9/30/2015) to 2020.  That's good.

The bad: Lots of restriction and limitations. For example,  the requirement to pre-file each offering together with SEC registration, limiting credit for job creation based on the percentage of the alien’s investment in the capital stack, and responsibility to control the activities of independent third parties overseas) apparently apply only to Regional Center offerings. Direct investors would share the increased investment amount ($800,000/$1,200,000) and more limited TEA definitions (a single high-unemployment census tract, or rural area, or closed military base). The bill also doesn’t include any promise to grandfather petitions or applications that were filed under requirements in place prior to the bill becoming law, so past as well as future investors could be affected.

If these changes become law, the EB5 regional center law as we know it now will no longer exist.  The proposed changes will make the operation expense of the regional centers very high and the requirements to invest in TEA and to create the requisite jobs very difficult, not to mention the increase of the minimum investment amount.

If these changes become reality, the EB5 industry will be damaged beyond recognition and as a result, fewer regional centers will be operating and fewer investors would want to seek immigration through the EB5 program, although direct investment EB5 may see a jump.  

New EB5 processing data

From January to march, 2015, the USCIS received 2309 I-526 applications.  It approved 1978 and denied 273.  The approval rate is 88%.

For the same time period, the USCIS received 693 I-829, application to remove the condition.  It approved 269, denied 2.  It had 3524 I-829 application pending as of march 31, 2015.  The normal processing time for I-829 is more than 1 year.

The above information suggest that the approval rate for both I-526 and I-829 are very high and the pending cases have been on the rise.

In addition, the latest information from all sources indicate that the minimum investment amount will be increased very soon, possible after October 1, 2015.

Conclusion:  If you are still thinking about EB5, now its time to act.

Please contact us if you are interested in our service on EB5 and any other types of US immigration applications.

EB5 Investment amount will likely be increased soon

In a letter written by Secretary Johnson of the DHS to the Congress, the Secretary urged the Congress to increase the amount of EB5 investment, both in TEA or targeted areas and other areas, because the $500,000/$1,000,000 were set by law more than 25 years ago.  The Secretary also informed the Congress that USCIS is revising the regulation to increase the investment amount.  He stated, however, that he wants to see the increase is written into law by the Congress.

It seems, based on all information available, the increase of the EB5 investment is nearly certain in 2015 or early 2016.

The Secretary also asked the Congress to increase the investment amount each year thereafter based on consumer index.

If you are still hesitating about EB5, you should act now to avoid higher investment requirement.

New Asylum data

As of March 31, 2015, San Francisco Asylum Office had 9,028 asylum applications pending; New York had 13,568;  Newark had 14,924 and Los Angeles had 17,042.

from January to march, 2015, China continues to lead the asylum application filings by over 1000 each month, or about 19% of the total asylum application filed the same period.

For approval rate, San Francisco Asylum Office continues to lead with 73% approval in January;  71% in both February and March.   The lowest approval rate is from New York with 27% in January; 26% in February and 16% in March.  Los Angeles Asylum Office had approval rate of 45% in January; 41% in February and 49% in March.

It is very common now to wait for many months in many asylum offices, including San Francisco Asylum Office,  for the interview.  Applicants will be eligible to apply for employment permit 5 months after the application is filed.

Breaking news: Federal agents raid 20 Chinese birth centers in LA

Federal agents raided about 20 locations in three Southern California counties earlyTuesday as part of an investigation targeting “birth tourism” schemes in which pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States on fraudulent visas so that their children will be born U.S. citizens.

Search warrants were served at the homes of people federal authorities suspect of running the operations as well as at apartment complexes in Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga, Rowland Heights and Walnut where pregnant women were allegedly being housed.

It is expected that the Chinese birth tourism will be negatively impacted on a short term to say the least.

Most recent Average Processing Times for Immigrant Investor Program Office as of: December 31, 2014

 I-526 Immigrant Petition By Alien Entrepreneur For use by an entrepreneur who wishes to immigrate to the United States :14 Month(s) 

I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions Removal of lawful permanent resident conditions (immigrant investors) 11.4 Month(s) 

I-924 - Application For Regional Center Under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program 11.1 Month(s) 

Please note the above is average time.  In reality, many cases may take much longer than the stated time.

EB5: first quarter, 2015 data. 100% removal of condition approval

USCIS just release the 1st quarter of 2015(10/1/14-12/31/14) EB5 application data.

During the first quarter, USCIS received 2,941 I526 application;  USCIS approved 1,652 I526 applications and denied 133 I526 applications.  The approval rate is 92.5%, highest approval ever.  As of december 31, 2014, USCIS had 13,526 I526 application pending.

During the same period, USCIS received 810 I829 applications(removal of condition).  69 I829 were approved an no denials recorded in this period, also a record!  As of December 31, 2014, there were 3,080 I829 applications were pending.

The number of I526 approvals has been the highest for a 3 month period in USCIS EB5  adjudication history.

This office has been representing EB5 clients for many years with %100 success record.  We welcome your inquiry about our EB5 practice.

Asylum application update

On December 26, 2014, the USCIS Asylum Division began prioritizing asylum applications for interview scheduling as follows:

  • First, applications that were scheduled for an interview, but the applicant requested a new interview date;
  • Second, applications filed by children; and
  • Third, all other pending affirmative asylum applications will be scheduled for interviews in the order they were received, with oldest cases scheduled first.

The new priority policy means newly filed asylum applications may be delayed for interview for very long time, possibly over 6-12 months.

The good news is that after 5 months of filing the applicant can apply for employment card(EAD).

Immigration Court Backlog worsened

Federal Officials have begun sending out notices that thousands of immigrants awaiting hearings will have their cases pushed back nearly five years, a fresh sign of the pervasive backlogs and delays in the U.S. immigration court system. The delay makes room for higher-priority cases caused last summer by a surge in unaccompanied minors and families crossing the border with Mexico.

The Justice Department started notifying employees in the immigration court system last week that nonpriority cases were being bumped off the court docket and would get a Nov. 29, 2019, There is no guaranty the these affected will be heard on that day.  

Only fast track asylum cases will be assigned to an early hearing date as the law requires the adjudication process be completed in 180 days after the filing.

China EB5 cut off date likely to occur in March, 2015

According to a senior State Department visa official, the cut off date for China born EB5 applicant is certain and now it is just a matter of exactly when.  He said that he is confident that he will have more information in early February, 2015 and that more information may be available in the March, 2015 visa bulletin.

Based on this information we predict that the cut off date will start in March or April of 2015.  It is likely that at least 18 to 24 months of waiting time will occur.  That means once the cut off date is established, applicants who filed their I-526 18 -24 months prior to the cut off date may be eligible to receive immigrant visa(if they are outside of the US) or be granted adjustment of status(if they are inside the US and filed I-485).

New Data on EB5 Investors visa

  • From FY 2001-2014, there have been a 1,250% increase in EB-5 Visas handed out.
  • In FY-2014, the U.S. State Department issued 9,228 EB-5 visas
  • The top five posts for EB-5 Visas issued for FY-2014: 1) Guangzhou, China (8,237), Seoul, Korea (149), Taipei, Taiwan (97), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (92) and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. (78). 

At this time, there are more than 12,000 I-526 applications pending at USCIS.  Last quarter of 2014 saw the big increase of I-526 filings: 3,240 I-526 applications.  This means in 3 months the USCIS received enough applications for the whole year.

I-829 

I-829 



US B-1/2 visa to extend to 10 years

Starting November 12, the United States and the People’s Republic of China will reciprocally increase the validity of short-term business and tourist visas and student and exchange visas issued to each other’s citizens.

Chinese applicants who qualify for a B-category nonimmigrant visa (NIV) may now be issued multiple-entry visas for up to 10 years for business and tourist travel. Qualified Chinese students and exchange visitors and their dependents who qualify for F, M, or J-category visas are now eligible for multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years or the length of their program. U.S. citizens eligible for Chinese short term business and tourist visas should also receive multiple-entry visas valid for up to 10 years, while qualified U.S. students may receive student residency permits valid up to five years, depending on the length of their educational program.

EB5-5 regional centers have lost their designations

According to USCIS, the following 5 regional centers have been removed from the regional center list.

  • Ecorntech Regional Center (Wisconsin)

  • Michigan Renaissance Regional Center (Michigan)

  • Gateway Georgia Regional Center (Georgia)

  • South Florida EB-5 Regional Center, LLC (Florida)

  • InvestAmerica EB-5, LLC (Colorado)

  • South West Biofuel RC, LLC (SWBRC) (Texas, Oklahoma)

In general, a regional center may choose to be removed from the designation by failing to file the annual report(I-924A), which is due December 29 every year.  USCIS may also remove a regional center based on information it has, such as information received from I-924A or other sources.  The main reason for revoking the regional center designation is that the USCIS determines that the regional center in question has not created jobs in a verifiable way or the regional center did not promote economic growth as claimed in the original business plan and economic analysis.

As more and more regional centers are approved by the USCIS every month, there certainly will be many regional centers that cannot maintain their economic activities by recruiting qualified EB5 investors.  

 

DOS Alert: China EB-5 “Unavailable” for Remainder of FY2014

Effective immediately Saturday, August 23, 2014 the China Employment Fifth (EB-5) preference category has become “Unavailable” for the remainder of the FY-2014. This action is necessary because the maximum level of numbers which may be made available for use by China EB-5 applicants during FY-2014 has been reached.

Department of State Processing: The establishment of a monthly cut-off or “Current” status for a numerically controlled preference category applies to those applicants who were reported documentarily qualified prior to the determination of cut-off dates and allocation of visa numbers for that month. Therefore, all China EB-5 applicants who have been scheduled for interview at an overseas post based on the original establishment of the August and September cut-off dates would have been allotted visa numbers for potential use by their case. Such applicants will not be impacted by the “Unavailability” of the China EB-5 category for the remainder of FY-2014. In this context, “Unavailable” means that no additional numbers are available for “comeback” cases originally scheduled for interview in an earlier month who are just now returning, or for those first requesting an interview. The only exception would be if a post had “otherwise unused” numbers available, because applicants either failed to appear or failed to overcome a refusal during the month (i.e., August or September) of originally scheduled interview.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Processing: USCIS offices may continue to accept and process China Employment Fifth preference cases and submit them in the normal manner. However, instead of being acted upon immediately, those cases will be held in the Visa Office’s “Pending Demand” file untilOctober 1, 2014. At that time, all eligible cases will be automatically authorized from the “Pending Demand” file under the FY-2015 annual numerical limitation. Each USCIS requesting office will receive an e-mail notification of such authorizations, which will be effective immediately.