Top Ten from the USCIS EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement on July 28, 2016

Top Ten from the USCIS EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement on July 28, 2016

On July 28, 2016, USCIS held an EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement in Miami, FL.  Here, we are providing a summary of the top ten take-aways from the engagement:

1. Through the U.S. government fiscal year 2015, the EB-5 program has brought in a total of $15.5 billion of investment into the U.S. These funds have created an estimated 84,400 jobs.
2. USCIS’s Investor Program Office (IPO) recognizes the continuing challenges of the EB-5 program dealing with fraud and lack of due diligence. The IPO re-iterated the importance of Regional Center self-policing, but also said that it routinely works with the SEC and the FBI in attempting to protect EB-5 investors.  If IPO believes a Regional Center is not providing sufficient information or promoting economic growth, it will issue a Notice of Intent to Terminate (NOIT).
3. IPO is hiring more staff. They currently have 142 employees and are hoping to reach 171 by the end of this year.  Two employees will be dedicated to monitoring Regional Center activity.  With the added staff, they hope to continue the trend of reducing the backlogs for various EB-5 petitions.
4. Several EB-5 immigration forms will be updated soon, including the Form I-924, the Form I-924a, and the Form I-526.
5. IPO will start doing site visits of actual EB-5 project locations – unannounced. These will likely be fraud checks to make sure that the activity at the project corresponds to the Business Plan.
6. IPO will start doing audits of Regional Center offices, which will be announced beforehand. These audits may take one week or more, to see what oversight is being performed on individual EB-5 projects, what path EB-5 investment funds take from the investor to the Regional Center entity to the EB-5 project, etc.
7. IPO will start interviewing I-829 petitioners by video-conference. When these interviews begin, they will not be for all I-829 petitioners – instead, the interviewees will be randomly selected.  I-829 petitioners will have the right to supplement the record with additional evidence, if necessary, during or after the interview.
8. Minors (under the age of 18 years) may or may not be able to be EB-5 investors, depending on the circumstances. The issue is whether the minor has reached the age of capacity to enter into contracts, which varies according to state law.
9. For an EB-5 project, while it is not required, it is helpful to include feasibility studies and pro forma cash flow statements. These documents help in determining whether the Business Plan is Matter of Ho-compliant and may reduce the risk of receiving a Request for Evidence (RFE).
10. IPO recognizes the desire for a Premium Processing option for EB-5, but it is restrained by the current fee of $1,225 which is set by Congress. The limited fee, as compared to the required EB-5 investment amount, would make it impossible for IPO to successfully fast-track the number of petitions that would likely be subject to Premium Processing.