Proposed Greencard Backlog Relief for EB-5 Investors By: Carolyn Lee In advance of the markup scheduled for today, Monday, September 13, 2021, at 10 am Eastern time, Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10thDistrict) introduced sweeping immigration benefits affecting EB-5 investors.¹ First, Mr. Nadler’s legislative proposal would exempt EB-5 investors and their family members from numerical limits [...]
International Entrepreneur Parole: Investment Immigration Solution for High-Growth Startups By Carolyn Lee Introduction. The International Entrepreneur Parole rule (the “IER”) was implemented by final rule published January 2017 to increase and enhance entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation in the United States. More specifically, the IER is designed to create a means for entrepreneurs [...]
LIKE Act: A New Start-Up Visa Bill On July 26, 2021, the Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment Act (“LIKE Act”) was introduced to Congress to establish a new class of nonimmigrant visas for entrepreneurs and essential employees affiliated with start-up entities. The proposed LIKE Act seeks to amend section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and [...]
Summer Investor Travel for Returning F-1 Students & NIE Update Recently the U.S. government has made several proclamations to limit the entry to the United States for people who have been in countries with high coronavirus risk, known as geographic COVID-19 travel restrictions. As of June 24, 2021, the countries subject to the [...]
USCIS Officially Reinstates Pre-Modernization EB-5 Regulations Below is the update posted on the USCIS website in response to the court decision that vacated the EB-5 Modernization Regulation. The update is published here: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/eb-5-immigrant-investor-program Alert: On June 22, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in [...]
U.S. District Court Vacates EB-5 Modernization Regulations June 23, 2021 -- The lawsuit Behring Regional Center LLC v. Chad Wolf (3:20-cv-09263-JSC) was decided yesterday, June 22, 2021. The order of the United States District Court (Northern District of California) vacated the November 2019 EB-5 regulations (“Modernization Regulations”) and remanded to the U.S. Department [...]
Carolyn Lee Provides Feedback to Improved EB-5 Processing On May 3, 2021, Carolyn Lee PLLC Principal and Founder, Carolyn Lee submitted the following comments to USCIS opining on how the service may reduce administrative and other barriers and burdens within its regulations and policies, including those that prevent foreign citizens from easily obtaining [...]
DHS Announces Continuation of International Entrepreneur Parole Program Program Will Provide Opportunities for Foreign Entrepreneurs WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that the Department of Homeland Security is withdrawing a 2018 notice of proposed rulemaking that proposed to remove the International Entrepreneur program from DHS regulations. The International Entrepreneur (IE) parole program, [...]
Possible Sunset Effects on EB-5 Cases Come June 30, 2021 By Carolyn Lee This is a practical piece. I strongly support S. 831, the bill sponsored by Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Leahy (D-VT) to extend the regional center program for 5 years, introduce strong but reasonable program oversight, and grant generous investor protections [...]
EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 Introduced March 18, 2021 Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a senior member and former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, today introduced the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 (the Integrity Act). The Integrity Act brings a [...]
