Regional Center Advocacy – Cases During Lapse

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) led a joint advocacy effort to keep regional center petitions in abeyance during lapse by sending the following letter on Friday, December 10, 2021. USCIS has posted information on its website stating, “[a]t the end of calendar year 2021, unless there is new legislation for regional centers, we will reevaluate whether to keep this hold in place.” AILA’s letter asks USCIS to continue to hold these cases in abeyance during the lapse beyond the calendar year 2021.

AILA’s letter is co-signed by IIUSA and EB5IC expressing unanimity among the industry and bar leaders on the importance of safeguarding investors’ EB-5 cases during the lapse. IIUSA sent a separate letter to USCIS on December 9, 2021 requesting the same.

Carolyn Lee PLLC remains optimistic that USCIS will indeed continue to hold these cases in abeyance until the regional center program is reauthorized, hopefully by February 18, 2022.