Tag: Immigration

On July 24, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a final rule making significant changes to the employment-based, fifth preference (EB-5) immigrant investor classification and associated regional centers.  The EB-5 program permits individuals to apply for permanent residence in the U.S. if they make the necessary investment in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. and create 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.   Regional Centers are economic enterprises designated by USCIS for participation in the Immigrant Investor Program.

The new EB-5 rule:

• Increases minimum investment amounts to $900,000 (from $500,000) in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs), and from $1 million to $1.8 million in all standard areas. Additionally, the final rule provides that investment amounts are subject to additional increases in the future every five years, to be tied to inflation per the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
• Changes how Urban TEAs are defined and designated. Under the final rule, TEA designations will now be determined by the Department of Homeland Security, and state and local TEA determinations will no longer be accepted.
• Provides priority date retention for subsequent EB-5 investor petitions where 1) the investor has a priority date set by a previously approved I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur and 2) the investor is reapplying due a failing investment project, termination of a regional center, or a backlog of visa applications.
• Clarifies procedures for the removal of conditions on permanent resident status, including situations where dependent family members must file their own I-829, Petition to Remove  Conditions on Permanent Resident Status.  By way of background, entrepreneur investors are initially granted conditional permanent resident status for two years, and must petition to have the conditions on status removed within a prescribed period.

The new rule will take effect November 21, 2019. Investors seeking to be “grandfathered” in under the old rules must file an I-526 petition  with USCIS before the new rule’s effective date.

Notably, the current EB-5 Regional Center program expires at the end of the government’s fiscal year on September 30, 2019.  Congress is currently considering  reauthorization of the program. If the program is reauthorized with substantive policy and legislative changes, it is possible that the final rule described above may not take effect.

Gibney will continue to monitor this matter and advise of developments. For additional information, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.

The U.S. Department of State announced that as of June 10, 2019, citizens of New Zealand are eligible to apply for  E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor classification at the U.S. consulates overseas. The development comes pursuant to Congress passing the Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors (KIWI) Act, and President Trump signing it into law. As background, E-1 and E-2 nonimmigrant classification is available to nationals of countries that have signed a treaty of commerce and navigation or similar agreement with the U.S., provided the individual is working for a qualifying business.

Following  the U.S. Department of State’s announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that beginning June 10, 2019, New Zealanders present in the U.S. may also request a change of status to  E-1  or E-2 status, to work for a qualifying business. Dependent spouses and minor unmarried children in the U.S. may also apply to change status as dependents, and dependent spouses may apply for work authorization.

For more information on E-1 and E-2 nonimmigrant classifications, see the U.S. Department of State website and the USCIS E-1 Treaty Traders page and E-2 Treaty Investors page.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please contact your designated Gibney representative, or email info@gibney.com.

Effective May 31, 2019, the U.S. Department of State updated its nonimmigrant  and immigrant visa application forms to require most visa applicants to provide their social media identifiers  for designated social media platforms used in the past five years.    Visa applicants must provide usernames, previous email addresses, and phone numbers.  Applicants are not required to disclose passwords.  Covered social media platforms requiring disclosure include Facebook,  Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn, among others. The visa application lists the specific social media platforms for which identifiers are requested.

All nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applicants are required to submit the requested social media information except for those applying for designated A, C, G and NATO visas.

A response to the social media question is  a required field on the nonimmigrant visa applicant form (DS-160) and immigrant visa application form (DS-260 ). While an applicant may respond “none” if applicable, the failure to provide an accurate, complete, and truthful response may result in denial of the visa application and more serious immigration consequences, including a finding of fraud or misrepresentation.

Applicants should expect that  Consular Officers will surveil social media platforms to vet applicants, compare with information provided on visa applications and immigration petitions, and ascertain eligibility for the visa requested.

At this time, individuals traveling to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program (with ESTA travel clearance) are not required to provide social media identifiers.

Information  from the Department of State concerning this initiative is available at  “About Visas – The Basics” FAQ page  and at Frequently Asked Questions.

For additional information concerning this alert, and applying for visas generally, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.