“Mend, Not End” insight from Julia Harrison & Charlie Oppenheim – Episode 27
“Mend, Not End” is the current motto for USCIS regarding the EB5 program
Coming back from the recent IIUSA conference, Mona and Rebecca share with Mark the latest issues discussed by Julia Harrison, Deputy Chief of USCIS; and Charlie Oppenheim, Director of Immigrant Visa Control for the US Department of State.
Being part of IIUSA leadership, the President Advisory Council, as well as the public policy committee allows Mona and her team to be invited to all important EB-5 events. In the recent IIUSA conference, legislative and consular updates in the EB-5 industry were discussed. Julia Harrison talked about the adjudication process. She also touched on the adjudicators policy manual, soft landing, as well as the increase of filing fees. Meanwhile, Charlie Oppenheim talked about using Charts A and B in the Monthly Visa Bulletin as well as the increasing demand of EB-5 in other parts of the world.
Administrative updates from Julia Harrison
- When the USCIS gets a new case from a new commercial enterprise (NCE), the project goes to a team who reviews all the submitted documents. Any new applications coming from the same NCE gets reviewed by the same team, this way, the previous knowledge of the project can help shorten the processing time of applicants hereafter. For new regional center applications, the processing time currently lasts up to 17.2 months. To alleviate this lengthy adjudication process, what Julia suggests is for applications to be filed together for all the cases to be reviewed at the same time. For those who already have an approved project, the processing time is shorter.
- USCIS is also dedicating valuable time to writing up a new policy manual. However, this valuable time is being taken away by adjudication tasks. Although there are new adjudicators coming in, training still needs to take precedence. Upon completion, hopefully the processing time will be faster.
- Another new update that has just started is that USCIS is now conducting virtual video interviews for i829 applications. Instead of the officer traveling to each destination to interview, the client will just need to go to the local USCIS office.
- When the EB-5 industry started last 2005-2006, there were only a handful of officers and the processing time was 2 months. Currently, there have been 10,000 applicants and 17, 000 petitions filed. The demand for EB-5 projects is ongoing and USCIS has evolved and has become more sophisticated with its methods to check every project’s veracity, conducting due diligence to every document received.
- There have been rumors that if Hillary Clinton wins the Presidency, there is a possibility that the project department of EB-5 gets taken over to another department. Whether this may cause a slow-down or a speed-up, we won’t really know just yet.
- Another update brought up is that the USCIS website is being translated to Mandarin. This is good news for all Chinese applicants.
- Regarding visa follow-ups via the 1-800 number, the adjudicators who have reviewed the i829 cases will now be answering those inquiries. This way, the persons calling will have more information regarding the status of their applications.
- Another important issue covered during the conference was Soft Landing. This concerns innocent investors who were defrauded, e.g. the JPeak case. It was discussed that there should be some recourse if investors find themselves defrauded. The reaction was mixed since there were people who thought that this was a good idea while others thought that it would open up to more fraud. It is important to have a distinction between claims of fraud and a bad project.
- USCIS is in the final stages of reviewing the increase of fees. Currently, the regional center filing costs around $6000-$7000. The increase will be implemented after 30-60 days, which will bump the regional center fees to $18,000 – $19,000.
Charlie Oppenheim
- The Monthly Visa Bulletin comes out in the middle of each month. Chart A contains the cut-off dates for filing of priority date applications of i526s. For Mainland China, there is a designated date on which all applications from a certain priority date are accepted. For all other countries, they can proceed as usual.
- For Chart B, if the priority date is current, you are still allowed to file an application with all the necessary documents and you will be added to the queue. However, this does not apply for those from Mainland China who are applying for adjustment of status. This final action date to be used will still be based on Chart A.
Follow to Join
- The principal applicant is the one filling the i526 application. The dependents are comprised of the spouse and children below 21. The dependents can accompany the principal applicant or can follow the applicant within 6 months that the principal has entered the US.
- Follow to join happens when the dependents follow the principal after 6 months. For couples, it’s important to remember that as long as the dependent is married prior the principal’s entry to the US, they can follow to join thereafter. All they have to do is inform the necessary departments such as the consulate. As for children, they can follow to join as well until they reach 21.
Increased EB-5 Demand
- Direct EB-5 projects for the fiscal year 2016 has increased by over 400%. From only 156 last 2015 to a massive 842 this year. Only the regional center program is affected by the deadline of the new bill, while direct EB-5 projects are not affected.
- 5% of EB-5 visas were given to China this year. 3.4% of visas were given to investors from Vietnam, and India is next on the list. There were also instances when 15% of Chinese visas were asking for their dates to be delayed. The visas go unused and is recalculated to go back to the visa pool. The good news is that the visas are continuously getting filed and there is no retrogression in the EB-5 market in China.