USCIS Increases Processing Times for I-924 Amendments
USCIS Increases Processing Times for I-924 Amendments
On April 17, 2012 USCIS announced that the processing time for I-924 amendments for EB-5 Regional Centers has increased from four (4) months to eight (8) months. The official announcement may be accessed at http://goo.gl/6itmC. It should be noted that USCIS has not officially stated the reason for these delays.
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
A Regional Center is defined as any economic entity, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation and increased domestic capital investment. Individuals seeking “Regional Center” designation from USCIS must submit a proposal, which is supported by economically or statistically valid forecasting tools. Investments made through regional centers are able to take advantage of the more expansive concept of job creation, which includes both “indirect” and “direct” jobs.
When are Amendments Required?
Generally, requests for an amendment to Regional Center designations may be due to any or all of the following reasons:
- To seek a preliminary determination of EB-5 compliance for documentation provided as an exemplar Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur prior to filing an I-526 petition
- A change of the geographic area
- A change in its organizational structure or administration
- Modifications of affiliated commercial investment opportunities (including changes in the economic analysis and underlying business plan used to estimate job creation for previously approved investment clusters)
- Changes to an affiliated commercial enterprise’s organizational structure and/or capital investment instruments or offering memoranda
Forms & Fees
I-924 amendments should be completed on Form I-924, Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program. It should be noted that this form is also used for initial requests for regional center designations. The accompanying fee for this filing is $6,230.
Benefits of Investing through a Regional Center
There are numerous benefit of investing in EB-5 Regional Center programs including, but not limited to, (1) no language requirement; (2) no business or management experience requirement; (3) No quota backlogs (as is the case with many employment and family-based immigrant visa categories); (4) no sponsor requirement; and (5) investors are not required to manage their investment on a daily basis, which allows them to pursue other interests.
Regional Center Approval
The approval of a regional center means USCIS recognizes the economic entity as a designated participant in the EB-5 Pilot Program. Typically, this means that USCIS finds the econometric models and business plans submitted as feasible and credible and that the requisite number of jobs should be directly or indirectly created through an investment in the approved industry category.
Always Conduct Due Diligence
It is very important to note that Regional Center designation does not necessarily mean that its investment projects are backed or guaranteed by the government. Moreover, such a designation does not guarantee that an investor will ultimately receive lawful permanent residence to the U.S. If USCIS determines that insufficient jobs have been created or an investor’s money was not placed “at risk”, the I-526 petition may be denied. Therefore, investors should always conduct due diligence before making any decisions regarding EB-5 investments. It is often very useful to request the assist of competent and experienced attorneys in the EB-5 field as well as securities attorneys who are aware of the interconnection between EB-5 law and SEC rules and regulations.
Concluding Remarks
MSA will continue to keep our readers apprised of any changes in the processing times of I-924 Amendments (and initial applications) as they become available.
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