
Live from IIUSA in Washington DC: EB-5 Retrogression for Chinese Nationals effective earlier than originally expected.
Live from the Invest In the USA (IIUSA) Conference in Washington D.C., Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control of the U.S. Department of State, reported that the EB-5 China immigrant visa category will retrogress in May 2015 rather than June 2015, as originally predicted. This was further confirmed upon the release of the May 2015 visa bulletin.
What is the Expected Impact?
The cut-off date is determined based on the date an I-526 petition was filed. Therefore, with the cut-off date set at May 1, 2013, based on the May 2015 visa bulletin, what this actually indicates is that beginning May 1, 2015, only those EB-5 investors (and their derivative beneficiaries) with a Priority Date earlier than May 1, 2013 may apply for an EB-5 immigrant visa.
Accordingly, this means that retrogression of the EB-5 China immigrant visa category
will retrogress two years. This refers to applicants from Mainland China only. It does not affect applicants from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macao. It is also important to note that the place of birth counts toward the country’s visa numbers, not the person’s nationality.
The full effect of visa retrogression would not be felt at this time, due to the long USCIS processing backlogs, which have been up to 20 months for some projects.
New Guidelines to be Issued:
The primary victims of retrogression are children who are about to age out. As discussed among the panel members, there may be slight changes to the present policy that would benefit “age-out” cases, especially as with only 16 days remaining before May1, many practitioners would be rushing through cases of children ageing out. Proof of payment alone would be accepted to lock in a child’s age so as to not “age-out”, rather than waiting to file the DS-260 application. Mr. Oppenheim suggested that the State Department and USCIS would provide clearer guidance shortly, including the processes of filing an I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition.
Reference to the Presidential Executive Order
Reference was again made to President Obama’s November 2014 outline of proposed changes that could potentially and positively impact the EB-5 program by relieving the present situation. The Interim Rule, also referred by Senator Rand Paul would cure Chinese Retrogression by adding the following measures:
- Derivatives being taken out of the current quota
- Allowing for the roll over of unused visas from previous years
- Eliminating the per country limit
- Allowing for concurrent filings (early adjustments)