As expected, Senator Grassley, with significant support, including the support of IIUSA, has proposed a bill to reauthorize the EB-5 Regional Center Program (the “EB-5 Program”) in order to “prevent fraud and promote and reform foreign capital investment and job creation in American communities.”…
Continue Reading Newly proposed Senate Bill by Senator Grassley entitled "EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2020"

On October 27, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a decision discussing the investment in a new commercial enterprise (an “NCE”) of loan proceeds by investors seeking to obtain visas under the employment-based, fifth preference immigrant visa…
Continue Reading U.S. Court of Appeals Holds That Loan Proceeds Qualify as Cash, Not Indebtedness, For EB-5 Purposes

Following its landmark release of an EB-5 Policy Manual on June 14, 2017 (the Policy Manual), until July 24, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had only made some minor updates over the last three years. On July 20, 2020, however, USCIS, issued certain “…
Continue Reading USCIS Issues “Clarifying Guidance” to Redeployment Under its Policy Manual

The final OZ Regulations were issued by Treasury on December 20, 2019, of which there had been many comments related to the same. On the whole, it is generally believed that the Regulations have added a lot more certainty to the process and it is hopeful that there will be an increase in…
Continue Reading Opportunity Zone – Post Regulations. Where Are We Now?

USCIS New Policy Guidelines for Managing EB-5 Visa Petition Inventory & Other Updates
Last week, USCIS issued significant Policy Guidelines concerning its stipulated attempt to address fairness concerns with coordinating I-526 petition adjudications with U.S. State Department visa allocations. In its release, USCIS announced that starting March 31, 2020, it will change the adjudication process for Form I-526 Petitions from a first-in, first-out basis to a visa availability approach. USCIS will host a public forum on March 13, 2020, at 11:00 am EST, to provide further information on this change. However, we suspect as with past stakeholder engagements, that the…
Continue Reading USCIS New Policy Guidelines for Managing EB-5 Visa Petition Inventory & Other Updates

This blog shall provide a brief summary of the status of the pending lawsuit related to the New Regulations issued by USCIS and effective November 21, 2019, as well as a status report on pending legislation.
Needless to say, the market is in a confused state given the uncertainty of what will transpire going forward. As an industry, we are now dealing with the New Regulations which in effect eliminates non-TEA projects from the marketplace since it is very doubtful that investors will invest $1,800,000 to obtain a green card, especially given all the delay and extra costs being encountered…
Continue Reading Update Regarding Regulations And Legislation

For the past 4 weeks, the EB-5 industry has been anxiously awaiting the status of the pending complaint filed in the United States District Court in the District of Columbia by a Florida regional center against USCIS and other related parties in order to block the enforceability of the New Regulations published by USCIS that became effective November 21, 2019 (the “New Regulations”). As a result of such action, industry experts are taking a precautionary standpoint in analyzing how to deal with investors who would otherwise invest at a $900,000 level, assuming that the new TEA standards have been satisfied…
Continue Reading EB-5: STATUS UPDATE

On December 6, 2019, the Treasury announced that the final regulations had been issued and sent to OMB for approval. On December 19, 2019, the final regulations package, totaling over 500 pages, was officially published. Separate blogs will be posted after we digest the contents of the final regulations.
“Opportunity Zones are helping to revitalize communities and create jobs for hardworking Americans,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “These regulations provide clarity and certainty for investors, which will enhance the flow of capital to new and expanding businesses, and create sustained economic growth in communities that have been left behind.”
The…
Continue Reading In Time for the Holidays: An Opportunity Zone Status Update

Saul Ewing Arnstein and Lehr LLP has been extremely active in navigating the current status of the EB5 industry and determining what courses of action need to be taken given the existence of the new regulations (“New Regulations” or “REGS”), the possibility of the pending legislation being adapted, and the recently-filed temporary restraining complaint against USCIS and related parties in order to invalidate the REGS.
The current EB-5 Regional Center Program has been extended by a continuing resolution until December 20, 2019.  However, on July 24, 2019, USCIS published new regulations that became effective on November 21, 2019, and until otherwise modified by…
Continue Reading EB5 Industry 2019 – Where Are We Now?

On September 27, 2019, Francis Suarez, the Mayor of Miami, sponsored an OZ Expo conference for the City of Miami.  Prior to the conference, one of our clients hosted a lunch for the dignitaries who attended the conference that included Secretary of HUD Dr. Ben Carson, Mayor Francis Suarez, the Acting Administrator of the of SBA for the United States, Chris Pilkerton, as well as national and local representatives of the SBA, representatives from HUD, representatives from the Opportunity Zone Division of the Federal Government including Scott Turner, Executive Director, White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, representatives of the local…
Continue Reading Opportunity Zone Summit

Five attorneys of the Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP firm attended the annual OZ Expo Conference in Las Vegas.  The conference was very well attended with an estimate of 1,400 participants and further solidifying that the OZ Expo team is best in class with its reach and expertise in this space.  The two-day event had an extremely diversified agenda that addressed many of the issues currently faced in the industry.  Takeaways from the meeting can be summarized as follows:
1. Various governmental agencies were represented at the conference, including specific states as well as a contingency from Puerto…
Continue Reading OZ Expo Conference in Las Vegas May 9th & 10th