MUMBAI: Multiple EB-5 regional centers – plaintiffs to two pending lawsuits, have entered into a settlement with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), thus signalling an end to the ongoing litigation, over a new requirement for fresh registrations by the centers.
This is good news for those aspiring for an investment linked green card under the EB-5 program via the regional center route. Over the years, this program has gained popularity among high-net worth individuals based in India and Indian nationals holding H-1B visas. Against an investment of ( $800,000 in designated areas and $ 1,050,000 in other regions) it offers a comparatively quicker route to a green card – say ten odd years as opposed to a decades long backlog faced by H-1B workers aspiring for a green card.
Nearly 90% of investments are routed via regional centers (RC), rather than under the direct route – as the latter requires investors to carry on their own business and hire American workers.
The EB-5 Regional Center program, which had lapsed on June 30, 2021, was given a fresh lease of life as the US Congress enacted the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) in March 2022, reauthorizing the same, but with higher investment limits and added safeguards for investments. Soon thereafter, USCIS introduced a requirement for existing regional centers to redesignate themselves (obtain a fresh registration) – with this previous registrations of approximately 900 RCs were void. This requirement which was time consuming and would derail the program was challenged in two separate lawsuits.
In June, US district judge Vince Chhabria, issued an interim order that USCIS should allow the regional centers to continue operation. With the settlement that has been filed with the court, finality has been reached.
“I think the settlement reached between the plaintiffs and USCIS is a step in the right direction and will alleviate a lot of concerns of the industry stakeholders and help revive the EB-5 industry that has been dormant since 2019,” Abhinav Lohia, chief operating officer, Golden Gate Global Financial, told TOI. This San Francisco based EB-5 regional center was one of the plaintiffs in the litigation.
Mitch Wexler, partner at Fragomen, a global immigration law firm, added, “This settlement is a reaffirmation that the EB-5 regional center program is back and healthy. A couple of the more meaningful components of the settlement include a mechanism whereby new applicants will not have to wait an unknown period of time for their regional center to get a receipt for their Form 1-956 (application for designation as a RC). They need only wait 10 days from filing and submit evidence of the filing. Significantly, deference is to be given to RCs with prior exemplar approvals. Next , for two years, USCIS must meet quarterly with plaintiffs to make sure all settlement points are on track.”
Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/93795438.cms
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