USCIS Presentation on EB-5

USCIS prepared a useful PowerPoint presentation for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Stakeholder meeting in Washington, DC on June 16. Topics of interest include:

• A concise and helpful overview of the EB-5 program and its requirements
• EB-5 visa, Regional Center, and case processing statistics
• Introduction to the proposed Form I-924 and I-924A (for Regional Center application and yearly reporting)
• Updates on EB-5 Premium Processing (not to be offered), EB-5 Inquiries (webpage and email address available), EB-5 Expedite Requests (conditions explained), and Public Law 106-273 (resolution still pending)
• Advice for the Regional Center application economic analysis and business plans
• Definitions of and distinctions between “commercial enterprises” and “capital investment projects.”
• Questions related to Targeted Employment Area designation, material changes after I-526 approval, job creation, and troubled businesses.

This presentation was distributed by email to meeting attendees, but has not yet been made available on the USCIS website.

Introducing Form I-924 and I-924A

[Note: please check my “Recent Posts” for updates on the I-924 Form.]

At the EB-5 Stakeholder Meeting on June 16, 2010, USCIS provided the following information on its proposed forms for Regional Center applications and reporting.

Proposed Form I-924
The Proposed Form I-924, Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, will be used for the filing of both initial RC applications and amended RC applications. The Form I-924, which will has a proposed filing fee of $6,230 will:

• Clarify filing requirements for the RC designation;
• Improve the quality of RC applications;
• Better document eligibility for the Pilot Program;
• Alleviate content inconsistencies among applicants’ submissions; and
• Support a more efficient process for adjudication of the RC applications.

The USCIS Services Fee Schedule “Fee Rule” was published for public comment in the Federal Register on June 11, 2010. [CIS No. 2490–09; DHS Docket No. USCIS–2009–0033] The Form I-924 and I-924 instructions are available for review at www.regulations.gov. This folder contains new and revised versions of the forms; be sure to download the most current ones (posted on 9/27/10). I have commented on the forms in a number of posts, including notes on the 9/27/10 revisions.

Proposed Form I-924A
The Form I-924A, Supplement to Form I-924, is the proposed vehicle for a yearly RC reporting requirement. Each approved RC will be required to file the I-924A to report RC-related activities for the preceding fiscal year within 90 days of the end of the fiscal year (on or before December 29th of the calendar year in which the fiscal year ended.) There is no proposed filing fee for the Form I-924A.

USCIS plans to publish an aggregation of the data provided each year by all designated regional centers, to include attributes of the RC-affiliated capital investments, such as:
1. the geographic areas and industry categories receiving investment capital;
2. The volume of regional center affiliated capital invested, and;
3. The number of jobs created or maintained as a result of the capital investments.
This summarized data will be published on the USCIS Web site for each fiscal year following the publishing of the Form I-924A. The Form I-924A is available for review at www.regulations.gov.

EB-5 Inquiries

The USCIS EB-5 webpage now has a link for EB-5 Inquiries under the link for the list of Regional Centers.  The content (contact email address and list of acceptable inquiries) is familiar —  nearly identical for example to the handout distributed by USCIS at the March 16th EB-5 forum at the California Service Center.

The list of acceptable inquiries is surprisingly broad, even including “to request for expedited processing of already filed I-526s, I-829s, or RC Proposals” and “to request for Regional Center Proposal filing instructions, procedures, and Regional Center general information documents.”