IIUSA Conference, AILA Book, New RCs (CO, CA), Removed RCs (CO, FL)

To those in San Francisco this week for the 2014 IIUSA EB-5 Market Exchange, happy deal-making! I’m not able to make this conference, but send best wishes and look forward to sharing feedback from attendees.

To those stuck behind a desk this week, I recommend you to the virtual EB-5 masterclass that is AILA’s new Immigration Options for Investors & Entrepreneurs, 3rd Ed. I received a free copy as a contributing author (I wrote the chapter on EB-5 business plans), but can now testify that the book is worth the full price ($129 for AILA members, $199 for the rest of us). This is not a collection of quick opinions, general introductions, and veiled advertising but a set of serious articles that incorporate comprehensive research and extensive experience. If I were an immigration attorney working with EB-5, I’d buy the book for the sample documents and case materials alone, not to mention excellent articles such as Estelle McKee’s practical discussion of issues in demonstrating job creation in I-829 petitions and Carolyn Lee’s definitive analysis of the at-risk requirement. (And Suzanne Lazicki’s lucid treatment of the EB-5 business plan!)  If I were an investor or offering EB-5 investments, I probably wouldn’t buy the book for myself (it’s specialized and heavy) but I would make sure that the attorney representing me had a copy. The book works hard to make good on its promise “to provide everything you need to successfully represent clients in this highly specialized area.” Click here to preview the Table of Contents, and update your Christmas list as needed.

I expect to have important updates shortly, as USCIS is overdue to update Q4 2014 petition processing statistics, and the State Department may come out with the Report of the Visa Office 2014 any day. For now, we just know that average processing times are holding steady for I-526 (13.8 months) and I-924 (8.1 months), and have shot up for I-829 (to 15.1 months, likely in connection with the transfer from California to Washington DC).

Those interested in Targeted Employment Area issues should note the new approach to TEA designations adopted by California, which has tended to be a trendsetter.

Meanwhile, USCIS continues to add and subtract Regional Centers from its list (and continues to fail to update its FOIA reading room with designation letters for the Regional Centers approved since 2012).

Changes to the USCIS Regional Center List, 10/1/2014 to 10/20/2014

Added:

• Dynasty Group Regional Center, LLC (California)
• California Economic Development Fund, LLC (California)
• California Capital Investment Regional Center, LLC (California)
• InvestAmerica EB-5 (Colorado) www. investamericaeb5.com

Removed:

• Invest U.S. Regional Center (Colorado)
• Hollywood Beach Regional Center LLC (Michigan)