USCIS email: Zhang Class Action
February 12, 2019 22 Comments
From: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services <uscis@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: February 12, 2019 3:55 PM
Subject: Class Action Member Identification NoticeOn Nov. 30, 2018, in Zhang v. USCIS, No. 15-cv-995, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia certified a class that includes any individual with a Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, that was or will be denied on the sole basis of investing loan proceeds that were not secured by the individual’s own assets. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated these denials and ordered USCIS to reconsider the petitions.
If you believe you have received an I-526 denial solely on this ground and would like to identify yourself as a potential class member, please email USCIS.ImmigrantInvestorProgram@uscis.dhs.gov, using the subject line “Zhang Class,” and provide the following:
- Name
- Alien Number (if any)
- Date of birth
- I-526 receipt number (if available)
- Date of I-526 denial
- Copy of I-526 denial (if available)
Note: Identification as a potential class member is subject to USCIS verification and does not grant any immediate rights, as immigrant petitions must meet all eligibility requirements and the court’s decision is presently under consideration for appeal.
USCIS has also posted a notice at https://www.uscis.gov/eb-5
Background: Zhang et al. v. USCIS et al. addressed whether loan proceeds invested as cash constituted “cash,” as the plaintiffs claimed, or “indebtedness,” as USCIS claimed. The court ruled in favor of the two EB-5 investor plaintiffs, and also agreed to certify a class that comprises all I-526 petitioners who received or will receive I-526 denial solely on the ground that a loan used to obtain invested cash fails the collateralization test created by IPO in a 2015 IPO Remarks announcement. The court vacates USCIS denial of class members’ petitions, and remands the denials to USCIS for reconsideration. For more analysis, see 5 Things to Know About Ira Kurzban’s New “Use of Loan Proceeds for EB-5” Decision by the D.C. District Court (Wolfsdorf, Barnett)
EB-5 Updates 
Hey I believe you had a tracker.
I am from India and wanted to update that I got my approval on Dec 09 2018 with priority date as 30th Oct 2017.
Thanks
Thank you for the report! Here’s my tracker, if you’d like to enter the detail: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fdpZxUrs6-eHeYJJ2CVJlFGl4wy9nL3fnTHh3yMVjKI/edit
Hi, do you have an I829 tracker?
Not yet! I’m less clear about which data points would be relevant to summarize in that context, and not sure how many I-829 stage readers I have besides you. But if you design a form that you think would be helpful, I’d be happy to copy and publicize it.
Thank you. Will do
FYI got our 829 approval last month. Still following the blog because waiting for other family members’ approval (different petition). Would be happy to provide info if that helps.
Great news that someone is getting 829 approval! Thank you for sharing! I’ll email you when we get a form together.
Hi Lm, congrats . How long did it take you for approval?whivh regional center! Thx
Did you have an interview at I829 stage? If so, was the interview only for the primary applicant or all family members too? Any details about the duration, type of question etc?
We did not have an 829 interview
That’s good to know. Thank you for the info.
Thank you, will do!
Hi Dan, thanks. It took 18 months and we used EB5 Capital.
Wow. That’s very quick . They state it takes 28 to 36 months. I have been waiting 18 months now.
I’m sorry, I forgot that we filed 3 months before the 24 months period ended, so it was 21 months wait and not 18 like I wrote above.
Hope you get it soon!
Thanks. That’s good going. Our project had its first approval in December so hopefully that sets s precident !
Quick question. When you got i829 approval did you receive your new green card straight away?
I was checking our case on the USCIS portal daily and one day the status went to “card sent”. Same day I got an email with a tracking number and next day the green cards hit our attorney’s office.
After 5 nervous years it all ended with an email and a tracking number 🙂
LMK if you have any questions!
Thanks interesting to know LM. Worth the wait now though. Good to have the cards in hand!
So can you file for citizenship right away, what is the start date of your new card? Does it have the same start date as your conditional green card?
Hi, my case was denied for exactly the same Zhang reasons so I wrote an email as described and the IPO answered back last month just saying thank you for identifying as a potential class member. I been waiting for 4 years from the original application and since December 2016 after I filed the appeal.
I’ll be interested to hear the outcome of your case, and hope you don’t have to wait too much longer. Please keep us updated!