October Public Engagement with USCIS on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
The Citizenship and Immigration Service Ombudman’s Office (OMB) is hosting a Public Engagement on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) on Monday, October 30, 2023 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
OMB recently spoke to EB-5 industry stakeholders such as IIUSA, AIIA, and the AILA EB-5 Committee. Next in their Webinar Series is a public engagement scheduled for Monday, October 30, 2023 from 2 to 3 pm Eastern.
You can join the call by clicking on this Teams Live link. Registration is not required.
What is the USCIS Ombudsman?
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) is an independent office within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that was established by Congress in 2002. The CIS Ombudsman is responsible for assisting individuals and employers who are having problems with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
What is the USCIS Ombudsman Webinar Series?
The Webinar Series is based on President Biden’s Executive Order to rebuild trust in the Federal Government. You can sign up for updates via email here. As part of their series, they have been reaching out to stakeholders across various components of USCIS.
What are they going to talk about?
The Ombudsman’s Office is working with stakeholders and USCIS and others to develop awareness of the key issues in advance of their annual report which is about 9 months away. Because of tremendous feedback, the industry has gained their involvement, and has set up their “first” meeting with the public and IPO.
What does this mean for investors?
Monday should provide some clarity as well as raise questions, which is always the outcome of listening sessions without conversational opportunities to get to the bottom of certain topics.
For example, the two year sustainment period interpretation has not been published in the Policy Manual and the current law that sustainment begins at the time of conditional residence has not been abrogated, which means that there is a lot of noise. The OMB needs to know about this to help investor’s trust in the Federal Government.
Another example is the lack of direction related to the annual filings. Without going in to great detail, what investors need to know is that their Regional Centers deserve better guidance, especially in light of the binding Behring Settlement. Moreover, there are currently conflicting timelines and repercussions across 956 and 956G and there’s an upcoming annual payment due. OMB has been connecting with the industry on these questions and I’d expect to hear more on Monday as we are now in our filing season.
A third example is that forms I-956F where the project is already approved prior to the RIA, which is also getting pre-RIA approvals, should not be a 13 month adjudication. This has been raised directly to USCIS Chief Counsel’s Office as well as the Ombudsman’s office.
As OMB knows, USCIS recently published their hierarchy of processing projects based on visa availability, yet approved a set-aside project in only 36 days. With processing times being a major part of investment considerations, these conflicts of intent and actions require the voice of the Federal Service.
How do I learn more about Behring?
1. Our You Tube Channel, You EB-5 leads the knowledge market with over 7 million views and 150,000 hours of watch time. Here are some videos with content related to today’s common topics.
EB-5 Bridge Financing Explained.
EB-5 Visa Child Age-Out Problem Finally Has a Solution
2023 November Visa Bulletin, Two-Year Sustainment and 5 Year EAD
2. Our Investor Testimonials include new AND repaid investors who have gone through the whole investment cycle with us. Here are three examples.
Masterclass in EB-5 Diligence with Raja Rajavel
Rohan Sharma: Repaid and 829 Approved
Hari Om: Fully Redeemed Investor
As always, reach out any time to set up a personal investment appointment.