Published on 10/28/2016
Hello, I’m Vaughan de Kirby. As you know, we’re in a period of uncertainty, but in any period of uncertainty, our decisions are difficult but critical to our future. I wanted to address some of the things you hear in the media, and let you know what my thoughts are about this uncertainty.
No.1 We’re in an election cycle that has been ugly and very difficult. I’m sure you feel the way I do, you’ll be glad when this is over. But as far as EB-5 goes, we have Congress. We all know that on December 9th, the current EB-5 Regional Center Program is set to sunset. Now we all anticipate that Congress will do something. The pundits will tell you they know, but let me tell you that no one knows what Congress is going to do, regardless of what they may tell you. Let’s talk about some of the possibilities.
The worst possibility, which is very unlikely, is they would simply let the program sunset. This is unlikely because the program has been very successful, both for you as immigrants and for business and the creation of jobs in the communities. Another alternative, it is possible that Congress will simply push the decision down the road and reauthorize the program for a short period of time allowing them to address the changes they want to make. It’s also possible that Congress will enact some very uncontroversial decision, some decisions everyone pretty much agrees on, and that is an increase in the investment amount, and possibly further examination of the regional centers. There is also the remote possibility that Congress will actually pass significant reforms in the reauthorization of EB-5. Personally I feel this is unlikely, because Congress both has many other problems to address and there is very little time. What will happen, we’re not sure. What do you do with this information? That’s the important thing. The simple answer to that question is if an EB-5 based Green Card is important to you individually, or your family, act now. Consult with your investment immigration attorney or your licensed migration agent immediately. Don’t wait. There’s not much time to get your case filed with USCIS.
Another change, which is not uncertain, is a significant increase in the filing fees. The most significant to the individual investor is an increase of the EB-5 I-526 application to $3,675. This is more than double the current filing fee. Now they chose to do this on December 23, I guess they thought Christmas Eve wouldn’t be a good time to do this, so they made it the 23. But that’s another consideration. So the bottom line for this message is if EB-5 is important to you, act now. Best of luck to you and your EB-5 application. Thank you!
If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us or call 415-221-3500.
