Location, Location, Location.
April 28, 2017, is the end date for the Continuous Resolution of the EB-5 Regional Center program.

There are many EB-5 Regional Center projects filing I-924 applications for exemplar approval and many investors are filing their I-526 petitions for their investment in EB-5 Regional Center projects.

However, the EB-5 investors and the Regional Centers need to be aware of the new USCIS Policy Memo change published on November 30, 2016.

Before the change of Policy Memo on November 30, 2016, either the EB-5 Regional Center can request an expansion of geography for their EB-5 projects by filing an I-924 application, and/or the foreign national investor can file an I-526 petition requesting new geography greater than the EB-5 Regional Center current geographical scope.

That is, before November 30, 2016, if the foreign nationals I-526 petition is approved then USCIS would authorize and approve that the Regional Centers geography has expanded and been approved even before the I-924 application requesting an expansion of geography was approved.

However, based upon the new Policy Memo dated November 30, 2016 the I- 526 petition requesting expansion of geography had to be filed before December 23, 2016, if the geography was going to be expanded for the Regional Center by a filing of the I-526 petition before the I-924 application has an approval for the expansion of the geography.

Therefore, if an I-526 petition is filed after December 23, 2016, requesting an expansion of geography of the Regional Center then this petition requesting the expansion of the geography will be denied if the requested expansion of geography in an I-924 application has not already been approved and covering the same geography requested by the I-526 petition.

If the Regional Center needs to expand their geography this month, then they need to request an expansion of geography by filing an I-924 application to include the expanded geography.

Hence, the EB-5 Regional Center today cannot rely on new I-526 petitions requesting new geography which are filed after December 23, 2016.

New EB-5 legislation and new EB-5 USCIS regulations may supersede this Policy Memo regarding the expansion of geography which took effect November 30, 2016.

             

Edward Beshara Thursday Lecture at UF Law School.

Edward Beshara, managing partner at Beshara Professional Association and Adjunct Professor of Business Immigration Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law will be giving his next lecture on Thursday, April 6, 2017, “Insights into Becoming and Immigration Attorney and Integration into a Law Firm”.

OACFR “Global Fight Against Human Trafficking”
Robin Mulack, Beshara Professional Association Senior Paralegal and Diana Revis, Legal Assistant, attended OACFR (Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations) meeting on March 23, 2017. The guest speaker was Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino, who is also Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. She gave an insightful presentation on the “The Global Fight Against Human Trafficking.”
Guest Speaker at the ORRA
Sal Picataggio, Junior Partner, at Beshara Professional Association, will be giving a 3 hours class to realtors to explain what is needed to live and work in the US at the ORRA (Orlando Regional Realtor Association) on April 6, 2017.

USCIS Begins Requesting Lawful Source of Funds for Third-Party Capital Exchanges March 23, 2017
USCIS has shifted their internal policy and has started issuing requests for evidence for each case where a third party assisted in the exchange. Individuals who have previously filed an I-526 Petition without documenting the source of funds for the third-party should consider preparing for the potential issuance of a request for evidence. Foreign National Investors who have not yet filed an I-526 Petition, but intend to use the third-party capital exchange method for transferring funds, should consider collecting documents regarding the source of the third party’s funds. Click here for more details.
EB-5 Regional Center Compliance AuditsMarch 20, 2017
Regional center compliance audits are an additional way to enhance EB-5 program integrity and verify information in regional center applications and annual certifications. Under this program, USCIS will collect case-specific data as part of a compliance audit and will initiate site visits. Read the details hereUSCIS Reaches the H-2B Cap for Fiscal Year 2017March 16, 2017
USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. March 13, 2017, was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions. Click here for details.USCIS Will Accept H-1B Petitions for the Fiscal Year 2018 Beginning of April 3, 2017 
USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year 2018 cap on April 3, 2017. All cap-subject H-1B petitions filed before April 3, 2017, for the FY 2018 cap will be rejected. Read the details here.USCIS Will Accept CW-1 Petitions for the fiscal year 2018 Beginning of April 3, 2017 
On April 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting CW-1 petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2018 cap. Employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are otherwise ineligible to work under other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2018 has not been set, but it is required to be less than the FY 2017 cap, which is currently set at 12,998. Click here for detailsCBP Launches Border Enforcement Statistics Web page – March 27, 2017
U.S. Customs and Border Protection today unveiled a new web page making available to the public data on apprehensions, admissibility, recidivism, and arrests of criminal aliens at the border. Click here for details.
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