Business Visas Blog

Current EB-5 Visa Processing Times

2012-04-11 20:50:55

A table comparing likely current EB-5 visa processing times with "worst case scenario" times.

Report from Jay Peak

2012-03-30 17:16:34

Report of my trip to Jay Peak Resort to review its EB-5 projects and investigate merit (or lack thereof) of charges made by Rapid USA Visas against Jay Peak Resort.

Total Cost of EB-5 Visa

2012-03-12 13:17:17

Summary of fees that add to $500,000 needed to obtain EB-5 visa.

How Many Approved Regional Centers Are There?

2012-01-23 18:27:52

The USCIS' web site seems to indicate that as of today there are 214 regional centers (and I have recently heard several top people in the EB-5 field quote similar numbers over 200), and yet the USCIS published statistics today indicating that there are only 194 approved centers. Who is right?

USCIS Removes Contact Information from its List of Regional Centers

2012-01-03 11:35:27

A consderation of why the USCIS removed contact data such as telephone number, emails addresses, contact person, etc. from it's list of approved regional centers on the web.

Experienced Regional Centers Always the Best?

2012-01-02 11:37:53

This article evaluates the importance of the regional center's history of successful immigration petitions filed when selecting a suitable EB-5 Pilot Program investment.

Senate Testimony on ""Reauthorizing the EB-5 Regional Center Program"

2011-12-07 16:34:00

See testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject of "Reauthorizing the EB-5 Regional Center Program: Promoting Job Creation and Economic Development in American Communities"

Equity or Loan-based Regional Center Project: Which is Best?

2011-11-28 11:17:59

Today we start a series of postings designed to help the EB-5 investor understand some of the key characteristics and variables at issue in regonal center selection. The first topic, below, looks at the pluses and minuses of an equity-based regional center investment compared to a loan-based investment.

Beware of Unlicensed Finders in the EB-5 Field

2011-10-04 13:18:29

Per the request of some of the readers of this blog, I am taking a break from my abstract discussions of the finder/broker problem in the EB-5 field to instead discuss below the same issue in practical terms.

USCIS EB-5 Stakeholders Meeting in Washington D.C.

2011-09-27 09:53:12

Report from the recent Invest in USA (IIUSA) EB-5 Regional Center Advocacy Conference and USCIS EB-5 Stakeholders Meeting in Washington D.C.

Where is the Third Article on Securities Law?

2011-09-27 09:47:22

Some readers of this blog have asked what happened to the promised third article in my series on securities law as it impacts the EB-5 program. I decided to take this issue "in house" and discuss it with my colleagues in Invest in USA, the trade organization for persons involved in the EB-5 Pilot Program. Once those discussions are concluded, I'll publish the concluding article.

Unlawful Finder Activity: Consequences Of Non-Compliance

2011-06-23 16:09:48

This article discusses the consequences both to the finder and to the issuing company of paying commissions to unlicensed finders.

Securities Law and Finder's Fees in the EB-5 Field

2011-04-28 15:08:19

This blog will host a series of articles I have written (and am still writing) which discuss both the necessity and the desirability of SEC oversight of finder’s fee payments in the EB-5 field.

The first article will be a review of the current state of securities law with regard to the "finder exception," with a particular emphasis on developments that have occurred during the last two years.

The second article will be a review of the consequences to both finders and regional centers of engaging in unlawful finder's fee transactions.

The third article will contain my recommendations for new best practices in the EB-5 field with regard to finder activity.

Click on "Read More" below to see the first article in full.

New EB-5 Visa Web Site Launch

2011-04-04 13:05:30

In August 2008 we launched our first EB-5 visa web site (you can see the first version using the amazing WayBack Machine). In early December 2008, we became the first U.S. law firm to obtain official U.S. government statistics on EB-5 petitions approved/pending/denied (you can see this data also on the WayBack Machine). In February 2009, we became the first law firm to publish detailed due diligence information about the regional centers. At that time there were only 24 USCIS designated Regional Centers. Today's count is 141. Times have certainly changed. We've changed, too, and we launch the new EB-5 site on a new domain at http://EB5Fullservice.com to highlight some of those changes. We hope you will find the information on the new site to be informative and useful.