Form I956

Los Angeles, CA, May 13, 2022

In EB-5 Reauthorization News, USCIS released on May 13th 2022, the Form I-956. Form I-956 is the Application for Regional Center Designation. Form I-956 is required for Entities seeking to be designated as a regional center.

Vivek Tandon, Founder of EB5 BRICS said, “We are eagerly awaiting for the regional centers in our portfolio to file the RC redesignation application this week and then we wait.

There of course remains a chance that USCIS feels the heat and really moves quickly with adjudications (and maybe prioritizes rural projects) or that another lawsuit has more success than the current litigation.

In the meantime, we’re encouraging our investors to hire an EB-5 immigration lawyer and get their source of funds documented so they can wire the administration fee to secure a spot in their preferred project from our portfolio while the regional center works on getting approval of their I-956 application.”

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What is the Impact on New I-526 filings?

An investor has to wait until the regional centers have been approved with form I-956. Individuals seeking status as an immigrant investor whose investment project is associated with a regional center (with an approved Form I-956 after May 14, 2022), may file a Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, only after the regional center has submitted a project application and received a receipt number for that application.

How did we get here?

On April 11, 2022, USCIS posted an interpretation of the legislation that would nullify all 600-plus designated regional centers. USCIS would require all entities to be re-designated in order to be authorized to file petitions under the new law pursuant to provisions effective May 14, 2022.

This interpretation, if it stands, would have a significant negative impact on regional center operations and disrupt even further an already besieged program.

The EB-5 Investment Coalition (EB5IC) through one of its members has challenged this interpretation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Case 3:22-cv-02487-JCS Behring Regional Center LLC v. Majorkas et al. Plaintiff filed a motion for a temporary restraining order April 26, 2022, asking the court to halt the USCIS guidance.

There was a court hearing on 5/11/2022 in which the Judge pushed back the hearing to the first week of June 2022.