In a letter dated June 11, 2019, Invest in the USA (IIUSA) expressed concerns to Ken Cuccinelli, Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), about a “surge” in delays in processing immigrant petitions for alien entrepreneurs (Form I-526). IIUSA is an industry trade organization representing nearly 370 EB-5 stakeholder organizations.. The letter notes that based on the latest data on the USCIS website, the estimated processing time for I-526 completion is 29 to 45.5 months (as of May 2019). IIUSA’s analysis further found that: The processing time for adjudicating I-526 petitions in the Immigrant Investor Program Office recently experienced a significant 32 percent to
On July 24, 2019, Simone Williams, Founder and Managing Attorney of Williams Global Law, will be accepting the International Pioneer Award for her excellence in the field of immigration and international law. The award is being conferred by the International Law Section (ILS) of the National Bar Association (NBA), during the annual NBA Convention in New York City. The annual convention takes place from July 20 to 26, 2019 at the Sheraton Times Square hotel. The Award Reception will take place at 12:30 pm on July 24, 2019. Ms. Williams will be receiving this honor, alongside, H.E. Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, African Union Ambassador to the United States of America and The Honorable George
On July 23, 2019, Simone Williams will be speaking on a CLE panel entitled, “Current Trends in Immigration Law” at the National Bar Association (NBA) Convention in New York City. The panel will take place at 12:15 pm at the Sheraton Times Square hotel in New York City, as part of the annual NBA Convention. The panel is part of the Sixth Annual International Law Section Forum. The National Bar Association (NBA) is hosting its 94th Annual Convention in New York City from July 20 to 26, 2019. The National Bar Association was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approxima
On June 27, 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the regulation entitled “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization” (“EB-5 Modernization Rule”). This Rule changes the EB-5 Program in critical ways, including significantly increasing investment amounts to as high as 1.8 million. Now that OMB has completed its review, the next and final step for this regulation to become effective is that it must be published in the Federal Register. USCIS will make an announcement when the Final Rule is published in the Federal Register. It is unclear when the final rule will be published, but some experts predict it can happen very soon. Once published in the Federal
The Visa Bulletin for July shows that there will be slowdowns or "retrogressions (visa unavailability) in several employment-based immigrant visa categories for individuals from India and Vietnam for example, before the end of the government's fiscal year. The government fiscal year ends on September 30th. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for July 2019 includes the following notes: It has been necessary to retrogress the Mexico E4 and SR final action dates for July to keep visa issuances within the annual numerical limits. With the start of the new fiscal year in October, the final action dates will be returned to the latest dates established during FY-2019. India and Vietnam will each r
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective June 10, 2019, certain New Zealand nationals are now eligible for E-1 treaty trader or E-2 treaty investor visas. This means that New Zealand nationals now have enhanced access to pursue trade and investment activities in the United States. According to USCIS: Eligible New Zealand nationals already in the United States in lawful visa status can file a petition to request a change of status to E-1 or E-2 visa classification, or a qualifying employer can file such a petition on their behalf. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age of E-1 and E-2 visa holders, and employees who are already in the United Stat
