News
USCIS Ombudsman
On March 5, 2013, I attended the Department of Homeland Security USCIS Ombudsman* EB-5 Stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. Interestingly, this meeting was not publicized by USCIS. Ombudsman Maria Odom expressed interest in the EB-5 program. Also at the meeting were other members of her staff who have been very interested...
The SEC has filed charges against and has frozen the assets of the Intercontinental Regional Center Trust of Chicago, LLC (“IRCTC”). The Chicago Tribune ran a long story on this matter. There has been, and will be, more press coverage about this case in the U.S. and China. IRCTC raised more than...
EB-5 News
Canadian competition again? There is a rumor that Canada may again open its popular investor immigration program, creating competition with the U.S. EB-5 program. There was a backlog of about 26,000 applicants for the Canadian program when it was closed in the middle of last year. The Quebec program may open...
Breaking News — Senator Leahy Bill
Senator Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been a strong supporter of the EB-5 visa program. He is circulating a draft bill making major revisions to this program. I am very pleased to see that it contains a concept that I developed and crafted when I was...
EB-5 Regional Center Due Diligence
In light of the SEC fraud complaint against the Intercontinental Regional Center Trust of Chicago (IRCTC) and its owner, people are asking me how to evaluate a regional center (RC) and conduct due diligence. This consists of two types of analysis. The first type concerns the economic risk of inadequate...