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On February 27, 2025, IIUSA, through its legal counsel, filed a Joint Status Report (JSR) reflecting the association’s position toward settlement as well as USCIS’s position.

IIUSA’s goal is to have fair and transparent policies that support the entire EB-5 community, including investors, agencies, regional centers, and service providers. As reflected in the JSR, IIUSA ultimately wishes for a sustainment rule that would mirror the intent of Congress. The association agrees with USCIS’s position that a sustainment period tied to the period of conditional residence has become too burdensome for investors. IIUSA believes that USCIS should replace the existing sustainment period regulation with a sustainment period defined by a specific number of years through a proper legal process.

Additionally, IIUSA has proposed to USCIS that those investors that invested prior to a settlement agreement receive the benefit of the October 2023 policy. And for investors that invested after the settlement agreement, IIUSA has proposed that those investors should be subject to the sustainment rule USCIS promulgates following the notice-and-comment rulemaking it would undertake.

It makes clear that IIUSA does NOT want to revert to a sustainment period tied to an immigrant investor’s conditional residency; that doing so is too burdensome and unfair to investors.  IIUSA continues to push for stability in the EB-5 marketplace through legally promulgated rules that consider all stakeholders’ perspectives and input.

Oral arguments took place on January 28 in the lawsuit filed by IIUSA challenging the USCIS sustainment period memorandum issued on October 11, 2023. During the hearing, the Court considered both IIUSA’s motion for summary judgment and the government’s motion to dismiss.

Notably, the Court expressed significant skepticism regarding the legality of USCIS’s sustainment period guidance and its impact on the EB-5 program. This memorandum has been a point of contention, as it affects stakeholders across the EB-5 community.

In a key development, the Court ordered the government to determine within 30 days whether it could reach a settlement with IIUSA. If a settlement is not achieved within that timeframe, the Court indicated that it is inclined to rule in favor of IIUSA.

IIUSA had previously filed a petition for rulemaking to ensure that USCIS arrives at a balanced and fair solution for all stakeholders within the EB-5 ecosystem. In its petition for rulemaking, IIUSA suggests a five (5) year sustainment period as a balanced and fair solution for all stakeholders. This lawsuit underscores IIUSA’s ongoing commitment to advocating for fair and transparent policies that support investors and regional centers alike.

IIUSA remains engaged in discussions with USCIS and looks forward to achieving an outcome that benefits the entire EB-5 community. Further updates will be shared as developments unfold.

The 15th Annual IIUSA EB-5 Industry Forum and 20th Annual IIUSA Membership Meeting will be held in Houston, TX April 28-30, 2025. This annual event is the premier gathering of EB-5 stakeholders and we look forward to welcoming the industry to a community that has greatly benefited from EB-5 investment and development.

Through promotion of the EB-5 program, our mission is to bring economic growth and vitality to the American economy. We strive to cultivate quality, family-sustaining jobs, collaborative investment opportunities, and economic renewal in American communities that need (and welcome) fresh energy and investment through our members’ engagement in the EB-5 industry.

Our members facilitate opportunities for qualified international investors to play an essential role in revitalizing towns, cities, and regions within the United States. EB-5 investments work to generate new jobs and breathe life and optimism into American communities seeking real, measurable, economic advancement.