USCIS Listening Session on EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 Concludes with More Questions Than Answers
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) held its first stakeholder engagement in more than two years this afternoon to address issues and questions related to the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. While the session ended with more questions than answers to stakeholder concerns, the biggest piece of news to come out of the session was that the agency will in fact require submission of a new form I-956 by all entities wishing to be designated as a regional center under the new law.
Earlier this month, the agency posted to its website that all previously designated regional centers under the old statute would need to redesignate, showing compliance under the new law. IIUSA quickly went to work drafting a letter to USCIS outlining its concerns about a full-blown redesignation for all regional centers who were still legitimately operating before the lapse in July 2021. Additionally, IIUSA provided a sample compliance attestation to USCIS asking them to consider this method for redesignating regional centers that were in good standing as of June 30, 2021. Upon announcement of today’s listening session, IIUSA resubmitted the letter and compliance attestation as well as a list of further questions for the agency.
A summary of the entire session will be available next week, but in the meantime, it is important to direct EB-5 stakeholders to the updated FAQs on USCIS’s website that were updated today. This page includes new (albeit limited) information on the new form I-956 which will replace the previous form I-924.
IIUSA members and EB-5 stakeholders are encouraged to continue to send USCIS and the Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) their questions and concerns about the implementation of the new law by emailing public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov
