Manhattan Regional Center

News & Events

• + noviembre 18th, 2022Utopia Living Luxury Apartment Project: I-956F Project Application Filed

  We are very happy to report that the Form I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise, for our Utopia Living Luxury Apartment Project arrived at the USCIS Office today, on Friday, November 18 (this morning). Thank you very much for your patience while our counsels and our team worked hard to prepare a very comprehensive package to update this project, which took more time because it had accepted investors at the $900,000 and $500,000 levels. We are very pleased that we now have a very well-prepared package for our investors.

   

  In accordance with the Settlement Agreement for the 2 recent EB-5 cases, investors in the Project can file their individual I-526E petitions 10 calendar days after I-956F Form has been physically delivered to USCIS office. As such, investors can have their I-526E petitions arrive as early as Monday, November 28^th, 2022, for this project.

   

  Please let us know when you need the I-526E template for investors who are ready to file. Hope all interested investors will complete their source of funds to wire and file their I-526E petitions soon!

• + septiembre 7th, 2022D.C. Court Lawsuit on SOF Adjudication Update

  On September 7, 2022, IIUSA filed a Complaint against USCIS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Plaintiffs brought this action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) to compel United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to comply with a FOIA request filed by Plaintiff relating to USCIS’s policies and practices in adjudicating source-of-funds issues. The request was filed by IIUSA back on July 18, 2022, and USCIS failed to respond to it. As the Complaint alleges, the records requested in IIUSA’s July 18, 2022 FOIA request are critical to IIUSA’s ability to properly educate its members on current USCIS policy and practice with respect to the adjudication of source-of-funds issues, as well as how (if at all) those policies have changed over time.

   

  Please click here to read IIUSA’s article on the matter.

• + septiembre 2nd, 2022USCIS Seeks Comments on Forms I-526, I-526E, I-956, I-956F, I-956G, I-956H, I-956K: First Draft Published for Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters!!!

  The industry had been anxiously waiting for Form I-956K to be published so that agents and promoters know what is required for them to register with USCIS. Finally, this form is published today (on September 2, 2022) in the Federal register as a draft, along with the draft form instructions. The notice invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on Form I-956, Application for Regional Center Designation; Form I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise; Form I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement; Form I-956H, Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program; and Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until November 1, 2022. Please click here to read a notice in the Federal Register, where you can find draft forms and forms’ instructions.

   

  As we had informed you before, on August 23, 2022, the USCIS published a notice in the Federal register inviting the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, and Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until October 24, 2022. Please click here to read a notice in the Federal Register.

   

  Key points to note in the Draft Form I-956K & Draft Form I-956K Instructions:

  – No filing fee – Form I-956K “should” (not “must”) be submitted prior to operating or promoting an EB-5 offering

  – “Each person acting as a direct or third-party promoter (including migration agents)” of a regional center, NCE, JCE, or issuer of securities is required to file Form I-956K with USCIS.

  – The applicant must list & submit a copy of all written agreements entered into with regional centers, NCEs, JCEs, or issuers of securities

  – USCIS may require the applicant to appear for an interview or provide biometrics (fingerprints, photograph, and/or signature) at a USCIS Application Support Center or U.S. Embassy/Consulate/Office overseas.

  – USCIS may use your biometrics to obtain the criminal history records of the FBI for identity verification, to determine eligibility, to create immigration documents or any purpose authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act. The form instructions included the following link to obtain a copy of your own FBI record: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks.

• + septiembre 1st, 2022Behring & DC. Lawsuits Update: Settlement Approved

  On Thursday, September 1, Judge Chhabria signed an Order Granting Approval of Stipulation of Settlement, which approved the Stipulation of Settlement that the parties filed on August 24, 2022 for the 2 EB-5 cases (Behring Regional Center LLC v. Alejandro Mayorkas, et al. and EB5 Capital, et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security, et al.). Both cases are now dismissed with prejudice, and the cases are now closed. The Court retains jurisdiction to adjudicate any claim for enforcement of the Settlement Agreement.

   

  Below is our summary of the key points of the Settlement Agreement:

   

  I. Previously Approved Regional Centers Retain Designation, Subject to Filing Form I-956 by December 29, 2022, as an Amendment

  – Regional centers approved prior to the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) are not categorically deauthorized as USCIS announced in April. However, such regional centers must file Form I-956, Application for Regional Center Designation, by December 29, 2022, as an amendment, in order to continue to maintain their status as an approved regional center for purposes of sponsoring new projects and new investors under RIA.

  – Previously Approved Regional Centers and investors in projects sponsored by Previously Approved Regional Centers will not need to wait for their Form I-956 to be approved prior to filing and receiving adjudications from USCIS on any other Forms. However, if the Regional Center proposes to expand its geographic area greater than previously approved, the regional center may only be able to continue to operate in its previously approved geographic area until the Form I-956 Amendment approves the geographic area expansion.

   

  II. Previously Approved Regional Centers May Immediately File Project Applications (Form I-956F) and USCIS Must Thereafter Accept Investor Petitions

  – If a Form I-956F receipt notice is not issued within 10 calendar days of “physical delivery of the filing” to USCIS, USCIS will accept the following, after which Forms I-526E associated with the filed Form I-956F can be filed immediately:

  — The lockbox notice (i.e., payment receipt letter) along with “a copy of at least the first six pages of the filed Form I-956F (Parts 1-5) for purposes of providing ‘the receipt number of the regional center’s Form I-956F”

  — Proof of the filing fee’s “cashed check or credit card charge (along with regional center name, new commercial enterprise name, job creating entity name if available, and approximate Form I-956F filing date)”

   

  III. Previously Approved Regional Centers Will Be Governed by the RIA

  – Persons involved with a regional center, new commercial enterprise, or job­ creating entity will file an I-956H, Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program, for each entity with which they are involved for submission with any related form as applicable.

  – USCIS will continue to process and adjudicate I-526 and I-829 petitions from investors filed prior to RIA (as well as future I-829 petitions based on I-526 petitions filed prior to RIA), even if the regional center with which their project was approved does not file a Form I-956 application or amendment by December 29, 2022. – New forms issued since the RIA will be deemed interim until notice-and-comment rulemaking is undertaken by USCIS.

   

  IV. Implementation

  – By December 1, 2022, USCIS will amend any Forms and accompanying instructions to adhere to the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

  – Within 21 days following the effective date of the Settlement Agreement: USCIS will update its guidance on the agency website, in Frequently Asked Questions, and in any public forum as to the current requirements as set forth in the Settlement Agreement.

  – For at least 2 years following the effective date of the Settlement Agreement: Plaintiffs and Defendants will confer on “at least a quarterly basis to discuss implementation of this Settlement Agreement and matters pertaining to the implementation.”  

  Having quarterly meetings with USCIS is a great achievement that should lead to greater likelihood of success in implementation of the Settlement Agreement and to address unforeseen issues with implementation.

• + agosto 22nd, 2022MRC Received I-956F Receipt Notice for the Manhattan 11th Ave Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel Project

  We are extremely happy to report that we have received our I-956F Formal Receipt Notice today, on August 22, 2022,  for the Manhattan 11th Ave Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel Project (11th Ave Tribute Project). As such, our investors in this project can start filing their I-526E petitions TODAY!!!

   

  Please note that this receipt notice is currently required per USCIS guidance issued on July 12th with the newly released Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor.

   

  Our 11th Ave Tribute Project construction team poured the top floor (52nd) in August 2021. Currently, exterior and interior construction work are ongoing. As of June 30, 2022, 1604.42 jobs have already been created.

   

  Spots are nearly filled up for this project and are being secured on a first-come-first-served basis by date of wiring. We are here to help in any way possible to help all interested investors complete all the documentation needed to submit their I-526E filings as soon as possible!

• + agosto 19th, 2022Behring & D.C. Lawsuit Update: Hearing on the Contempt Motion

  On Thursday, August 18, the motion hearing for the Motion to Show Cause for Civil Contempt and to Enforce Preliminary Injunction (“Contempt Motion”) was changed from a court hearing to a Zoom conference at 1:30pm PST. While this hearing was originally set in an attempt for the Judge to rule on the Contempt Motion, the parties informed Judge Chhabria that they were in the middle of settlement negotiations and were in the process of reaching a settlement agreement that should happen as early as that day. As such, they requested that the Judge would hold his clarification questions and not rule on the Contempt Motion to “bring up the heat” (as the Defendant/USCIS’ attorney put it) until they submit the settlement agreement to the judge. In light of these circumstances, the Judge and the parties agreed to postpone the motion hearing to next Wednesday. If a settlement is reached before the next hearing, as the parties suggested would happen, and the Judge approves such settlement without the need to ask any clarification questions, then the Contempt Motion may be dismissed, and the case would be settled.

   

  We can see that USCIS does not want to be charged with Contempt, and that they are really trying to make an effort to settle before Wednesday. It appears that an amicable settlement is very close to being reached by the parties, which is a wonderful sign that regional centers may be able to start operating normally again next week. We hope that this means that our investors can start filing next week!

   

  For your reference, the next motion hearing is currently scheduled to be held next Wednesday, August 24 at 1:00PM PST via Zoom at this link.

  Webinar ID: 161 285 7657

  Password: 547298

• + agosto 8th, 2022D.C. Court Lawsuit on EB-5 Visas Allocation (BO et al v. BLINKEN et al)

  On August 5, 2022, Chinese foreign national plaintiffs filed a complaint against USCIS and the U.S. Secretary of State in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case was assigned to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. Plaintiffs allege that EB-5 immigrant visas that were allocated for 2022 should be distributed to Plaintiffs by September 30, 2022, and that Plaintiffs’ immigrant visa applications should be processed immediately. They allege that if action is not taken, about 11,000 immigrant visas that otherwise would be available to Mainland China investors, would be wasted by September 30, 2022 (end of 2022 fiscal year).

   

  Please click here to read eb5investors article on the matter.