Author Archives: Leslie I. Snyder

A new USCIS policy memorandum clarifies requirements for deployment of capital for EB-5 applicants (investor visa). This establishes that the purchase of financial instruments on the secondary market will generally not satisfy such requirements. It clarifies that capital may be further deployed into any commercial activity that is consistent with the purpose of the new commercial enterprise, within its lawful bounds.

This clarification supersedes the language that allowed municipal bonds as a specific type of potentially permissible financial instrument in the context of further deployment. It also provides that further deployment must be through the same new commercial enterprise and within the geographic area of the same regional center, including any amendments to the regional center’s geographic area approved before the further deployment. 

It also explains that, based on an internal review and analysis of typical EB-5 capital deployment structures, USCIS generally considers 12 months as a reasonable amount of time to further deploy capital, but will consider evidence showing that a longer period was reasonable.

You can download the .pdf file with the entire update HERE

“Horrible and Foolish Loopholes”

President Trump has taken yet another step in tightening asylum policies. In a memorandum released last night, the new presidential order prevents anyone who crossed the border illegally to get a work permit, it considerably reduces the adjudication terms of asylum requests to a maximum of 180 days (it used to take years), and it imposes fees for humanitarian refugee status applicants to the United States.

These are all measures meant to address what the President has recently called “horrible and foolish loopholes” in the immigration law. Lumping the visa lottery in with “chain migration”, “catch and release”, Mr. Trump claims that people coming into the US this way are from countries that “are not giving us their finest.”

The Washington Post has a new article HERE detailing the latest presidential directive, along with a video of his assertions on immigration.

Here at Leslie I. Snyder immigration firm, we want to remind you that asylum seeking is not illegal immigration. People from countries in political turmoil run from oppression and seek asylum.
The United States recognizes the right of asylum for individuals as specified by international and federal law.

Under current Florida law, in order to obtain a Driver’s License, you need to be a citizen or legal resident alien. This might change in the near future. Both the Florida Senate and House introduced last month two separate proposals that might allow foreign passports, birth certificates, and Mexican consular cards to be used as proof of identity.

Both proposals are introduced by Democrats. The Senate bill is sponsored by Javier Rodriguez of Miami. Senator Rodriguez justifies his initiative with the following arguments: “It doesn’t matter your immigration status. If you are on the roads, you should have access to a driver’s test and the ability to get car insurance”

The House bill is co-introduced by Representative Anna Eskamani of Orlando. In a statement to Fox News channel 35 Orlando, she affirms: “I always ask the question about why not build trust with those who are already marginalized, versus pushing them farther and farther away from us. I think what this bill does is it helps to build that trust. It also helps ensure public safety.”

If any of the proposals becomes law, Florida will become the 13th state to allow undocumented immigrants to be able to obtain driver’s licenses in the US.

Effective April 1, 2019, the H-1B Visa Program will have new amended regulations. The final rule reverses the order by which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap and the advanced degree exemption, and it introduces an electronic registration requirement for petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 31, and will go into effect on April 1, though the electronic registration requirement will be suspended for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap season. 

From the USCIS web site:

Effective April 1, USCIS will first select H-1B petitions (or registrations, once the registration requirement is implemented) submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will then select from the remaining eligible petitions, a number projected to reach the advanced degree exemption. Changing the order in which USCIS counts these allocations will likely increase the number of petitions for beneficiaries with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected under the H-1B numerical allocations. Specifically, the change will result in an estimated increase of up to 16% (or 5,340 workers) in the number of selected petitions for H-1B beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education.

USCIS will begin accepting H-1B cap petitions for FY 2020 on April 1, 2019. The reverse selection order will apply to petitions filed for the FY 2020 H-1B cap season. Petitioners may file an H-1B petition no more than six months before the employment start date requested for the beneficiary. USCIS will provide H-1B cap filing instruction on uscis.gov in advance of the filing season.

Importantly, after considering public feedback, USCIS will be suspending the electronic registration requirement for the FY 2020 cap season to complete user testing and ensure the system and process are fully functional. Once implemented, the electronic registration requirement will require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap petitions, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption, to first electronically register with USCIS during a designated registration period. Only those whose registrations are selected will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition. USCIS expects that the electronic registration requirement, once implemented, will reduce overall costs for petitioners and create a more efficient and cost-effective H-1B cap petition process for USCIS and petitioners.

Additionally, USCIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register to announce the initial implementation of the H-1B registration process in advance of the cap season in which it will implement the requirement. Prior to implementation, USCIS will conduct outreach to ensure petitioners understand how to access and use the system. Once implemented, USCIS will announce the designated electronic registration period at least 30 days in advance for each fiscal year it is required.

For more information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and Linkedin (/uscis).