Congress

EB-5 Regional Center Program Extension

USCIS administers the EB-5 program, created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Under a program initially enacted as a pilot in 1992, and regularly reauthorized since then, investors may also qualify for EB-5 classification by investing through regional centers designated by USCIS based on proposals for promoting economic growth. On February 9, 2018, the President signed Public Law 115-123; extending the Regional Center Program through March 23, 2018.

Congress Passes Stopgap Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown Against a Friday Deadline**

**which includes the EB-5 Program extension to January 19, 2018

WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Thursday to legislation to keep the government funded into January, averting a government shutdown this weekend but kicking fights over issues like immigration, surveillance and health care into the new year.

The stopgap spending bill extends government funding until Jan. 19 while also providing a short-term funding fix for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, whose financing lapsed at the end of September.

Without New Laws or Walls, Trump Presses the Brake on Legal Immigration

A scientist recruited by the renowned Cleveland Clinic is stuck in India because his visa is delayed. An entrepreneur courted by Silicon Valley companies had his application denied. Many green card applicants have new interviews to pass.

The Trump administration has pursued its immigration agenda loudly and noticeably, ramping up arrests of undocumented immigrants, barring most travel from several majority-Muslim countries and pressing the case for a border wall.

But it has also quietly, and with much less resistance, slowed many forms of legal immigration without the need for Congress to rescind a single visa program enshrined in the law.

Congress Passes Spending Bill To Avoid Shutdown, Again Punts On Health Care (and EB-5 Revision)

With the clock ticking, Congress on Friday (4/28/2017) managed to fulfill its basic function — keeping the federal government running.

The House and Senate approved a short-term measure that funds the government for another week. Lawmakers voted hours ahead of a midnight deadline to avoid a partial shutdown of federal agencies.

Friday's extension gives members of Congress more time — until midnight on May 5 — to try to reach a deal on a spending bill that will last through the rest of fiscal year 2017, which ends Sept. 30.

U.S. SENATE MOVES TO EXTEND EB-5 PROGRAM AS IS

The Senate is moving forward with an extension of the EB-5 immigrant investor program as is and reforms to the program appear unlikely.

 

The provision to extend the program is included in the continuing resolution, a short-term budget bill that allows the government to keep running until early December.

EB-5 visa program may expire on Sept. 30 if Congress doesn’t take action

The investor visa program, EB-5, is set to expire on September 30, unless Congress can temporarily extend it, or reform it to cut down the loopholes and eliminate the numerous cases of fraud that surface with the program.

New Bi-Partisan Bill Push For H-1B, L-1 Visa Reforms

A new Bi-Partisan Bill introduced by Senators Grassley and Durbin is pushing for H-1B, L-1 Visa Reforms.

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin, Assistant Democratic Leader, today are introducing bipartisan legislation that would reform the H-1B visa program, consistent with Congress’s original intent, by ensuring that qualified American workers are given the first opportunity at high-skilled job opportunities.  The legislation makes reforms to increase enforcement, modify wage requirements and ensure protection for American workers as well as visa holders.  Grassley and Durbin first introduced this legislation in 2007 and have been long-time proponents of H-1B reform.