Employment & work visasPOLICY UPDATE
EB-5 Regional Center Noncompliance and Sanctions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the new provisions added to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) relating to the consequences to regional centers, new commercial enterprises, job creating entities, and investors for noncompliance in the EB-5 program.
Key changes
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the new provisions added to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) relating to the consequences to regional centers, new commercial enterprises, job creating entities, and investors for noncompliance in the EB-5 program.
- Explains how good faith investors, including those who filed their petitions prior to the new law, may retain eligibility if USCIS terminates or debars the investor’s regional center, new commercial enterprise, or job creating entity.
- Provides the process and factors USCIS generally considers when assessing sanctions, including terminations, debarments, and suspensions, consistent with the plain meaning of the statute.
- Explains what typically constitutes threats to the national interest, fraud and material misrepresentation, deceit, and criminal misuse, consistent with the plain meaning of the statute.
- Explains that USCIS does not sanction individuals or entities for pre-RIA actions, but may still consider significant or recurring pre-RIA violations for the purpose of evaluating the severity of sanctionable post-RIA violation.
