President Trump signed an executive order, temporarily suspending immigration into the US, but relax, it does not include EB-5 and many other immigrant as well as non-immigrant categories!
Almost all of the news agencies have reported that President Trump signed an executive order last night that will limit immigration into the United States of America. While this news seems quite alarming to most of our clients, a closer look into the order reveals that there aren’t any immediate concerns for our EB-5 clients.
The main intent of this order, as stated by the President, is to protect American jobs. In an interview he gave this morning to Investment Migration Council, Ron Klasko, Founder and Senior Partner of Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP stated that our country has moved from a record low unemployment just a couple of months ago, to record high unemployment, mainly due to COVID-19. As such, the President issued various travel bans to limit people who might be carrying the virus from entering into the US soil. Now, as he turns his attention to address one of the main results of the pandemic, which is unprecedented high unemployment rates, he has issued an order to limit immigration to the US for 60 days. In the interview, Ron also mentioned that he expects the suspension to be extended both in terms of duration and breadth of areas it covers.
As we mentioned, the order leaves EB-5, where each investor is obligated to create 10 or more full-time positions, out of the picture. Since the main purpose of the suspension is to protect American jobs from being filled by foreign immigrants, it would have been counterintuitive to include EB-5 in the order.
The executive order does not block people who are in the United States with non-immigrant visas such as F1, H-1B, L1, E2, etc., type visas. Also, current green card holders, healthcare professionals whose function is to help fight against the pandemic, and spouses & children of US citizens who are under 21 years of age are all exempt from this order. It is important to remember that this order only limits entry to the United States with immigrant intent. Those clients who either would like to enter into the United States with nonimmigrant intent visas or are already in the United States with a nonimmigrant visa, such as F1, H-1B, L1, E2, etc., can still adjust status and seek a green card. For example, L1 visa holders could apply for EB1-C, and H-1B, F1 or E2 visa holders could apply for EB-5, or any other method to obtain a green card. As such, given that all of the US consulates are closed for now, for an undetermined amount of time, some could argue that the effect of this executive order is minimal during the initial 60 days of implementation. That said since there is an expectation that the order could be extended both in duration and scope, clients are well-advised to speed up their application while the order excludes many of these immigrant and nonimmigrant categories.
In this regard, Klasko Immigration, in a blog they sent to their clients this morning reported that “while the Executive Order does not currently affect nonimmigrants, the President has directed the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department Homeland Security to review all nonimmigrant programs to assess whether any of the programs can be modified to “stimulate the United States economy and ensure the prioritization, hiring, and employment of United States.” Both Secretaries will report back to the President on or about May 22, 2020.”
In light of the uncertainly that lies ahead after the initial 60 day period, we strongly urge our clients to be vigilant and take action as opposed to procrastinating. We realize that the changes that took place last November, now over 5 months ago, in the minimum required investment amounts that were raised significantly, coupled with the new definitions of what constitutes as a TEA and what does not, has kept many of our clients on the sidelines. That said, if you have a medium to a long term plan to immigrate to the United States, it might make a lot of sense to review your options now before it is too late.
If you want to get more information about the President’s executive order or EB-5 in general, please do not hesitate to call us at + 1 917 355 9251 or write to us at info@americaeb5visa.com.
Posted by americaeb5visa on April, 23, 2020