On Friday, September 28th President Obama signed Senate Bill S. 3245 into law, extending the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program for another 3 years. The sunset date has been extended until September 30, 2015. This means that any and all pending regional center Forms I-526, I-924 and/or regional center-based I-485 previously filed with the USCIS will continue to be processed according to the regional center requirements with no lapse in the program. As of yet the October Visa Bulletin has not been updated by the Department of State to reflect the continuation of this program.

The U.S. congress showed overwhelming support for the extension of this profitable immigration program (not a single U.S. Senator objected to the extension and only 3 of 435 U.S. Representatives voted against it). The bill was presented to President Obama on September 20th, and in little over a week the President signed it into law, two days before the program’s scheduled expiration. While the program has been extended every time it has been set to expire, there have been times when the fate of the program hangs for weeks after the expiration date, or is only extend on the date of expiration. This time, a final executive decision to extend the program came earlier than the expiration date, a relief to immigrant investors and many US workers alike. This massive support and swift action shows how important the U.S. government considers the investor pilot program in particular and the EB-5 category in general. Even though this extension is not permanent, the near unanimous government support for the EB-5 regional center program bodes well for future extensions.

Also extended by this piece of legislation are the E-verify program, the EB-4 Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker program, and the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver program.

For more information on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor preference category, please see our related pages.

(10/1/2012)AD

References:

The White House Office of the Press Secretary: September 28, 2012 Statement

112th Congress, 2d Session: S.3245

Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 188

DOS Foreign Affairs Manual, Volume 9: 9 FAM 42.32(e) N7-N10

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Founded in 1996, Zhang & Attorneys, L.P. offers legal services to clients nationwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled thousands of immigration cases.

At Zhang & Attorneys, L.P., our attorneys and supporting professionals are committed to providing high-quality immigration and non-immigration visa services. We specialize in NIW, EB-1, PERM, and I-485 cases. In the past sixteen years, we have successfully helped thousands of clients get green cards. If you plan to apply for a green card, please send your CV to Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) for a free evaluation.

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(10/02/2012)