May 2016 Visa Bulletin

DOS has released the Visa Bulletin for May 2016. For EB-5 visas, both regional center and direct investments, the Final Action Priority Date for persons born in mainland China has now been set to February 8, 2014. The Filing Priority Date for persons born in mainland China remains the same as in last month’s Visa Bulletin: May 1, 2015. USCIS has not yet stated whether they will be using the Final Action Priority Date or the Filing Priority Date for Adjustment of Status Applications for May 2016.

2017 H-1B Cap Reached on April 7, 2016

April 7, 2017 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has reached the congressionally mandated maximum number of new H-1B visa petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2017. This is referred to as the “cap” on H-1B visas. The H-1B cap was reached in...

April 2016 Visa Bulletin – EB-5 Update

The U.S. Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for April 2016. For EB-5 visas, both regional center and direct investments, the Final Action Priority Date for persons born in mainland China has now been set to February 1, 2014. The Filing Priority Date for persons...

Senate Judiciary Committee Targeted Employment Areas Hearings

The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced it plans to hold another hearing on the EB-5 Program on April 13, 2016. The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Charles Grassley from Iowa, was apivotal figure in the 2015 negotiations for reforming the EB-5 Regional Center Program. In 2015,...

USCIS EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement Planned for April 25, 2016

On Monday, April 25, 2016, I.A. Donoso and Associates will participate in a stakeholder meeting with the USCIS EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (“IPO”) in Washington, D.C.  The IPO indicates that the stakeholder meeting is an invitation for participants to provide feedback on potential EB-5 regulatory...

DHS Announces the Launch of the Known Employer Pilot for Employment-Based Visas

On Monday, April 25, 2016, I.A. Donoso and Associates will participate in a stakeholder meeting with the USCIS EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (“IPO”) in Washington, D.C. The IPO indicates that the stakeholder meeting is an invitation for participants to provide feedback on potential EB-5 regulatory...

FIRST I-829 APPROVALS FOR HARBOURSIDE PLACE

I.A. Donoso & Associates LLC is pleased to announce that we received the first Form I-829 approvals from USCIS for the first EB5 investors in the award-winning Harbourside Place real estate development in Jupiter, Florida. Florida Regional Center / U.S. Immigration Fund was the sponsor of...

The April 2016 Visa Bulletin

DOS has released the Visa Bulletin for April 2016. For EB-5 visas, both regional center and direct investments, the Final Action Priority Date for persons born in mainland China has now been set to February 1, 2014. The Filing Priority Date for persons born in mainland...

Senate Hearings on the EB5 Program

On February 2, 2016, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “The Failures and Future of the EB-5 Regional Center Program: Can it be Fixed?” Senators Grassley and Leahy presided over the hearing, and two witnesses gave testimony during the hearing: Nicholas Colucci,...