A “Modest Proposal” for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) Leadership

As evidenced from USCIS’ comments made during the Nov. 7th stakeholder meeting, the agency continues to struggle with a massive backlog of I-526 petitions and no immediate solutions is in sight.  As the most astute independent observer of the EB-5 industry, Suzanne Lazicki’s most recent blog delves ...

Jose E. Latour Dec 30, 2017

EB-5 Extended Without Changes Until January 19,2018

Folks, just a quick note: as I was en route back from Asia wondering if the US Government was going to shut down on Friday due to the end of the temporary funding provisions, I learned they managed another short-term extension through January 19, 2018.  Since the reforms are slated to be implemented...

Jose E. Latour Dec 23, 2017

NO WORRIES! What “Unauthorized” EB-5 Means in January 2018 Visa Bulletin

Happy Holidays, Readers!  AVS EB-5 has been getting calls and emails from all over the world regarding the just-published January 2018 Visa Bulletin issued by the State Department.  In it, instead of simply showing the projected backlog for China EB-5 investors, it reads across all worldwide regions...

Jose E. Latour Dec 18, 2017

2 More Weeks of EB-5…For Now!

Congress voted yesterday to extend the budget for two weeks and EB-5 gets yet another brief extension.  The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate are still tinkering with a number of issues which are more politically pressing than EB-5, and the two week extension was agreed upon ...

Jose E. Latour Dec 08, 2017

EB-5 Renewal: The Silence is Deafening

As the brilliant Suzanne Lazicki pointed out in her posting today , the EB-5 Regional Center program has received an astonishing 7 short-term extensions in the past two years, and it's been a good five years since Congress did anything meaningful to improve the program.  The TEA abuse and unlawful k...

Jose E. Latour Nov 29, 2017

2018 EB-5 Cutoff Date for Vietnam? What You Need to Know

If you are a Vietnamese investor thinking about EB-5, you’ve probably heard about the potential of a so-called “cutoff” which could leave new investors facing long delays.  I’ve told you several times that I thought this was more marketing hype but now that the mighty Charles Oppenheim, Director of ...

Jose E. Latour Nov 04, 2017

7 Benefits To Becoming A US Citizen

If you’re considering becoming a U.S.citizen, you can rest assured that there are many benefits waiting for you if you make the big decision. As an accomplished EB-5 program, American Venture Solutions is happy to hear that you have an interest in U.S. citizenship and is dedicated to making sure you...

Jose E. Latour Oct 20, 2017

How EB-5 Compares To Other EB Visas

Hello, and welcome back to our blog! Today we are going to talk about the similarities and differences between various employment-based visas and how EB-5 investment stands out when it comes to economic growth and stability, and how it will lead to permanent residency for you, the investor. Let’s st...

Jose E. Latour Oct 10, 2017

Overblogged

Okay, AVSEB5 Readers, for those of you who are gluttons for punishment, here you are:  the entire library of all of my immigration blogs written since 2007 is officially online at AVSEB5.  I know what you are thinking: "Why on EARTH would Jose re-post all of his old blogs when most of it is no longe...

Jose E. Latour Sep 20, 2017

Celebrating AVS Vietnam’s One Year Anniversary

It's true: time DOES fly when you are having fun!  Consider that it was only last September when brand new AVS Country Director Nguyet ("Monica") Pham and I were looking at our first little Regus office at the very tony Saigon Tower, across the street from the U.S. Consulate.  We were arguing: ever ...

Jose E. Latour Sep 19, 2017