Folks, as the USCIS continues to sit on thousands of long-delayed I-526 EB-5 investor petitions, a Chinese riptide of exasperated investors and agents is threatening the foundations of dozens of U.S. projects relying on EB-5 capital as part of their capital stack. As this is happening, more and more investors are looking at the individual EB-5 investment, based on faster adjudication times, the elimination of econometric analysis (which is triggering more than 50% of the RFE substance we are seeing these days), and simplicity of direct employment. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida is working very hard to get USCIS’ I-526 adjudication in gear as these delays are costing Florida companies millions of dollars and thousands of unrealized America jobs — the raison d’etre of EB-5 – continue to b…

In my most recent two decades of law practice, I have dealt primarily with high net worth individuals who are living in unstable places in the Middle East, Far East, Latin America, and former Soviet states.  And as I have so often written in Immigration Insider, while the opportunity to secure U.S. residency through an EB-5 investor visa is a great option for many, there are a certain percentage of very high net worth clients for whom the U.S., with its regimen of global taxation on all income generated worldwide, for whom a green card makes very little sense.  These are the folks form whom we explore options like a St. Kitt’s passport investment and other alternative jurisdictions. After not hearing the word “INTERPOL” (which stands for The International Criminal Police Organization) fo…

I’ve received two phone calls this morning from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  The first was from an old CBP friend who was incredulous over the events of this past weekend, which I relayed in yesterday’s Immigration Insider as “My Weekend on the U.S. Border: CBP or KGB?”  The second call, in contrast, was from a very angry, semi-literate self described “CBP professional” who, between expletives, stated he had been there during my prospective investor’s illegal detention and I had totally “miscontruded” (had him repeat that to make sure I heard correctly) the facts in my blog.  After Saturday, the tone and language was hardly a surprise but receiving that second call on my personal cell phone was extremely uncool.  How did he get my number?  Why did they copy my U.S. passpor…

This past weekend, as I have so many dozen times before, I entered the US with a group of  Mexican nationals with valid U.S. B1/B2 visas for the purpose of exploring various EB-5 Regional Centers in Southern Texas.  As always, I explained that the prospective investors all needed I-94s as we would be going further than 25 miles from the border.   As the officers processed the I-94s, one of the prospects, a former Mexican state official  (although he is not my client, I am omitting his name out of respect for his now-traumatized family), was taken behind the waiting room; an hour later we were advised that his visa was being cancelled and he would be allowed to return to Mexico.   Fair enough.  But over the course of next four hours, he was instead arrested, denied access to counsel …

Michael Harris, my friend, longtime collaborator, and former Padawan has written a comprehensive article on the pros and cons of establishing or acquiring an EB-5 Regional Center…MUST reading for all you developers out there being seduced by the sweet siren song of U.S. immigration attorneys promising long lines of eager Chinese investors, checkbooks in hand…(-; Michael Harris’ “The EB-5 Highway”…

Harvey Law Group (HLG) founder Jean-Francois Harvey and I will be joining the team from Dubai-based Range Development in beautiful St. Kitts next week to celebrate the groundbreaking of Range’s spectacular Park Hyatt St. Kitt’s in stunning Christophe Harbour.  HLG is the exclusive agent in China and Vietnam for this exciting, citizenship-based investment opportunity which has been eagerly welcomed by many of our Asian investor clients. As politically incorrect as it is to say anything negative about EB-5 in the current frenzied, hyper-sales driven China EB-5 market, the St. Kitts investment passport program is indeed a viable option for many high net worth individuals looking for a rapid “Plan B” migratory option…but wary of the implications of global tax liabilities that come with U.…

Between the greedy US developers, the greedy US lawyers out to make a quick I-526 buck and the greedy Asian migration agents, affluent folks from all over the Far East are being led down the primrose lane to US tax poverty.  Today is Tuesday and in two business days this week, I have personally spoken with three high net worth individuals who have been told by all of the above that “the EB-5 is your best option”. Horsefeathers! Here’s the deal: 1) US tax residency is based upon physical presence in the US, not migration status; the only individuals exempt from the “substantial presence” test are bona fide full time F-1 student visa holders…not a practical solution for most entrepreneurs.  See the The IRS Substantial Presence Test if you want details.  Even a person in the US for jus…

…is the Bitexco Financial Tower in steamy, sultry, lemongrass-y Ho Chih Minh City (a/k/a Saigon), location of my favorite flavor of Harvey Law Group’s international offices. (-:…

The accents are for the most part different these days, but the issues are the same: wealthy entrepreneurs from troubled nations writing and calling me as they scramble to relocate their hard–earned assets before corrupt politicians steal what is not theirs.  Twenty years ago the financial exodus was occurring in Brazil, Russia, and the UK.  These days, it’s more than likely a client in China, Vietnam, or a Venezuelan finally pulling the trigger after years of sitting on the fence.   (I should also note that the past month did trigger a fresh round of inquiries from Russians with fast–disappearing assets in Cypriot banks.)  Soon, I believe, as the true measure of the Euro zone crisis becomes impossible to whitewash, a new exodus of European cash will be next. As a U.S. Atty.,…