Greetings…and my apologies for my recent silence!  Since returning from Dubai last month things have been quite hectic: lots of clients coming and going, my annual monastic retreat to Massachusetts (heaven sent and much needed this year) and, sadly, my 88 year old mother had a bad fall earlier this week.  (She didn't break anything and is recovering well, thankfully.)As a result of all this, the newspaper clippings and online snippets I collect continuously to share with you have been accumulating!  Other commentators long ago have discussed the Wall Street Journal editorial from – gads – October 12, but it is important enough for me to tell you about it.  The piece, entitled "A Visa for Job Creators", borders on the simplistic for those of us who live …

Folks, I'm doing my annual retreat and will be "radio silent" for the next few days.  Take a look:Retreat…

Joey, friend of mine from many years past emailed yesterday.  He wanted to see if we could find a blog I'd written Thanksgiving week 2002 in my prior "before the word 'blog'" existed online daily posting, Port of Entry.  Well, I've been meaning to get the old POE blog archives online at www.latourlaw.com for quite awhile now, but I didn't have it handy.  Gardhy, of course, did.I'm reposting this article because, in various ways, it is timely: not only is it Thanksgiving week, but at the time I wrote the article, things were pretty lean for those in the IT industry…today things are pretty lean across the board, although apparently getting better.  (Check out my hair…it was black once! (-:)Here's the link, stay tuned for th…

Although I've only discussed the upcoming Regional Center filing fee in recent blogs, I should have mentioned the new increases affecting EB-5 Investors filing I-526s and I-829.  D-Day is here tomorrow and effective Nov. 23, 2010, these are the new fees:I-924, the new "Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program", will require a $6230 filing fee; Regional Centers previously did not have to pay a filing fee.I-526,  "Immigrant Petition for Alien Entrepreneur" goes from $1435 to $1500I-829, "Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions" goes from $2850 to $3750The modest raise in the I-526 fee is negligible; the $900 increase in the I-829 is a little more intriguing to me.  It's just my speculation, but I s…

Folks, as you know, I keep my big mouth shut when it comes to naming names associated with EB-5 disasters.  Recently, I have had requests from several media friends who are eager to speak with individuals who have been subjected to adjudication problems, denials, or other issues in connection with an EB-5 process gone wrong.  Please email me in confidence and I will give you their contact information so you can speak directly with those interested in your story.…

In three hours I’m on British Airways to London but what a week it’s been: it is difficult to relay the energy, ethnic diversity, and raw brainpower behind this urban testimony to architecture.  The seminar went beautifully, Dubai is talking EB-5 for the first time, and mix of ex-pats and regional prospective investors is absolutely the most intriguing melange of people with which I have ever interacted as an immigration attorney. As usual, it’s the folks from India who are the most informed on U.S. immigration laws, and there were people I met this week who know more about EB-5 issues than half the immigration bar!  Others knew less and a few knew nothing.  NOW they know. (-: One always questions the wisdom of traveling so far when the need for the service one is offering is so close t…

I know it's late, folks,  but we have been able to accomodate all of the Waiting List folks and I have had 5 last-minute cancellations.  If anyone wants to crash the party tomorrow morning, or if any of your registered wants to bring someone who is interested in attending, please email me at jlatour@latourlaw.com with your name and mobile number and I'll text you a confirmation.  Jose…

Jud’s secret jet-lag recipe (a/k/a Tylenol PM) worked wonders and I was raring to go this morning when Namjoo came to get me at the hotel.  (Namjoo, for those of you who may not recognize the name, is my West Coast representative, a Certified Canadian Immigration Consultant and — most relevent to this particular trip — our Farsi voice.)  After double checking that we were ready for the big day tomorrow, I got a whirlwind tour of Dubai. Report card so far: Food- 5 Stars Service- 5 Stars Shopping- a Terrifying 10 Stars Conducive to Weight Loss Program- 0 Stars The food, seriously, makes the latter essentially impossible.  In one sitting I had the best baba ghanoush, best (and only FRESH) pomegranate juice, and best hookah flavor (mint) of my life. Now…back to stuffing presentation pac…

Got in via London late last night and went to sleep on the 34th floor of the hotel with beautiful city lights…woke up this morning to realize I was staring at the Arabian Sea!I was awakened this morning by chanted prayers blasted from loudspeakers in the minaret of a mosque 34 stories down and a few blocks over.  Prayer reminders are done five times a day.  I'd never thought about it before but this structured prayer rhythm of their day is very much like the rhythm of the monasteries I visit.  We ALL need to be reminded to pray and — no disrespect to our important American separation of church and state — it's kind of cool to be reminded to talk to God five times a day.  I'm checking in myself with every reminder!I am STOKED about the seminar tomorrow…