On October 20, 2009 the United States senate, by a vote of 79-19, approved the conference report of the Department of Homeland Security bill. The U.S. House had approved the same on October 15, 2009 by a vote of 307-114. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama who will sign it, thereby extending a number of expiring immigration laws. This includes the Religious Worker visa, the Conrad 30 (providing for foreign physicians in rural, medically under-served areas) and the EB-5 (regional centers) legislation. Religious worker visas allow individuals to enter the United States to work for religious entities. The EB-5 regional center program permits individuals to invest a minimum of $500,000 in qualified United States regional centers and in return the investor obtains permanent residency status for themselves, their spouses and minor children. Each of these laws were extended for an additional three years. None of these extensions came as a surprise to those of us who have followed their expiration and subsequent discussions about their renewal.
At Paschal Nwokocha Law Offices, religious workers and EB-5 petitions have continued to dominate a good portion of our immigration law practice areas. For some of our clients, the renewal now offers the needed certainty and assurance they need in making important strategic decisions.
One important item with the extension is that these visa categories were renewed without major changes to the underlying requirements. Thus, there are no major disruptions for those who have been preparing to initiate a petition based on the then existing laws. Though some of us had hoped for the liberalization of the job creation requirement aspect of the EB-5 program, we believe that the law as it stands still serves a critical need for the United States and for our clients, prospective clients and their families. For religious workers, major changes were introduced in November 2008, and practitioners and the USCIS continue to adjust to this major overhaul of the regulation.
We have been privileged to represent a good number of EB-5 investors from Sub-Saharan Africa. We are a leader in that market, and we believe the key reason is not only that the firm is led by an experienced immigration attorney who immigrated from Africa to the US, but also because we understand the clients, their unique concerns, and can relate to their needs. For some of the clients, the motivation is the education and development of their minor children. For others, this offers them an opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio. Yet for others, this is an opportunity to have a “Plan B”, especially because of unstable political and security environments in their home country. Of course for some, they need a second or retirement home in the US.
We expect to begin processing a number of cases as clients make their end/beginning of year decisions. If any of our readers wants additional information or a consultation about how our office assists with immigration issues, please contact us.