Versfeld Law

In recognition of your selfless service to this great nation...we thank you veterans. A moment of special recognition for our business case manager Philip Foster, US Army Reserve 459 Engineer Company, Deployed to Iraq 2003-2004 - thank you for your service. #VeteransDay

All of our offices will be closed today to allow our staff members to go vote in the US presidential election, we’ll be back in the office on Wednesday. Voting is one of the most important privileges as a US citizen. #USElection2020

Good news. This morning the district court in Cook County, Illinois, et al v. Wolf et. al., (19-cv-6334), granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs on their claim that the Department of Homeland Security’s Public Charge Rule, 84 Fed. Reg. 41,292 (Aug. 14, 2019) violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 701 et. seq. The district court specifically ruled that (1) the public charge exceeds DHS’s authority under the public charge provision of the Immig...ration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)(A); (2) is not in accordance with law; and (3) is arbitrary and capricious. Therefore, the court immediately set aside the DHS Public Charge Rule nationwide without staying its decision pending appeal, meaning that DHS may not apply the public charge rule as of today, which includes the submission of Form I-944 and the information contained therein. Please note, however, that this has yet to be reflected by USCIS on its webpages. Order attached.

Unsecured loan OK for EB5 Investment Capital A three-judge panel ruled in the D.C. Circuit court that EB-5 investors can use the proceeds of unsecured loans for their investment, upholding a 2018 D.C. federal court decision. USCIS tried to argue in their appeal that to allow unsecured loans as investment capital would be tantamount to third parties buying Green Cards for foreigners. But the panel declared that there is no need to have an investor’s loan secured as the investm...ent project will be able to use the capital even if the investor defaults on their loan. This landmark ruling centered on whether unsecured loans could be used as investment capital for I-526 applications. For the past five years, the agency has interpreted those proceeds as debt and has been denying petitions using that element in their source of funds. Circuit Judge Gregory G. Katsas made this statement: Cash is fungible, and it passes from buyer to seller without imposing on the seller any of the buyer’s obligations to his own creditors. The buyer’s source of cash whether paycheck, gift, or loan makes no legal or practical difference. This decision is contrary to a 2015 USCIS policy that viewed loan proceeds as debt rather than cash, if not secured by the investor’s personal assets. That same year, a Chinese EB-5 investor, Huashan Zhang, and a Japanese investor, Masayuki Hagiwara, sued the agency for using that policy to deny their I-526 applications, arguing that USCIS erroneously interpreted policy and applied it retroactively to petitions without a notice-and-comment period thus contravening the Administrative Procedure Act. In 2018, a D.C. federal court agreed with the investors, and also granted the investors class certification. USCIS appealed the decision, arguing that to allow unsecured investor loans to qualify as investment capital would allow third parties to essentially buy Green Cards for the investors. The agency also argued against the class certification. In support of the investors, Judge Katsas made this statement: As far as the enterprise is concerned, whether or how the investor’s loan was secured makes no difference; it can deploy the cash either way, and it faces no exposure if the investor defaults on any obligation to a third-party lender. This decision should be welcome news to many potential EB-5 investors. It simplifies things considerably. *See the Law360 article Immigrants Can Use Loans For Investor Visas, DC Circ. Says (subscription required)

The Trump administragion has proposed a new rule that will replace gthe H1-B lottery process, in which foreign citizens with college degrees compete for limited slots, with a wage-based selection process prioritizing higher salaries. The move is said to incentivise employers to offer higher wages or petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled workers instead of using the program to fill relatively lower-paid vacancies. The proposal was announced Wednesda...y and will be open for a 30 day comment period. #USCIS https://www.uscis.gov//dhs-trump-administration-protect-am

Congratulations to the Van Wyk family from South Africa on the approval of their Immigrant Investment EB5 green card. In order to qualify for the EB5 green card, the investor has to invest $500,000 (now $900,000) in an area of high unemployment and show that his individual investment will create at least 10 American jobs. #immigrate2america

Congratulations to the Prinsloo family from South Africa on the approval of their Immigrant Investment EB5 green card. In order to qualify for the EB5 green card, the investor has to invest $500,000 (now $900,000) in an area of high unemployment and show that his individual investment will create at least 10 American jobs. #immigrate2america

Congratulations to Artem Kuznetsov on your Extraordinary Ability Green Card approval. The EB-1 category is reserved for aliens who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. #immigrate2america

Congratulations to the De Villiers family on their EB5 Green card approval. With an EB5 green card petition the Investor has to show that 10 jobs will be created for US Citizens when investing in a Target Employment Area. Thank you for your contribution during these troubled times. #immigrate2america

Congratulations to the Sewsanker family on their EB5 Green card approval. With an EB5 green card petition the Investor has to show that 10 jobs will be created for US Citizens when investing in a Target Employment Area. Thank you for your contribution during these troubled times. #immigrate2america

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Congratulations to Brandon Hiemstra and family on your EB5 approval

Congratulations to Dr. Sigi Joseph from India and family on their EB5 Green card approval. DrJoseph invested in the Kansas City exemplar EB5 project and was approved in 24 months. With an EB5 green card petition the Investor has to show that 10 jobs will be created for US Citizens when investing in a Target Employment Area. Thank you for your contribution during these troubled times.