USCIS Policy Manual Update: Tenant-Occupancy no longer counts toward EB-5 Job Creation

Monday, May 29, 2018

USCIS issued policy alert on immigrant investor (EB-5) cases involving tenant occupancy on May 15, 2018. Previously, the USCIS Policy Manual allowed for tenant-occupancy methodologies used by I-526 petitioners to prove their investment would satisfy indirect job creation request. The new policy guidance deemed the tenant-occupancy methodology cannot reasonably predict the indirect job creation, and states that it “results in a connection or nexus between the investment and jobs that is too tenuous,” and as a result, will no longer considered it a reasonable way to forecast.

The change has been effective as of May 15, 2018. The USCIS will continue to give deference to I-526 and I-829 filed prior to May 15, 2018, or I-526 petitions that will be filed in future for exemplar-approved projects, as well as approved I-526 petition(s) of another EB-5 investor.

Reference:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2018). USCIS Policy Manual Updates: EB-5 Tenant Occupancy. Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-policy-manual-updates

Divine, Bearman, and Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. (2018) . IIUSA Member Analysis: USCIS Evicts Tenant Occupancy Job Counting from EB-5. Retrieved from https://iiusa.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/USCIS-Evicts-Tenant-Occupancy-Job-Counting-from-EB-5-1.pdf