TOP AT TORNEYS IN SPECI ALIZED FIELDS
BERNARD WOLFSDORF
WOLFSDORF ROSENTHAL LLP
Bernard Wolfsdor f is the
former president of the
American Immigration
Lawyers Association (AILA),
where he earned the Service
Excellence award. He is managing partner of Wolfsdorf
Rosenthal LLP law firm, the Chambers USA Band 1
(California) top rated legal consultancy with offices in
Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa
Monica and Shanghai. Wolfsdorf has been selected as
Immigration Lawyer of the Year by Who’s Who Legal and
by Best Lawyers U.S. News and World Report. EB5 Investor
Magazine has named him in its ranking of the top EB-5
lawyers for the fifth time. Chambers USA describes him as
“(o)ne of the hardest-working immigration lawyers around.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE
EB-5 MODERNIZATION CHANGES THAT
TOOK EFFECT IN 2019 WITH THE
INCREASED INVESTMENT AMOUNTS?
The Nov. 21, 2019 “modernization” regulations represent
a critical negative turning point for the program as it
enters its 30th year. Sadly, these changes are neither
modern nor adequate to solve the challenges facing the
program. With the top three investor countries, China,
Vietnam and India all subject to waiting lines, these
regulations, which massively increased the minimum
investment amounts to $900,000 for TEA projects and
$1,800,000 for non-TEA, were a huge mistake. The only
positive aspect is that they provide a path forward for
some investors in failed projects provided the initial
petition was approved. These changes did very little to
help the EB-5 industry. We now urgently need new
legislation, but prospects are dim until after the election
in 2021.
WHAT NEW TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING
IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
The most noticeable trends are the exit of some of the larger
developers and the absence of large projects as the market
pivots towards smaller capital raises. Many regional centers
are exiting the industry and with China, Vietnam and India all
subject to waiting lines. The key for nationals from these
countries is to plan ahead and file years before the person
needs to immigrate. We are now filing more cases for minors
so they will be able to get green cards to go to college in the
U.S. I do remain optimistic that Congress will act next year
to fix the program that has been a huge win for job creation
and for investment in America.
STEPHEN YALE-LOEHR
MILLER MAYER LLP
S t e v e Ya l e - L o e h r i s a n
attorney of counsel in Miller
Mayer’s immigration practice
group. He brings 30 years of
immigration law experience
in advising corporate
and individual clients on a broad array of family- and
employment-based immigration matters. Yale-Loehr is
an active and internationally renowned member of the
immigration law community. He teaches immigration and
asylum law at Cornell Law School. He also founded and
was the original executive director of IIUSA. He is listed in
Who’s Who in America and is annually listed in Chambers
Global, Chambers USA, and An International Who’s Who of
Corporate Immigration Lawyers. He is frequently quoted
in the press on immigration issues and has often testified
before Congress.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE
EB-5 MODERNIZATION CHANGES THAT
TOOK EFFECT IN 2019 WITH THE
INCREASED INVESTMENT AMOUNTS?
In the short term, the increase in the minimum investment
amount will dampen enthusiasm among potential EB-5
investors. However, given long backlogs in other green card
categories, interest in the program will eventually revive.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN
THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
Several trends are emerging in the EB-5 industry. First,
investors are getting more sophisticated. They want high
quality projects. Second, fewer investors from China are
applying for EB-5 green cards because of the long backlogs.
Regional centers are finding investors in other countries to
make up for the slowdown in China, but so far it has not been
easy. Third, the USCIS is issuing more requests for additional
evidence (RFEs). EB-5 cases that used to be processed
without questions before are now receiving RFEs. Good
cases are still generally being approved, but it can take
longer than before.
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