U.S. Alert – USCIS Updates Guidance, Accepts Comments On Regional Center Geographic Area
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a
memorandum on August 24, 2018, announcing that it is updating
guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding a regional
center’s geographic area, requests to expand the geographic
area, and how such requests affect the filing of Form I-526,
Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. USCIS said the updated
policy guidance “is controlling and supersedes any prior
guidance.”
USCIS said the updated policy guidance:
- Clarifies that USCIS reviews whetheran economic methodology is reasonable to demonstrate that aregional center’s geographic area is limited, to include
whether the multipliers and assumptions about a project’s
geographic impact are reasonable.
- Explains that a regional center’sgeographic area must be limited, contiguous, and consistent withthe purpose of concentrating pooled investment in defined economic
zones.
- Affirms that a Form I-924 amendmentmust be filed and approved to expand the regional center’sgeographic area for requests made on or after February 22,
2017.
- Clarifies how USCIS adjudicatesregional center-associated Form I-526 petitions where the regionalcenter has requested an expansion of its geographic area.
- Explains that USCIS considers achange in regional center affiliation a material change in caseswhere the change takes place after Form I-526 has been filed.
USCIS is accepting comments on the policy guidance update until
September 9, 2018. For more information, see https://www.uscis.gov/outreach/feedback-opportunities/policy-manual-comment.
The policy alert is at https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/20180824_EB5GeographicArea.pdf.
The USCIS Policy Manual is at https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual.html.
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