EB5 China

JUNE VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State has released its June 2015 visa bulletin and the China EB-5 cut-off date of May 1, 2013 did not change. The quota for other countries remains current.

REAL ESTATE LOAN REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE (“RFE”)

I hear the USCIS has issued RFEs for some cases where the investor borrowed funds by refinancing real estate owned by the investor and his/her spouse, and their child is also on the title. USCIS has questioned whether the funds belong to the investor, solely because the child is on the deed of the collateral.

USCIS recognizes joint assets of spouses belong to both. Having a small child on the title for safety’s sake should not in reality change the ownership. The USCIS rules permit borrowing of funds provided the investor is “primarily” liable for repaying the loan. That is the case when a couple puts a child on a deed. A small child usually has no income nor capacity to enter into a contract and is just on the deed for estate purposes. The parents are the ones “primarily” responsible for repaying the loan. We will see if USCIS agrees.

PROCESSING TIMES

USCIS just posted new processing times as of March 31, 2015:

• I-526s moved from 14.2 months to 14 months.
• I-829s moved from 12.3 months to 12.7 months.
• I-924s moved from 11.7 months to 12.1 months.