Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filed for an unopposed motion to dismiss its appeal to the Behiring Regional Center v. Wolf case this past Wednesday, January 5th.
The Behiring Regional Center and the Greenberg Traurig law firm was successful in their efforts to disallow the implementation of the EB-5 Modernization Rule, which as a result, reversed the required minimum investment amount from $900,000 back to $500,000 for TEA projects.
The appeal was filed back in August 2021 by Mayorkas – Secretary of Homeland Security, Renaud – Acting Director of USCIS, and Pearson – Chief of the Immigration Investor Program Office. This past Wednesday, January 5th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has filed for an unopposed motion to dismiss its appeal to the Behiring Regional Center lawsuit.
What does this mean for the EB-5 industry?
According to Attorney Michael A. Harris, the DHS dismissal of the Behiring Regional Center case could lead to one of the two possibilities: (1) USCIS promulgates new regulations, which increase the required minimum investment amount, provide new standards for determining TEA projects, as well as other reforms for investors, regional centers and projects; (2) Congress passes new legislation codifying the regulations that USCIS sought to create.
The current required minimum investment amount of $500,000 and standards for the TEA projects would most likely stay unchanged for the next couple of months, said Harris. The withdrawal of the DHS appeal is good news for the EB-5 industry, and we can expect a huge increase in demand once Congress reauthorizes the EB-5 Regional Center program.
Comments