US investment migration seminar launched

The basic need for economic stability and access to first world opportunities are the primary factors that drive the demand for migration to the west. Since the inception of the EB-5 regional centre programme in 1992, foreign nationals have gravitated towards securing US green cards and residency for their spouse and children under the ages of 21 through the EB-5 programme. Per the EB-5 programme, regulations investors are eligible to participate in the programme, so long as they inject $800,000 into a government approved commercial enterprise and ensure that their source of funds is lawful and that the funds legally belong to the investor.

In the last few months, the Regional Centre has undergone rigorous changes and updates that were made for the inclusion of provisions that will provide integrity, transparency and protections for investors and regional centres involved. While Congress was working on these regulations, the programme was halted for almost nine months. This meant that there were no EB-5 Regional Centre applications being processed or accepted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Shai Zamanian, legal director of the American Legal Centre, says that “regardless of the programme being unavailable, during the time of suspension, our team witnessed a surge in the number of inquiries our firm received.” The team of US licensed lawyers utilised the suspension period to best educate themselves on the programme and the projected changes, to be able to educate the market on how these would affect their current and future applications.

On March 15, the programme was revitalised by the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) and USCIS was mandated to proceed with processing Regional Centre applications. Since the reauthorisation of the programme, there has been a further host of changes and amendments introduced to the programme, which can provide confusion and uncertainty for prospective investors. As the leaders in the EB-5 industry, having filled the most EB-5 applications out of the GCC, the team at the American Legal Centre have decided to continue educating the market by hosting free educational seminars that allow investors to interact with the attorneys and learn more about the programme.

The seminar took place at Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi on June 4, and was divided into two sessions, one at 1 pm and another at 3 pm.