USCIS Changes Filing Location for EB-5 Related Items

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that petitions and applications related to the Alien Entrepreneur (EB-5) immigrant classifications and Regional Center Proposals under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program must be filed at the California Service Center (CSC). A Federal Register notice announcing the change was published on Jan. 9, 2009.

Currently, EB-5 petitions and applications are filed at either the Texas Service Center (TSC) or the CSC, depending on where the alien’s commercial enterprise is located.   Regional center proposals are currently submitted to the Chief of Service Center Operations at USCIS headquarters.  This change in filing locations is necessary to improve the efficiency in the processing of EB-5 related filings.

USCIS has established a unit at the California Service Center comprised of specially-trained adjudicators dedicated to EB-5 adjudications.  By consolidating adjudications at the center, USCIS believes that it will be able to reduce overall processing times and better monitor EB-5 related adjudications.

Filing changes are effective Jan. 26, 2009.   For a 30-day period that began on Jan. 9 and ends Feb. 9, 2009, EB-5 related petitions and applications mailed to USCIS headquarters or the Texas Service Center will be forwarded to the California Service Center.  After February 9, EB-5 petitions and applications received at an incorrect filing location will be rejected and returned with instructions to re-file at the correct address.

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Source:AILA