Media

Pursuant to the Executive Orders 13769 and 13780, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” colloquially referred to as the Muslim travel ban, President Donald Trump banned the entry of certain individuals based on nationality.

USCIS still processes and approves all applications for the EB-5 program as the main criteria for approval is the source of funds analysis

Once USCIS approves the I-526 petition, the file is transferred to The National Visa Center, an entirely different government agency in charge of providing the ‘Stage 2’  Consular processing which consists of a short interview and provides a landing visa to make an entry to the U.S. and activate your Green Card.

• Here, the issues of the nationality ban have to be analyzed as it can hinder the process.
  •  If the client already has a B1 or B2 visit visa to the U.S., no need for a consular interview, the client can travel to the U.S. and seek an adjustment of status from a visitor to a U.S. permanent resident. Thus circumventing the barriers placed on them by the executive ban.
  • Alternatively, we can start the process of gaining a waiver to the executive order which can take a few months to process.
  • Another way across is applying to the program using Caribbean or alternative nationality passports from commonwealth countries that provide citizenship through investment.
  • Lastly, some applicants seek to enter the U.S. with the intention of enrolling in higher education. For each nationality, there are certain carve-out exceptions to enter the U.S., for some nationalities, a visa will be provided to enter in as a student. This would work and fall in line with the intentions of an EB-5 applicant.

The problem is localized in the Middle East and North Africa region. Since we have filed the most EB-5 applications in this region, we have greater experience in navigating the executive order on nationality ban and can help guide each appliant through the process. Since every client has a different set of circumstances, there is no one approach that can be administered across all applicants and we strongly encourage varied discussions on the topic with professionals before embarking on this path.

Our team of U.S. licensed lawyers have years of experience in helping individuals and families apply for U.S. residency via the EB-5 program. If you are ready to start your migration journey with The American Legal Center of Dubai, contact us today for more information.