U.S. Expands USCIS Expertise, Promotes Investment & Tourism
USCIS Entrepreneurs in Residence Summit and EB-5 Initiatives
In October 2011, USCIS Director Mayorkas announced the "Entrepreneurs in Residence” (EIR) initiative to bring in "industry expertise to strengthen USCIS policies and practices surrounding immigrant investors, entrepreneurs and workers with specialized skills, knowledge, or abilities." Director Mayorkas has noted that the goal of the initiative and introduction of expert views from the private and public sectors is to "help us [USCIS] to ensure that our policies and processes fully realize the immigration law’s potential to create and protect American jobs.".
The initiative was launched with a series of informational summits with industry leaders to gather strategic input so that the agency may create a tactical team that includes entrepreneurs and experts working with USCIS personnel "to design and implement effective solutions." The first information summit took place on February 22, 2012, in Silicon Valley, California. At this time, EIR will focus on assessing current policies, practices and training across the following nonimmigrant visa classifications: B, Temporary Visitors for Business; H-1B, Specialty Occupations; E-1, Treaty Traders; L-1, Intracompany Treansferees; and O-1 Extraordinary Ability.
The EIR initiative builds on USCIS’s recent efforts to promote startup enterprises and spur job creation, including enhancements to the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program. The EB-5 program enjoys increasing success and is widely supported by many in Congress from both sides of the aisle, however USCIS continues to face criticism for its administration of the program due to its fluid interpretations of EB-5 requirements, inconsistencies in adjudications and lack of understanding of business realities. In response to these criticisms, USCIS has taken steps to address some of the issues with timing and unpredictability. Director Mayorkas has expressed his interest in the program and is leading the Agency in taking steps toward providing a more transparent and predictable decision making process. Director Mayorkas has noted that “[a]s part of our broad review, and echoing President Obama’s call to promote immigrants’ entrepreneurial spirit, we have focused on the Immigrant Investor Program, commonly referred to as the EB-5 Program. It is a program designed to attract investors and entrepreneurs from around the world to create jobs in America. In the two decades since its creation, the EB-5 Program has never met the annual cap of 10,000 visas.” With his direction, the USCIS is taking steps that are expected to help improve the timing and adjudication of these petitions. Some reforms already in progress include:
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The introduction of direct e-mail contact between the Regional Center petitioners and the USCIS adjudication team.
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The introduction of accelerated process and premium processing for certain applicants and petitions, expected in the Spring of 2012.
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The use of an expert Decision Board to assist adjudicators in rendering final adjudication decisions on Regional Center petitions.
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Hiring economists with business analysis expertise to help guide and support the USCIS adjudication team.
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Hiring a consulting firm to help further reengineer the EB-5 adjudication process to deliver greater efficiencies.
White House Initiatives to Increase Visitor Travel to U.S.
On January 19, 2012, President Obama signed an executive order for the dual purposes of streamlining the visitor visa process for certain foreign nationals while boosting the domestic economy and creating jobs through promoting increased international travel and tourism to the U.S.
The executive order, entitled "Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing Goals and the Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness," acknowledges that post-911 security measures imposed upon the nonimmigrant visa process have in part slowed international travel to the U.S., and thus calls for multiple agencies to work quickly together to implement the new policies in order to jump-start a boom in travel.
On the visa side, the order requires the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to develop an implementation plan within 60 days of the order to establish a new visa pilot program with the goal of accomplishing a variety of tasks including increasing nonimmigrant visa processing in the key tourist markets of Brazil and China by 40 percent within the year, ensuring that 80 percent of nonimmigrant visa applicants are interviewed within three weeks of submitting their visa applications and augmenting efforts to encourage travel by foreign nationals of Visa Waiver participant countries.
Other key components of the new visa pilot program include establishing more cost-effective, efficient nonimmigrant visa processing procedures for individuals who are not deemed to be national security risks and who are reapplying for the same type of visa previously granted to them by permitting them to bypass the interview process, as well as the possibility of streamlined options for certain first-time child and elderly applicants. In keeping with national security goals, consular officers will retain their discretion to subject possible high-risk applicants to increased scrutiny.
On the tourism side, the order provides for the set up of a "Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness" composed of multiple agencies including the Departments of State, Treasury, Agriculture and Labor and Transportation, to develop a “National Travel and Tourism Strategy” within ninety days of the order with the goal of promoting international tourism to the U.S. and garnering a greater market share of worldwide travel coming from Brazil, China and India, by, among other things, developing strategies to promote travel to parks, monuments and "iconic American destinations," as well as the possible expansion of tourism promotion efforts to rural areas.
You may view the full contents of the Executive Order on the White House website.
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