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Federal Court Strikes Down EB-5 Fee Increases as Unlawful · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: A federal judge has ruled that the U.S.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Citizenship and Immigration Services, also known as U.S.CIS, unlawfully increased EB5 visa-filing fees without completing a congressionally mandated fee study.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Rolling back rates to pre-April 2024 levels, U.S.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: District Judge Charlotte Noel Sweeney issued her decision on November 11, 2024, finding that U.S.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: CIS violated both the Administrative Procedure Act, referred to as APA, and Section 106 of the EB5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: The ruling grants immediate financial relief to investors and regional centers through a section 705 stay, blocking the contested fee increases.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: The American Immigrant Investor Alliance, also known as AIIA, filed Moody et al.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: v.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Majorcas et al.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: in March 2024 in Colorado District Court.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Attorneys Matthew Galati of the Galati Law Firm, Jonathan Wazden from Wazden Law, and Jesse Bless from Bless Mitigation represented the plaintiffs.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: USCIS announced the fee increases on January 31, 2024, implementing them by April of that year.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: The agency justified the adjustments as necessary to account for inflation, increased form complexity, and staffing fluctuations.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Congress had mandated otherwise through the RIA.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: The 2022 legislation required USCIS to conduct and publish a fee study on EB5 fees before implementing any changes.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: USCIS did not complete this study until February 2025, nearly a year after raising the fees.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: AIIA initially sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the fee increases from taking effect.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: The court dismissed the TRO, disagreeing that the increases would cause irreparable harm between April 1, 2024 and post-trial.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: USCIS challenged AIIA's associational standing to bring the case.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Government attorneys argued that the organization's theory of harm relied on speculation about independent actors and members not before the court, rendering the organizational harm legally non-cognizable.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: The court applied a three-part associational standing test.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: At least one AIA member had suffered concrete injury by paying the increased fees.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: The interests AIIA sought to protect aligned with its stated purpose of advocating for EB5 investors.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: The organization could assert claims without requiring individual member participation in the lawsuit.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Judge Sweeney found that the way USCIS had acted was arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with law.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing absolved the agency from completing the required fee study before implementing increases, she ruled.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Sweeney wrote, quote, moreover, the court is under no obligation to adopt USCIS's incorrect interpretation, end quote.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew Galotti observed that, quote, the drumbeat from Washington these days is that immigrants need to follow our laws or face the consequences, end quote.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yet this case demonstrates that DHS and USCIS, whether run by Republicans or Democrats, seem to think that clear legislative directives and deadlines do not apply to them.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Galotti called the fee raises brazenly illegal and at odds with the RIA.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: He finds it, quote, refreshing to see the judiciary hold these agencies accountable and remind us all that the U.S.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: is a nation of laws, end quote.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: AIAA's successful lawsuit against USCIS represents a turning point for the EB5 program, creating immediate financial relief and strategic advantages for both migration agents, promoting EB5 investment offerings, and individual investors.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: The ruling delivers immediate cost savings.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: For individual investors, Form I5, 26E, immigrant petition by Regional Center Investor, dropped from$11,160 to$3,675.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Saving investors$7,485 per petition.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Form Y-829, petition to remove conditions, decreased from$9,525 to$3,750, a reduction of$5,775.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Total savings per investor exceed$13,000 across the complete EB5 immigration process.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: For regional centers, Form Mapwara 956, regional center designation, fell from$47,695 to$17,795.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Form Y956F investment project approval dropped from$47,695 to$17,795, saving nearly$30,000 per project.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Form I956G, annual statement, decreased from$4,470 to$3,035, reducing annual costs by over$1,400.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: The DOJ has confirmed these lower fees are legally in effect, and USCIS has updated its website accordingly.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: While the current fee schedule is in effect, there remains uncertainty about future adjustments.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: DHS has proposed a new fee rule, with public comment period closing December 22, 2025, that would reduce fees compared to the April 2024 levels, but keep them higher than the current restored rates.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: The proposed fees would set I-526E at$9,625 and I-829 at$7,860, still considerably higher than today's rates.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: All in all, this is good news for all EB5 stakeholders, at home and abroad.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Lower operating costs improve the economic viability of smaller regional centers and project developers.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: These lower fees help make the program a little more affordable to prospective EB5 investors and ease the burden on intermediaries that help them with the process.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: For existing investors who paid the higher fees, AIA has organized a class action lawsuit seeking refunds for investors and regional center operators who paid the elevated rates.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Ishan Kana on IMIDAily.com.
• 6:30
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• 6:36
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