Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, Tetzeli and Pratt, P.A. files suit alleging U.S.government is discouraging foreign investment in American communities with restrictive visa policies harmful to international investors.

A group of more than 450 Chinese EB-5 investors are suing the U.S.government to challenge visa policies that keep investors waiting up to 15 years to come to theUnited States.

American Lending Center (ALC), one of America’s leading EB-5 regional centers, has joined the suit to support and stand with the international investor community as the first and only institutional plaintiff. Legal representation is being provided by Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, Tetzeli and Pratt, P.A., a top Florida law firm with a record of aggressive advocacy and success in civil litigation and immigration law.

The lawsuit aims to substantially reduce the current EB-5 visa backlog facing investors and their families. Over the past several years, the wait time to become a U.S.resident has drastically increased, with some EB-5 investors delayed up to 15 years. During this time many children of investors “age out” of associated familial visas or green card eligibility as “derivatives” of their parents. If spouses and children of investors were not individually counted against the State Department’s annual visa quota, a greater number would be available and the backlog would be substantially reduced.

Ira Kurzban, lead attorney in the lawsuit, argues that “the U.S.government counts each child and each spouse in determining the numbers of immigrant investor visas each year. However, we believe that the EB-5 program for investors requires the government to only count investors when allocating the visas. The decision to count derivatives as part of the 10,000 visas means that only approximately 3,300 in fact go to investors. This is a loss for investors in China who must wait many, many years and it is a loss for the U.S.government because fewer people are investing in the U.S.”

Bruce Thompson, ALC President and former Region IX Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, agreed: “EB-5 investment can provide impactful, sustainable economic benefits to American communities. It is unfortunate that due to legislative gridlock EB-5 reform seemingly must now go through the courts. ALC feels compelled to stand with the investor community and those disadvantaged through retrogression and annual visa limits. It is devastating to parents who have played by the rules and invested in the U.S.economy only to learn, in many cases years after making investments, that their children will be unable to join them in America.”

An established innovator and industry leader, ALC received a record-breaking nine EB-5 project approvals in nine different cities for 30 newly approved investors in March of 2018 alone. The company is currently the largest non-bank SBA 504 lending institution, having successfully provided over 350 million dollars to American ventures and funded over 60 SBA 504 projects with parent company RCH.

Leaders across the industry are heralding the lawsuit. Joseph McCarthy, President of American Dream Fund, joined by fellow co-founding organizers of the EB-5 Visa Relief Group, Bill Gresser, President of EB-5 New York State, and Carolyn Lee, Partner at Miller Mayer, LLP, support the action. “We support short and long term solutions to return to the original intent of the program of 10,000 investors, which would offer visa relief to families currently mired in the backlog,” McCarthy stated. “These delays needlessly jeopardize the immigration status of dependent children, who would “age out” of green card eligibility because the correct visa numbers are not being applied. Not only would existing applicant families be protected, but EB-5 visa reform would also result in billions of dollars of additional investment into local U.S.economies and tens of thousands of new American jobs. In short, we stand for the full realization of the EB-5 program’s job creation potential.”

About American Lending Center

Sustainable success through integrity, transparency, and accountability.

American Lending Center (ALC) is a U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service designated regional center held by Regional Centers Holding Group. ALC offers investment opportunities to immigrant investors who are interested in obtaining permanent resident status in the United States through the employment-based fifth preference visa (EB-5) program. ALC has completed funding projects in 19 states, and is committed to investment in deserving businesses anywhere, including those in rural and other underserved areas.

华盛顿 - （BUSINESS WIRE） - （美国商业资讯） - 450多名中国EB-5投资者正在起诉美国政府的签证配额政策让投资者来美国的等待时间长达15年。

美国借贷中心（ALC）是美国EB-5区域中心之一，作为第一个也是唯一的机构原告加入了该诉讼，以支持海外投资者。 本次诉讼由Kurzban，Kurzban，Weinger，Tetzeli和Pratt，P.A., 佛罗里达州顶级律师事务所来代理，该律师事务所在民事诉讼和移民法诉讼上有许多成功的记录。

该诉讼旨在大幅减少投资者及其家人面临的EB-5签证排期。在过去几年中，成为美国公民的等待时间大幅度增加，一些EB-5投资者甚至需要等15年。在此期间，许多子女作为父母签证或绿卡申请的“副申请人”都面临着 “超龄”的问题。如果投资者的配偶和子女没有被单独计入国务院的年度签证配额，那么每年可以用的配额会大量增加，排期将大大减少。

诉讼中的首席律师Ira Kurzban辩称“美国政府每年在决定EB-5投资移民签证发放数量时都会将配偶和子女计算在内。但是，我们认为，根据EB-5计划，政府在分配签证时只应计算投资人。将配偶和子女计入1万张签证配额意味着实际只有约3,300张签证发放给了投资人。这对于中国投资人来说是一种损失，使得他们必须等待很多年才能移民美国，而对于美国政府来说也是一种损失，因为投资美国的人越来越少了。”

ALC总裁，前美国小企业管理局西区局长Bruce Thompson同意说道：“EB-5投资可以为美国社区带来巨大的持续的经济利益。不幸的是，由于立法僵局，EB-5改革似乎现在必须通过法院审理来推动前进。 ALC希望与投资人一起来解决排期倒退和年度签证配额限制的问题。对于那些投资美国经济并按照规则来申请绿卡的父母来说，在投资多年后，他们的孩子无法和他们一起来美国，对他们来说是毁灭性的。”

作为一个行业创新者和领导者，ALC在2018年3月创造了新的记录，仅仅一个月就有超过30个投资人收到了批准，投资人分别投资在9个不同城市的项目上。该公司目前是全美最大的非银行SBA 504贷款机构，迄今已成功提供了超过3.5亿美元的EB-5资金，用于超过60个项目。

整个行业的领导者都在报道此次的诉讼。美国梦基金会主席Joseph McCarthy与EB-5签证游说组织的共同创始组织者，纽约EB-5区域中心总裁Bill Gresser和米勒梅尔律师事务所合伙人Carolyn Lee共同支持这次行动。 “我们支持短期和长期解决方案，以恢复最初每年10,000名投资人的签证配额政策，这将帮助到目前面临排期的家庭，” McCarthy说。 “因为没有正确的使用签证配额所造成的排期导致申请人的子女面临“超龄”而拿不到美国绿卡。EB-5签证改革不仅可以保护现有的申请人家庭，而且还将带来数十亿美元的新的投资，促进当地美国经济并创造数万个新的美国就业机会。简而言之，我们主张充分实现EB-5项目创造就业机会的潜力。”

关于美国借贷中心

以诚信，透明和担当铸就可持续成功。

美国借贷中心是区域中心控股集团旗下美国移民局指定的区域中心。ALC通过EB-5项目帮助计划在美国获得永久居民身份的投资人提供投资机会。ALC和区域中心控股集团的投资重点不在主要城市地区，而是将需要的资金投资给真正需要该资金的企业。ALC已经在19个州投资了项目，致力于投资给任何地方真正需要该资金的企业，包括农村和其他不发达地区。更多的信息请访问www.usa-rc.com .