U.S. Citizenship For Dummies. Jennifer Gagliardi

parole is a way to gain legal entry into the country, although it is not an official admission under one of the visa categories. Parole serves a specific purpose — for example, humanitarian parole or parole for the purpose of proceeding with adjustment.

      Investing in the United States

      You don’t necessarily need talent, family connections, a job, or sympathy to get a green card. Money talks. The Immigration Act of 1990 created the immigrant investor program as the fifth preference within the employment-based category (EB-5). For a minimum investment of $1.8 million — or as little as $900,000 in a targeted area (a rural area or area of high unemployment) — noncitizen entrepreneurs who employ at least ten U.S. workers may be eligible to immigrate based on their investment in the United States.

      USCIS administers the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed a law that re-authorized the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program through Sept. 30, 2027. USCIS is reviewing the new legislation and will provide additional guidance. USCIS will provide additional information on the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 at a later date.

      

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR BIRTHPLACE

      If you’re trying to come to the United States, where you come from may help your chances of obtaining permanent resident status if you qualify under special laws. These cases are often complicated, so seek the advice of a competent immigration attorney if you think you may qualify.

      The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 (CAA) provides for a special procedure under which Cuban citizens and their accompanying spouses and children may obtain a haven in the United States as lawful permanent residents. This act gives the Attorney General discretion to grant permanent residence to Cuban nationals, admissible as immigrants, seeking adjustment of status if they have been present in the United States for at least one year after inspection and admission or parole. Because many of the rules on immigration do not apply to adjustments under the CAA, you don’t have to be the beneficiary of a family-based or employment-based immigrant visa petition. The CAA may also apply to your spouse and children, regardless of their citizenship or place of birth, provided the relationship existed at the time you obtained lawful permanent residence and they are now living with you in the United States.

      In ordinary circumstances, the arrival of a potential immigrant to the U.S. at a place other than an open port of entry is a ground of inadmissibility. However, a Cuban national or citizen who arrives at a place other than an open port of entry may still be eligible for adjustment of status, providing the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has paroled them into the United States.

      The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA) provides various forms of immigration benefits, including relief from deportation to certain Nicaraguans, Cubans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and nationals of former Soviet bloc countries and their dependents.

      The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 (HRIFA) established procedures for certain Haitian nationals, who have been living in the United States, to become lawful permanent residents without having to first apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad. The law also waives many of the usual requirements for immigration. Principal applicants wanting to apply for lawful permanent residence under HRIFA initially had until March 31, 2000, to file for the adjustment of status. After March 31, 2000, in most cases, only dependents of noncitizens who met HRIFA’s requirements are able to apply for lawful permanent residence under HRIFA.

      The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 added two more categories of individuals eligible to apply for relief from removal under NACARA: Victims of Criminal Activities (U visa) and Victims of Human Trafficking (T visa).

      The Central American Minors Refugee and Parole Program 2014 (CAM) allowed lawfully present parents in the United States the opportunity to request a refugee or parole status for their children residing in the Northern Triangle: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This act was suspended in 2017, and On Sept. 13, 2021, the Department of State (DOS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is now accepting new applications as part of Phase Two of reopening the CAM program.

      The Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 established visas for thousands of Afghans who have been admitted to the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program. Congress passed the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, which was extended in 2014. Afghans who had put their lives at risk during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan became eligible for SIVs. This program for Afghans created a legal pathway toward U.S. citizenship for the recipients and their immediate family members.

      Since the fall of Kabul in August 2015, and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, information about visas extended to Afghan nationals has been constantly updated. See the following for more information:

       USCIS Information for Afghans: www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/information-for-afghans

       Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans - Who Were Employed by/on Behalf of the U.S. Government: travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immg-visa-afghans-employed-us-gov.html

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program basic requirement:

       Create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

       Invest the following amount of capital:On or before 11/21/2019:$1,000,000 (Minimum Investment)$500,000 (Targeted Employment Area)$1,000,000 (High-Employment Area)On or after 11/21/2019:$1,800,000 (Minimum Investment)$900,000 (Targeted Employment Area)$1,800,000 (High-Employment Area)

Each year, about 10,000 EB-5 visas are allotted to qualified investors and their spouses and children. At least 3,000 of the visa numbers are reserved for investments in targeted areas.

      Immigrant investors are admitted for two years in conditional permanent resident status. During that time, they must invest the required capital and create the required employment. The condition may be removed if the investment was sustained throughout the period of the investor’s residence in the United States.

      If you’re a prospective immigrant investor, you must petition for yourself on USCIS Form I-526 “Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur,” which you file with the required fee and supporting documentation with the USCIS’s Texas Service Center, depending on which office has jurisdiction over the area where the commercial enterprise will principally be doing business. The required documentation must show that you have invested, or are investing, the required lawfully gained capital in a qualifying commercial enterprise within the United States, and that you will create full-time (at least 35 hours per week) jobs for at least ten U.S. workers (U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, asylees, or refugees). At the end of the two-year period, you must file INS Form I-829 “Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove the Conditions” and demonstrate that the investment has been completed and sustained for the conditions to be removed.

      The investment must be in a for-profit commercial enterprise. The business may be a

       Sole proprietorship

       Limited or general partnership

       Holding company

       Joint venture

       Corporation

       Business trust

       Other public or privately owned entity

      In addition, a new commercial enterprise may be established through