TOP AT TORNEYS IN SPECIALIZED FIELDS
BERNARD WOLFSDORF
ATTORNEYS IN SPECIALIZED
FIELDS
EB5 INVESTORS
MAGAZINE
B
ernard Wolfsdorf is a State Bar
of
California
Certified
Specialist in Immigration Law and
former president of AILA, where he
earned the Service Excellence
award. Wolfsdorf is managing
partner of WR Immigration, a Chambers USA Band 1 (California)
top rated law firm with offices in Boston, Los Angeles, New York,
Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Shanghai. Wolfsdorf
has been selected as Immigration Lawyer of the Year by WWL
and by Best Lawyers U.S. News and World Report. EB5 Investors
Magazine has named him in its ranking for the fifth time.
Chambers USA describes him as “(o)ne of the hardest-working
immigration lawyers around.”
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE
EB-5 INDUSTRY CHANGE FOR A BETTER
FUTURE?
The EB-5 industry has been impacted by the failure of Congress
to do its job. The program is plagued with slow adjudications,
and long waiting lines such that investors are losing hope.
Despite having brought in billions of critical dollars that have
spurred growth and development in so many areas, and created
hundreds of thousands of jobs, Congress will not act to provide
a permanent program with sufficient visa numbers to meet the
urgent need if investors. It makes no sense to require an investor
to commit their capital and then wait years for a green card.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING WHEN
IT COMES TO EB-5 LITIGATION OR
ADVOCACY?
It is sad that investors must resort to litigation to get adjudication
but with the USCIS latest publication of adjudication times,
investors are saying “enough is enough” and the courts are being
sympathetic in large part to the plight of investors. In terms of
advocacy, I am concerned many are throwing their weight behind
Grassley’s bill that does nothing to solve the problem other than
add more bureaucracy to an already poorly-managed program.
We need legislation that is bold and provides relief for those
stuck in long waiting lines and ensures adequate and competent
resources to adjudicate this program.
STEVE YALE-LOEHR
ATTORNEYS IN SPECIALIZED
FIELDS
EB5 INVESTORS
MAGAZINE
S
teve Yale-Loehr is an Attorney
of Counsel in Miller Mayer’s
Immigration practice group. He
brings more than 35 years of
immigration law experience to bear
in advising corporate and individual clients on a broad array of
family- and employment-based immigration matters. He
teaches immigration and asylum law at Cornell Law School as a
Professor of Immigration Practice. He also founded and was the
original executive director of Invest in the USA (IIUSA). He is
listed in Who’s Who in America and is annually listed in Chambers
Global, Chambers USA, and An International Who’s Who of
Corporate Immigration Lawyers as one of the world’s best
immigration lawyers.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE
EB-5 INDUSTRY CHANGE FOR A BETTER
FUTURE?
First, the EB-5 industry must actively lobby the U.S. Congress for
EB-5 reauthorization. Short-term reauthorizations don’t give
potential investors confidence to invest; a long-term
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EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE
reauthorization of several years would. Second, the EB-5 industry
should push USCIS to clarify key issues, such as what constitutes
an acceptable redeployment. Third, the EB-5 industry should
persuade USCIS to hold quarterly stakeholder calls with EB-5
experts so that emerging issues and trends can be discussed
and resolved before they become major problems. Fourth, the
EB-5 industry should work with USCIS to shorten adjudication
times.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING WHEN
IT COMES TO EB-5 LITIGATION OR
ADVOCACY?
Because USCIS adjudication times are so long and because
USCIS requests for additional evidence and denials continue to
increase, EB-5 litigation is becoming more necessary. Finding a
law firm that has EB-5 litigation experience is important.
Advocacy on behalf of your EB-5 clients is also important. State
Department consular offices are slowly opening up, but
attorneys need to be aggressive to make sure their EB-5 clients
are scheduled appropriately. Advocacy at the USCIS level is also
important, as long-pending cases can slip through the cracks. A
good EB-5 lawyer knows all the ways to advocate for clients.