EB5 Investors Magazine "Top 25 Awards Edition" Volume 8 Issue 1 | Page 83

B. IDENTIFY UNDERLYING ELIGIBILITY ISSUES I-526 RFEs may request business plan evidence that is not available. The RFE response can still succeed, if it looks beyond the specific evidence requests to identify the concerns behind the requests. With eligibility issues in focus, the RFE response can then present the best available evidence that addresses USCIS concerns. For example, the RFE may request a copy of the building permit for a construction project. The eligibility issue behind this request is timely job creation. When the RFE asks for a building permit, it is asking for assurance that the project really will move forward and create jobs within the required timeline. If a building permit does not exist yet, then the RFE response should highlight the best available evidence that the business plan can and will be implemented shortly and meet job creation deadlines. The conclusion to every RFE clarifies the RFE purpose and standard for success: “Petitioner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence – in other words, that it is more likely than not – that Petitioner is fully qualified for the benefit sought.” A good RFE business plan response marshals a critical mass of evidence to address USCIS concerns about petitioner eligibility with respect to job creation. This evidence may go beyond the specific documents suggested in the RFE. C. UNDERSTAND THE “MATTER OF HO COMPLIANT” STANDARD The term “Matter of Ho compliant” is shor thand for everything USCIS would like to see in an EB-5 business plan. The term specifically references the EB-5 business p lan g oal and s tandards d ef in e d in th e p re c e d e n t decision Matter of Ho. Standards Defined by Matter of Ho for a Compliant EB-5 Business Plan • EB-5 BUSINESS PLAN GOAL: • “to meet the petitioner’s burden of showing that he will create 10 permanent, full-time positions within the next two years” • “to enable the Service to determine whether the job creation projections are any more reliable than hopeful speculation” • “ to p e r m i t t h e S e r v i c e to d r a w r e a s o n a b l e inferences about the job creation potential” • EB-5 business plan characteristics to achieve the goal: • The plan is “sufficiently detailed” to suppor t reasonable inferences about job creation EB5INVESTORS.COM 83