美国签证管控中心主任预测2015年EB-5签证排期倒退情况（中英文对照）

　　文章来源： ILW.COM EB-5 BLOG

　　作 者： Lauren A. Cohen

　　翻 译： 兆龙移民 (转载请注明出处)

　　引言：在新旧交岁之际，12月30日，ILW.COM发布了由Lauren A.Cohen所作的关于EB-5签证排期倒退预测的新文章。美国签证管控中心主任 Charles Oppenheim根据2014年EB-5签证发放状况和他所预计的情况，预计2015年5月或7月将产生EB-5排期倒退的情况，而排期倒退的截止日期将很可能确定在2013年的7月。也就是说，在2013年7月及之前提交了I-526申请的投资者届时方能有效地拿到签证。同时，2014财年中国首次出现EB-5签证配额用罄的情况，但随着10月1日新财年的开始，中国投资者们又重新获得了新一年的签证配额。面对即将来临的排期倒退和为数不多的新签证配额，作者认为投资者应当尽快进行I-526申请以取得领先位置，更快拿到EB-5签证。

　　以下是中英文对照版：

　　According to recent announcements by Charles Oppenheim, the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State, a retrogression of the EB-5 immigrant visa category will likely take place during the U.S. government’s 2014-2015 fiscal year. The State Departments’ fiscal year just began on October 1st and ends on September 30 th.

　　根据美国国务院签证管控汇报中心主任Charles Oppenheim最近宣布的信息，EB-5投资移民签证排期倒退将很有可能在美国2014-2015财年发生。这一财年从2014年10月1日开始，到 2015年9月30日结束。

　　The precise timing of when this retrogression will take place remains unclear. In his mid-October 2014 update to the AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association), Charles Oppenheim, predicted that the EB-5 immigrant visa category would retrogress in May 2015. Later that same month, at the IIUSA (Association to Invest in the USA) Conference, he reported that the retrogression would probably occur in July 2015[1].

　　关于排期倒退的准确产生时间目前尚无法得知。在Charles Oppenheim 2014年10月中旬向美国移民律师协会(AILA)所作的最新通告中，他预计EB-5排期倒退将有可能发生在2015年5月左右。之后在10月下旬，他又在IIUSA的会议上报告称排期倒退有可能发生在2015年7月[1]。

　　According to Oppenheim, whether it takes place in May or July, the EB-5 Visa regression will likely have a cut-off date of July 2013. Since visas are issued on a “first come, first served” basis, this means that during the month of July 2015 (or whenever the retrogression takes place), only those EB-5 investors and their derivative beneficiaries with a Priority Date in July 2013 or earlier may apply for an EB-5 immigrant visa. The “Priority Date” is defined as the date an I-526 Petition was filed.[2]

　　根据Oppenheim 所提供的这些信息，不论 EB-5排期倒退是发生在2015年 5月还是7月，它都很可能以 2013年7月作为倒退的截止日期。因为签证的发放遵循的是先到先得的原则，所以这也就意味着在2015年7月中(或者排期倒退真正发生的时候)，只有那些优先日不晚于 2013年7月的申请人及其家属才可以进一步申请 EB-5移民签证。这里，“优先日”是指I-526申请所提交的日期[2]。

　　According to the National Law Review, “Oppenheim attributed the establishment of a July 2013 cut-off date to the increasing volume of I-526 Petition approvals by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (the USCIS) and his estimation of approximately three derivatives per I-526 Petition.” Currently, the US government limits the total number EB-5 immigrant visas to 10,000 per fiscal year, which includes both investors and their derivative beneficiaries.[3]

　　根据《美国国家法律评论》的消息，“Oppenheim将2013年7月视作排期倒退的截止日期的结论，是根据美国移民局(USCIS)不断增长的I-526批准数，以及他自己估计每份I-526申请都包含约3名其他受益人(如家属)的情况而作出的。”如今，美国政府已经将EB-5移民签证的批准数量限定在每个财年10000个，且这10000个签证在计算时不仅包括投资者自己，还包括其受益人在内 [3]。

　　Despite this announcement, EB-5 investors should continue to file I-526 Petitions as needed for business purposed. Retrogression will have no effect on the adjudication of I-526 Petitions by the USCIS. It is thus important for an investor to secure their spot in the EB-5 immigrant visa queue by filing their petitions as soon as possible.[4]

　　抛开这些公开宣布的信息，EB-5的投资者仍应当继续根据商业需求提交I-526申请。排期倒退也不会对移民局审核I-526造成任何影响。因此，目前对投资者最重要的事情就是尽快提交I-526申请以尽量在EB-5申请的队伍里排在前面的位置 [4]。

　　As previously reported on our blog, the demand for EB-5 visas for Chinese investor immigrants exceeded the number of visas available to them in the 2013-2014 fiscal year. This resulted in a Chinese EB-5 visa retrogression, which was announced on August 23, 2014 by the U.S. Department of State.[5] Fortunately, since visa quotas are reset at the beginning of each fiscal year, which began on October 1st, Chinese nationals are again eligible to receive visas. Notably, this was the first time in the program's history that a per-country quota had been met.[6]

　　根据我们博客此前发布的文章，在2013-2014财年，中国投资移民者对EB-5签证的需求已经超出了实际可签发的数量。而这也导致了美国国务院在2014年8月23日公布的中国EB-5排期倒退情况[5]。幸运的是，由于在每年的10月1日，也就是新财年开始的那一天，所有的签证配额将会重新开始计算，故中国的投资者还是能拿到EB-5签证。不过需要我们注意的是，这是自EB-5项目1990 年创立以来，首次出现单个国家签证配额用磬的情况。 [6]

　　The impact of an upcoming retrogression on the economy remains to be seen. For investors, retrogression means greater uncertainty and future delays in visa processing. Consequently, retrogression of the EB-5 immigrant visa category may cause a drop in demand for the EB-5 immigrant visa, leading to lower foreign investment in the United States. Comprehensive Immigration Reform, if and when it occurs, may have the advantage of making such retrogressions less likely, since proposed reforms have included an increase in the US government’s visa quotas.

　　关于即将来临的排期倒退对美国经济有何影响，这个还有待观察。对投资者来说，排期倒退意味着更大的不确定性，以及未来在获取签证上更漫长的时间。最终，EB-5的排期倒退会导致对EB-5签证总需求量的下降，致使在美的外国投资减少。如果真正进行对移民制度的全面改革，或许能有效地减少排期倒退的发生几率，因为目前所提出的改革方案中已经包括了增加签证数量的内容。

　　注意：

　　To find out about professional, credible and comprehensive Visa Business Plans, whether for EB-5 or any other business-related Visa, as well as a variety of ancillary services, all of which are designed to specifically address USCIS’s concerns, contact e-Council Inc.com at info@ecouncilinc.com.

　　e-Council Inc.com’s website, newsletter and other forms of communication contain general information about legal matters. The information is not legal advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider.

　　[1] Notably, e-Council Inc.’s Founder and President, Lauren Cohen, recently returned from speaking at the 4th Annual IIUSA EB-5 Market Exchange Conference in San Francisco, CA.

　　[2]An I-526 Immigrant is filed by an EB-5 investor to demonstrate that they are in the process of investing, or have already invested the required amount of capital in a suitable EB-5 project. Source: http://www.eb5investors.com/eb5-forms/i-526-petition

　　[3]http://www.natlawreview.com/article/...-cut-discussed

　　[4]http://www.eb5insights.com/2014/09/0...egory-current/

　　[5]http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/...Preference.pdf

　　[6]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-ja...b_5884602.html

　　来源：

　　http://blogs.ilw.com/entry.php?8412-Head%20of%20Visa%20Control%20Predicts%20EB-5%20Visa%20Retrogression%20in%202015.%20By%20Lauren%20A.%20Cohen