Ron Klasko, a trusted EB-5 attorney with a wealth of litigation experience, recently achieved a monumental victory in an immigration case, Battineni v. Mayorkas, Civil Action 22-1332 (PLF) (D.D.C. Oct. 2, 2024) with implications for prospective investors in the EB-5 program.
A groundbreaking decision out of Washington, D.C., the outcome represents the first federal court decision rejecting a long-standing interpretation of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) “path of funds” requirement for EB-5 Immigrant-Investors.
The decision effectively rejected the USCIS policy and determined the only relevant issue is the lawfulness of the immediate source of the funds used for the investment, further advising that there is no regulatory requirement to trace the funds “back to persons or entities who provided the funds.” So long as the immediate source of funds is lawful, there is no need to trace it back to the person or entity who provided the funds to the immediate source.
Brandon Meyer, founder and Managing Partner of Meyer Law Group, noted the importance of the decision for EB-5 Investors:
‘This decision, while not binding on USCIS, has already been used by our office to successfully overturn prior I-526 denials.’
We encourage each of our investors to work with well-qualified immigration counsel on source-of-funds documentation, given the unique situations of each individual investors and their investments. That said, the outcome of this case promises to pave the way toward a streamlined, less cumbersome path forward for immigrant investors around the world.
