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Have $1,000,000 for a Green Card?

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I am a wealthy businessman and would like to find some expedited way to get into the U.S. Can you let me know if there are other alternatives to the lengthy several year Labor Certification process?

Answer: The Immigrant Investor Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”) was created on October 6, 1992. This is a variation of a program known as the EB-5 Investor Program. The Pilot Program began in accordance with a Congressional mandate aimed at stimulating economic activity and creating jobs for U.S. workers, while simultaneously affording eligible aliens the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents. Through this innovative program, foreign investors are encouraged to invest funds in an economic unit known as a “Regional Center.” A Regional Center is defined as any economic unit, public or private, engaged in the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation and increased domestic capital investment. Presently up to 3000 immigrant visas are set aside each year for the Pilot Program. As of June 1, 2004, a total of 26 Regional Centers have been designated by the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS).

Question: What must I do to get an approval for a Regional Center?

Answer: The basic requirements for Regional Center designation are 1) Applicants must show how their proposed program will focus on a geographic region; promote economic growth through increased export sales, if applicable; promote improved regional productivity; create a minimum of 10 direct or indirect jobs per investor; increase domestic capital investment; be promoted and publicized to prospective investors; have a positive impact on the regional or national economy through increased household earnings; and generate a greater demand for business services, utilities maintenance and repair, and construction jobs both in and around the center.

Question: How much must I invest?

Answer: The capital investment requirement for any EB-5 investor, inside or outside of a Regional Center is $1 million. The capital investment requirement for an EB-5 investor in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or a Rural Area (RA) is $500,000. A TEA is a geographic area or political subdivision located within a metropolitan statistical area or within a city or town with a population in excess of 20,000 with an unemployment level at least 150% of the national unemployment rate. A RA is a geographical area that is outside a metropolitan statistical area, or part of the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or less as shown by population indicators. In certain areas involving a sparsely populated state, an approved statewide Regional Center likely encompasses both TEAs and RAs.

Thus, if you can establish the business in a TEA or RA, you will be able to save $500,000 of the investment. If approved, you will get a conditional Green Card which will allow you be a Lawful Permanent Resident. Then within two years you must file a petition to remove the conditional residency. The USCIS wants to make certain that you simply did not put down $1,000,000 and then not actually follow through with your business. However, this is certainly a much faster way of obtaining the Green Card if you qualify.

Brian D. Lerner is an Immigration Attorney Specialist. This firm does every aspect of immigration law including family and employment based petitions, deportation defense and criminal related immigration issues, asylum, naturalization, appeals, nonimmigrant visas, immigrant visas, and all other areas of immigration law. An appointment can be made by calling (866) 495-0554 or (562) 495-0554. The Firm website is www.californiaimmigration.us.

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Can I Substitute in another employee?

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: My Company was petitioning in an employee for the Labor Certification. We have waited years for this employee to come and work for us. However, last month he told us that he was no longer interested in the job. We feel somewhat betrayed as we waited all this time for his Labor Certification to go through. It has been certified by the Department of Labor and we do not now have an employee for the position. Must we completely start over?

Answer: Actually, it is not necessary that you start all over with another future employee. As you know, the Labor Certification is a procedure whereby a person can be petitioned by an employer for future employment. For those that cannot be petitioned through a family member, this is often the best way to eventually get a Green Card or Lawful Permanent Residency. However, as I am sure you have discovered, the employer and the employee have to cooperate for several years for the eventual success of the Labor Certification.

Now that you have an approved Labor Certification for your company, normally you would file the Employment Petition and then the Adjustment of Status application or the Consulate Processing application if the person is outside the U.S. However, since your future employee is no longer wanting or willing to go through with the rest of the procedure, you would normally have to start over the entire process from the beginning.

However, there is an exception. If you can find another future employee who has the same basic qualifications and will work in the same position, then you can substitute in this employee.

Question: What exactly do you mean to ‘substitute’ in the new employee?

Answer: This term is exactly what it refers to. Without starting from the beginning, another person can just jump into the shoes of the previous employee (who no longer wants to continue) and start from where he left off. This means, you do not need to do another Labor Certification, nor do you need to wait all those years to continue. You simply continue forward with the new employee.

Question: This sounds too good to be true. Why would the law allow this?

Answer: It is because the Labor Certification itself does not really have anything to specifically do with the employee. The Labor Certification process merely shows that there are no qualified workers to fill the position. Therefore, when the job has been certified by the Department of Labor, it means that there has been successful proof that that particular job cannot be filled. Thus, if you find another person seeking to work for you to fill the position with the same qualifications, he or she can now just continue. This is a very useful, but not very well known provision that permits you to do this. If you do everything correctly, you should have a new employee working for you in a very short time.

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No more Work Permits for H-1B’s this year.

Posted on October 29, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have a college degree in accounting and an employer that wants to sponsor me. I have been told that I qualify for the H-1B, but that there may be a problem with getting the H-1B adjudicated. My application was submitted about one week ago. I better hurry to get the application in to the immigration. How long do I have?

Answer: Unfortunately, you may be too late for this year. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have just announced that the H-1B procedures have reached the cap. In other words, the USCIS announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet this year’s congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 new workers. After today, USCIS will not accept any new H-1B petitions for first-time employment subject to the FY 2004 annual cap.

Question: What does this mean for my application?

Answer: First, the new H-1B’s will start again next October. USCIS has implemented the following procedure for the remainder of FY 2004: 1) USCIS will process all petitions filed for first-time employment received by the end of business on February 17, 2004; 2) USCIS will return all petitions for first-time employment subject to the annual cap received after the end of business today; 3) Returned petitions will be accompanied by the filing fee; 4) Petitioners may re-submit their petitions when H-1B visas become available next October; 4) The earliest date a petitioner may file a petition requesting Fiscal Year 2005 H-1B employment with an employment start date of October 1, 2004, would be April 1, 2004.

Question: What about my friend who has an H-1B that is about to expire and needs to get his H-1B extended? Is he also subject to the H-1B cap.

Answer: Petitions for current H-1B workers do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States, change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers, allow current H-1B workers to change employers, allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Question: Are there any other exceptions?

Answer: USCIS also notes that petitions for new H-1B employment are not subject to the annual cap if the alien will be employed at an institution of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, or at a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization. USCIS will also continue to process H-1B petitions for workers from Singapore and Chile consistent with Public Laws 108-77 and 108-78.

Question: What about persons who do not fall into those categories, but must file for the H-1B?

Answer: They cannot file now for the H-1B. However, there are other types of status they could try to apply for if they qualify. Such examples would be the O (Extraordinary Ability), or F (Student) change of status. They must be careful to maintain their status or they will not be able to change their status once the H-1B’s begin again next October.

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New Affidavit of Support Requirements.

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I heard that there are new requirements for the affidavit of support requirements. Can you let me know what they are?

Answer: A person completing an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) on behalf of an adjustment of status applicant is now only required to file one Federal income tax return, for the tax year that is most recent as of the date the Form I-864 was signed, rather than having to submit a Federal income tax return for each of the three most recent tax years.

Question: Can you clarify exactly what year you must now submit the tax returns?

Answer: For any Form I-485 filed on or after the date of this memorandum, the sponsor shall not be required to file any Federal income tax return for any year other than the tax year immediately preceding the sponsor’s signing of the Form I-864. For example, if the sponsor signed the Form I-864 after April 15, 2005, only the sponsor’s 2004 Federal income tax return would be required. However, the sponsor may file the three most recent returns if the sponsor believes that the additional returns will make it more likely that the Form I-864 will be found to be sufficient. This rule shall apply to petitioning sponsors, as well as substitute or joint sponsors signing a Form I-864 for an adjustment case.

Question: How does the officer determine the sufficiency of the I-864?

Answer: USCIS officers shall, as a general rule, determine the sufficiency of a Form I-864 based upon whether evidence shows that the annual income at the applicable threshold set forth in the Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines, from the calendar year in which the Form I-864 was filed. Accordingly, adjudicators will determine whether the current income listed on Form I-864 is at least 125% (or 100% as applicable) of the governing threshold set forth in the Poverty Guidelines. Adjudicators will also determine whether the sponsor’s total income (line 22 on the 2004 IRS Form 1040, line 15 on the 2004 IRS Form 1040A), or adjusted gross income for those who filed IRS Form I040EZ (line 4 of the 2004IRS Form I040EZ), meets the Poverty Guidelines threshold. The adjudicator should request additional evidence (i.e., employment letter(s), pay stub(s), or other financial data) only if the tax return reflects income below the Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines and the record does not already contain additional evidence that would establish the sponsor meets the current income requirements. The adjudicator should also request additional evidence (i.e., employment letter(s), pay stub(s), or other financial data) if there is a specific reason (other than the passage of time) to question the veracity of the income stated on Form I-864 or the accompanying document(s).

If the officer determines that the tax return and/or the evidence in the file do not establish that the sponsor meets the government Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines threshold, the adjudicator shall request current year income information, not additional information from the year the sponsor signed Form I-864. In this situation, the sufficiency of the Form I-864 is determined based upon the additional evidence as it relates to the applicable threshold set forth in the Form I-864P from current year rather than the Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines from the calendar year in which the Form I-864 was signed.

Question: Can each immigration office have a different policy than stated above?

Answer: Previously USCIS has permitted each local office to establish its own policy on whether to require submission of Form I-864 at the time of filing for adjustment or at the time of the adjustment interview. Effective as of now, all applicants are required to submit Form I-864 with their adjustment application.

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PERM: The Online Perm System

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I understand that the new PERM applications can be submitted online. However, where the employer has established a sub-account for an attorney or agent is the attorney or agent permitted to submit applications on-line?

Answer: Yes, attorney or agent may submit applications under the following circumstances. An employer must complete the registration process as explained at http://www.plc.doleta.gov, including the initial log-in. During the initial log-in, the employer will change the employer’s temporary password (as assigned by the system during registration) and once logged-in, the employer can establish a sub-account for an attorney or agent. The employer will select a username for the attorney or agent, and the system will assign a temporary password. The attorney or agent will receive an e-mail with the username, temporary password, and the employer’s PIN. When the attorney or agent logs in and changes the attorney’s or agent’s password, the attorney or agent is then permitted to complete and submit applications on-line on behalf of the employer using the PIN of the employer in whose name the application is being filed.

Question: Are there any circumstances under which mailing in a labor certification application would prove more successful than electronically submitting an application on-line?

Answer: No, mailing-in an application will not prove more successful, as the mailed-in application, upon receipt at the National Processing Center, is date stamped. Until the application is data entered into the system by a data entry person (using the exact information shown on the form 9089), processing will not begin on the application. Once entered in the system, the mailed-in application receives the exact same automated analysis and manual scrutiny as an application submitted electronically. If there are two identical applications, one submitted electronically and one mailed-in, there will be no difference in how they are processed. The only difference will be in processing time; a mailed-in application will take longer, as not only mailing but also the data entry time will be involved. Remember: the on-line system will identify mistakes (e.g. entering four digits for a zip code instead of five digits) before allowing the application to be submitted, but the data entry person must enter the information exactly as shown on the application; a mistake on the form may trigger an audit or denial.

Question: Are there some tips you might have to get the process done quicker?

Answer: DOL verifies the existence of each employer that attempts to register. At first, this process went very quickly and employers received their PIN numbers and passwords sometimes within hours. Now that more employers are registering, it is taking an average of two weeks to get feedback on a registration. Because of the length of time it’s taking to register an employer, some are attempting to register multiple times, thus exacerbating the problem.

In many cases, DOL is sending back emails indicating that it cannot verify the employer’s existence and/or asking for documentation to verify that existence. DOL provided some pointers to avoid these requests or, if received, to respond to them:

• On the form, please make sure that the company’s Headquarters address is included as the company address. You can put the address of the office where the beneficiary will work in the appropriate box, but it’s the overall corporate address that is pivotal on the “existence check”.

• Avoid “doing business as (dba)” names wherever possible, and instead use the company’s legal name. The dba may complicate an existence check.

• For companies that have several EINs, please use the EIN that the company had when it filed its articles of incorporation. If a separately incorporated subsidiary is registering, do use that subsidiary’s EIN, but don’t use a different EIN if the employer is just a division, or otherwise is not a legally separate entity.

• The DOL recognizes that the Form SS-4 may not be readily available to some employers. If you’ve received a request for documentation to verify the employer’s existence that requests a Form SS-4, the DOL indicates that it will accept the employer’s most recent quarterly tax return instead. It has recently changed its requests to include that option, but if you received one of the old requests that give no alternative to the Form SS-4, please be advised that the quarterly tax return is nonetheless an option.

• To create a sub-account for an attorney, the employer must log on using the designated PIN and password and create the account.

• The employer can view all filings prepared by attorneys for which it has set up sub-accounts, but an attorney can view only the applications he or she has done, and cannot view any filings done by the employer or its other attorneys.

• Because DOL wants the employer to be answerable for the process, an attorney will need to have a separate user account and password for each of its client companies. DOL realizes the difficulties this presents in managing multiple passwords, but is insistent on this system.

• When an employer registers, it gets two emails, one providing the PIN and one providing a password. The employer is then supposed to log on and change the password to one of its own choosing. DOL notes that some employers have been simply forwarding the PIN and password to the attorney, and then the attorney logs in and changes the password. The employer then loses control of the account, as it no longer has control of the password. DOL asks that employers make the password change themselves, as DOL want the employer to maintain control of the master account.

• Some employers have been having trouble receiving the emails with the PINs and passwords because of their spam filters. Because they come in two consecutive emails from the same sender—Dept. of Labor—some spam filters clear the emails out into the spam box. This, apparently, is a particular problem with those who use AOL as their ISP. One solution DOL suggests (apart from checking your spam box) is to create a free email account on Yahoo or hotmail for this purpose and thereby bypass the AOL filters. You might also be able to turn off some of AOL’s spam blocking.

Therefore, it seems as though it might take some time to get used to, but once familiar, it should go faster.

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PERM: Backlog Reduction: What does it mean?

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have had a Labor Certification pending for several years. I understand the new PERM process is the new way of doing a Labor Certification. However, I am thinking that I would like to keep my current Labor Certification without converting it to PERM. How can I do this?

Answer: All of the current Labor Certifications have been or will be sent to the Backlog Reduction Centers. The names of these centers mean exactly what is indicated. They are opened for the sole purpose of reducing the entire backlog of old Labor Certifications. Once every old Labor Certification has been processed, the Backlog Reduction Centers will close.

Question: How many Applications have been shipped from the local processing centers prior to the newly created Backlog Reduction Centers?

Answer: Slightly over 180,000.

Question: How many applications have had data input into the new database systems?

Answer: Approximately 86,000.

Question: How many 45 day letters have gone out to indicate that the Petitioner and Beneficiary still want to continue with the Labor Certification at the Backlog Reduction Center?

Answer: Over 40,000.

Question: What is the number of hired/trained contractor personnel at each Backlog Reduction Center site?

Answer: Approximately 100 at each site (Atlanta and Chicago.)

Question: Will Atlanta/Chicago continue to process traditional cases after March 28, 2005?

Answer: They will keep some temporary work only. They are in the process of shipping all other cases to Backlog Reduction Centers. There are approximately 10,000 in total.

Question: Have contractors begun to review cases for substantive compliance with the necessary guidelines? If not, when is this expected to happen?

Answer: Yes and the Department of Labor are in training now.

Question: Is it actually possible that the backlog reduction process can be complete in two years? If not, what is the current projection?

Answer: It seems that as of now, the current projection is 24 to 30 months. Of course, this could markedly change.

Question: When do they expect to complete initial data entry on all cases?

Answer: The goal at this time is to finish data entry on all cases by the end of summer 2005. It seems that no actual process will be performed on the case until initial entry log in is complete.

Question: Will there be an on-line system available to check the status of cases?

Answer: The Department of Labor is working on getting information on their website about which cases have shipped. They are also working on an e-mail capability to enable a party to find out whether a case is located at the Backlog Reduction Center. The contractor staff would answer the e-mails.

Question: In what order will they process the cases?

Answer: They expect to process them based upon when they were originally filed. In other words, the older it was filed, the sooner it should get processed.

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PERM: Backlog Reduction: What does it mean?

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney