DALLAS, April 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Civitas Capital Group,
a leading regional center operator and investment manager
offering niche U.S. real estate opportunities to EB-5 investors
around the world, today filed a lawsuit against U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services ("USCIS") seeking to invalidate a
January 2024 "final rule" that would,
quoting from the lawsuit, increase filing fees for EB-5 related
petitions "by astounding amounts (in excess of 200%) in clear
violation of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act ("RIA"), the
Regulatory Flexibility Act ("RFA"), the Immigration and Nationality
Act ("INA"), the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") and internal
guidelines established by the Office of Management and Budget
("OMB")."
"We're not going to stand for it. We are
going to fight for our investors."
Dallas-based Civitas filed the
suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Texas – the firm's backyard –
alongside EB-5 trade association Invest in the USA ("IIUSA") and 10 other regional center
plaintiffs. The lawsuit asks the court to set aside the EB-5 fee
increases until USCIS has completed a required fee study and
otherwise complied with applicable law.
The lawsuit further states: "USCIS' EB-5 fees are arbitrary and
capricious and in violation of law in that USCIS did not accurately
determine the cost of [adjudicating EB-5 petitions], did not base
the fees on actual time spent adjudicating cases and did not
credibly estimate the amount of time required to process
EB-5-related petitions."
Daniel J. Healy, CEO of Civitas
and a chief architect of the industry effort to set aside the
increase, says the fees, if left standing, would be an enormous,
unfair increase in cost to both individual EB-5 investors and
regional centers. "USCIS has a job to do and needs funding from
fees to do it. No problem, that's the law. But Congress was quite
clear about how these fees should be calculated. It's obvious that
if and when USCIS conducts the required fee study using accurate
data in place of their wildly erroneous assumptions, the resulting
fees will be far, far lower."
USCIS' rule increased fees for EB-5 filings across the board,
failing to even distinguish between costs for large filings versus
one-page forms.
"USCIS is charging $48,000 to
adjudicate a petition to establish a new regional center. We will
prove this fee is egregious, but at least they're charging it for
reviewing a substantive filing," Healy said. "They are charging the
same $48,000 to review a simple form
noticing them of a regional center name change, where there is
literally nothing to adjudicate. Same fee to be informed of the
departure of a senior employee," Healy says. "What could possibly
justify this?"
Healy continues: "Without conducting a fee study – which they
are required to do by law – and without determining the actual cost
of services related to EB-5 petitions – which they
are also required to do by law, USCIS arbitrarily
announced these fees. It's jaw-dropping."
According to IIUSA, the EB-5 program has generated over
$32 billion in foreign direct
investment since its inception – at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.
Healy, a member of the IIUSA Board of Directors, says this
unheard-of USCIS fee increase is unfair to investors, the backbone
of the job-creating machine that is the EB-5 program. "We're not
going to stand for it," he says. "We are going to fight for our
investors."
In Texas alone, Civitas's EB-5
projects have created more than 18,000 jobs since 2009.
ABOUT CIVITAS CAPITAL GROUP
Civitas Capital Group is a nimble alternative investment manager
offering compelling, niche opportunities in U.S. real estate.
Civitas exists to create opportunities that enrich our communities,
investors, and employees alike. Driven by relentless creativity,
Civitas digs deeper to uncover opportunities that others miss.
Follow Civitas Capital Group on LinkedIn. Learn more at
civitascapital.com.
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SOURCE CIVITAS CAPITAL GROUP