[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 246 (Friday, December 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78990-78992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27973]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[OMB Control Number 1615-0026]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection: Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor; 
Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an 
additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until January 23, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) 
contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public 
burden and associated response time, must be submitted via the Federal 
eRulemaking

[[Page 78991]]

Portal website at http://www.regulations.gov under e-Docket ID number 
USCIS-2007-0021. All submissions received must include the OMB Control 
Number 1615-0026 in the body of the letter, the agency name and Docket 
ID USCIS-2007-0021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
Regulatory Coordination Division, Samantha Deshommes, Chief, Telephone 
number (240) 721-3000 (This is not a toll-free number; comments are not 
accepted via telephone message.). Please note contact information 
provided here is solely for questions regarding this notice. It is not 
for individual case status inquiries. Applicants seeking information 
about the status of their individual cases can check Case Status 
Online, available at the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov, or call 
the USCIS Contact Center at (800) 375-5283; TTY (800) 767-1833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the EB-5 Reform and 
Integrity Act of 2022, Div. BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2022 (Pub. L. 117-103) into law, which revised INA 203(b)(5). The law 
immediately repealed the former Regional Center (RC) Program statute at 
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act 1993, Public Law 102-395, 106 Stat. 1828, 
Sec.  610(b).
    The law also reauthorized a substantially reformed EB-5 Regional 
Center (RC) Program which became effective on May 14, 2022. Though 
USCIS will continue to provide similar services for the newly reformed 
RC program as it did under the former RC program (such as initial 
designations, petition adjudications, etc.), the newly authorized RC 
program has a different legal framework and requirements from the 
previously authorized program. Consequently, the current form I-526, 
Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, associated with the EB-5 
Program, would not gather sufficient information to adjudicate investor 
petitions under the new program.
    Accordingly, USCIS split the former Form I-526, Immigrant Petition 
by Alien Entrepreneur, into two versions: Form I-526, Immigrant 
Petition by Standalone Investor, and Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by 
Regional Center Investor. The revision of Form I-526 resulted in 
creating two separate forms to better streamline the adjudication 
process for Standalone Investors and Regional Center Investors; 
specifically, Form I-526 will be used by a Standalone Investor and Form 
I-526E will be used by an investor pooling their investment with one or 
more qualified immigrants under the new EB-5 Regional Center Program to 
petition for status as an immigrant to the United States under section 
203(b)(5) of the Immigration Nationality Act (INA), as amended. USCIS 
began accepting the new Form I-526 and Form I-526E starting on July 12, 
2022. USCIS will continue to adjudicate all Forms I-526 filed before 
March 15, 2022 (the date of the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and 
Integrity Act of 2022), according to the applicable eligibility 
requirements at the time the petition was filed.
    On June 24, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District 
of California preliminarily enjoined USCIS from ``treating as 
deauthorized the previously designated regional centers'' including 
``processing new I-526 petitions from immigrants investing through 
previously authorized regional centers . . . just as the agency would 
do for a newly approved regional center.'' Behring v. Mayorkas, Order 
Granting Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, Case No. 22-
cv-02487-VC (N.D. Cal. Jun 24, 2022). On September 1, 2022, the U.S. 
District Court in Behring approved a settlement between the parties. 
Under the terms of the settlement, previously designated regional 
centers did not lose their designation as a result of the EB-5 Reform 
and Integrity Act of 2022. As USCIS is working to implement the 
settlement, if it determines changes to the Forms I-526 and I-526E are 
necessary, it will pursue such changes through either this form 
revision process or other appropriate mechanism.

Comments

    The information collection notice was previously published in the 
Federal Register on August 23, 2022 at 87 FR 51696, allowing for a 60-
day public comment period. USCIS received three comments in connection 
with the 60-day notice.
    You may access the information collection instrument with 
instructions, or additional information by visiting the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal site at: http://www.regulations.gov and enter USCIS-
2007-0021 in the search box. The comments submitted to USCIS via this 
method are visible to the Office of Management and Budget and comply 
with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.12(c). All submissions will be 
posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You 
may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal information that 
you provide in any voluntary submission you make to DHS. DHS may 
withhold information provided in comments from public viewing that it 
determines may impact the privacy of an individual or is offensive. For 
additional information, please read the Privacy Act notice that is 
available via the link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov.
    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies should address one or more of the following four points:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

    (1) Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Immigrant Petition by Standalone 
Investor; Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
DHS sponsoring the collection: I-526; I-526E; USCIS.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or households. The form 
I-526 is used by a standalone investor to petition USCIS for status as 
an immigrant to the United States under section 203(b)(5) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. The form I-526E is 
used by an investor pooling their investment with one or more qualified 
immigrants participating in the Regional Center Program to petition 
USCIS for status as

[[Page 78992]]

an immigrant to the United Stated under section 203(b)(5) of the 
Immigration Nationality Act (INA), as amended. A regional center 
investor may also use Form I-526E to report any amendments necessary to 
establish ongoing eligibility if the regional center, new commercial 
enterprise, or job-creating entity in which the investor has invested 
is terminated or debarred from participation in the Regional Center 
Program.
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: The estimated 
total number of respondents for the information collection I-526 is 504 
and the estimated hour burden per response is 1 hour and 50 minutes; 
the estimated total number of respondents for the information 
collection I-526E is 3,980 and the estimated hour burden per response 
is 1 hour and 50 minutes.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden associated 
with this collection is 8,219 hours.
    (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated 
with the collection: The estimated total annual cost burden associated 
with this collection of information is $4,932,400.

    Dated: December 19, 2022.
Samantha L. Deshommes,
Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland 
Security.
[FR Doc. 2022-27973 Filed 12-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P