News in Brief

Redesignation of Haiti for TPS: DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced a new 18-month designation of Haiti for TPS, enabling Haitian nationals and individuals without nationality who last resided in Haiti currently residing in the U.S. as of 5/21/21 to file initial applications for TPS as long as they meet eligibility requirements.

Land Travel between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico Remains Restricted: CBP has continued the temporary travel restrictions limiting travel of individuals from Canada and from Mexico into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States–Canada border through 7/21/21 due to COVID-19. “Essential” travel is permitted, and travel by air is not limited.

EB-5 Investment Reverts to $1 Million or $500,000: A federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, holding that DHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it promulgated a July 2019 final rule amending its regulations for the EB-5 program, including providing priority date retention to certain EB-5 investors and increasing the required minimum investment amounts. The court concluded that Former Acting DHS Secretary was not lawfully serving as DHS Secretary when he promulgated the final rule, and thus the final rule is void. Further, the court explained that neither the current DHS Secretary’s after-the-fact ratification nor the de facto officer doctrine saved the rule. Pursuant to this decision, the EB-5 program will return to a minimum investment amount of $500,000 for certain pooled investors in regional centers and $1 million for individual investors. Meanwhile, however, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program will sunset at midnight on 6/30/21 unless otherwise extended by Congress.

DOS Updates Position on U.S. Citizenship Transmission and Assisted Reproductive Technology: DOS announced that children born abroad to parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen and who are married to each other at the time of the birth, will be U.S. citizens from birth if they have a genetic or gestational tie to at least one of their parents and meet the INA’s other requirements.