EB-5 Investors Sue USCIS Chief for Failing to Protect their Good Faith Investments as Required by Law

On June 17, 2025, the Galati Law Firm, LLC filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf of seven immigrant investors, alleging that their Form I-526 denials were illegal due to USCIS’ delay to implement and attach EB-5 good faith investor protections. It is believed this is the first such suit of its kind following the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) in 2022.

According to the lawsuit, the noncompliant Texas EB-5 Regional Center should have been terminated no later than July 1, 2023, but USCIS willfully failed to follow Congressionally-imposed deadlines. The Plaintiffs argue that this failure to terminate the Regional Center and issue Notices of Termination in a timely manner are violations of their protections guaranteed under the RIA. Consequently, Plaintiffs are unable to invest in a different business project that would allow them to continue their immigration journey.

Alexandra George Santhanam, Associate Attorney at The Galati Law Firm, LLC and member of Plaintiffs’ legal team, stated, “Plaintiffs each invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the U.S. economy. They did everything in their power to apply for permanent residency in good faith. USCIS ignored the duties imposed upon it by Congress. Because of that, their American Dream is now dead. This is an injustice that the Court has the power to address and order the Defendant to remedy.”

Plaintiffs are asking the Court to declare USCIS’ inaction unlawful, reopen their EB-5 petitions, and provide the written notices necessary to reinvest their capital and continue their immigration processes.

The suit is captioned Ayan Shah et al. v. Alissa Emmel, Chief of the USCIS Immigrant Investor Program Office, 3:25-cv-05123 (N.D. Cal 2025). Local counsel is Curtis Morrison, Esq. of Red Eagle Law L.C.

Shah et al v Emmel Stamped Complaint and Exhibits.pdf

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