New US Department of Homeland Security secretary should bring more professionalism, expertise, and efficiency to USCIS adjudications

Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed as the new secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security. He previously worked in the department during the Obama administration, as the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013 and then as deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security itself from 2013 to 2016. In those positions Mayorkas brought expertise, professionalism, and transparency to the department. “This is a profile with a focus on EB-5 and immigration. He is very knowledgeable about the EB-5 program and having him at DHS is an important appointment for our industry,” comments Suresh Rajan, executive chairman at LCR Capital Partners, a company that, among other things, helps international individuals and families apply to the E-2 and EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Programs to gain legal residency in the United States.

As head of USCIS, Mayorkas implemented many changes that significantly improved the EB-5 industry, such as creating the Immigrant Investor Program Office and hiring professionals at a higher grade than previously so they could better analyse petitions for immigrant investor programs, publishing the first major EB-5 Policy Memo in 2013, moving the entire USCIS team from California to Washington and creating the Discretion Review Board.

He was responsible for shifting the focus of the agency from its heritage in enforcement (as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS) to one of service as USCIS. Indicating his commitment to interdepartmental cooperation and service, Mayorkas says that the “USCIS is an agency that adjudicates cases. That’s what it does. When I had authority and responsibility to fix problems, I fixed problems in the cases the agency handled. It is my job to become involved, to learn the problems that an agency confronts, to become involved in those problems, and to fix them, and that’s what I did.”

Now, as the new DHS secretary, Mayorkas brings with him an expectation of increased professionalism and faster processing times. EB-5 expert Suzanne Lazicki says, “Future 18-month processing times are achievable even with no additional resources – depending on how new management chooses to deploy capacity.” Overall, this is a very positive development for the EB-5 program and the immigration industry in the United States.

About LCR Capital Partners

LCR Capital Partners is a global private investment and advisory services firm that is the ideal partner for families interested in U.S. immigration and investment.

Led by classmates who met at Harvard Business School, one-third of the LCR team is first-generation immigrants to the United States. The firm has been active since 2012 and works with over 800 clients from 31 countries. The firm has launched 8 funds and raised over $170m in its last two signature real estate developments from The Four Seasons and Leading Hotels of the World. LCR is headquartered in Westport, CT and has five regional offices in Miami, Sao Paulo, Dubai, Mumbai and Singapore.