EB-5 Regional Center Extension Bill Update

As the December 11^th deadline for the expiration of the current EB-5 Regional Center program approaches, the final provisions of the EB-5 extension bill are still unknown. Congress is working on the bill and many are lobbying for and against various provisions.

Here is what I think is probably agreed upon:

• Investments will go from $900,000 to $800,000 in a TEA and $1.2M in other areas upon enactment.
• TEA rules will change. How much is not yet decided.
• Regional Centers will become more regulated and will be required to provide more information with their annual reports to USCIS.
• Regional Centers will be required to disclose to investors more about their fees and charges, including fees paid to agents overseas.
• Methods for calculating jobs will be altered somewhat. There may be some good provisions that help prove construction jobs. Jobs created by hotels may be sufficient.
• There may be some rules that are more favorable for projects in rural areas, and the definition of a rural area may be expanded.
• There may be some limits on who can gift funds to an investor.

What is still not known:

• The effective date of the bill’s various provisions.
• Whether exemplars will be required before a new project goes to market for investors.
• Whether any “direct” jobs will be needed (projects with no or few direct jobs, e.g., housing may have a problem satisfying the job creation rules).
• The extent of securities rules changes (I am not a securities attorney and will let them comment on these matters).