Members of Congress Considering Major Changes to EB-5

It has come to our attention that some members of Congress are currently reviewing a proposal to meaningfully change EB-5, likely cutting down the number of individuals who will be able to use this program.

The new law, which would theoretically be added to the new continuing resolution to fund the government set for a vote on March 23rd; it would have significant impact on EB-5.

Key changes proposed include:

• The imposition of a 120-day moratorium on acceptance of any new EB-5 applications. This would likely mean that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would not accept any new I-526 applications until late in July.
• Required investment amounts will be increased from $900,000 to $925,000 in rural areas or priority urban areas, and to $1,025,000 in non-priority urban areas. Clearly, this is significant increase in investment amounts will leave many potential investors unable to afford the EB-5 program.
• Investor filing fees would be increased by $12,500.
• USCIS will only accept 2,200 to 2,400 new petitions each year. This would cap the expected visas allotted at around 7,000 each year.
• An EB-5 investor would need to create 12 jobs through their investment, up from the current requirement of 10 jobs.

Our view is that this proposal will be very detrimental to the EB-5 program as it will meaningfully limit the number of people who are able to invest through the program and will decrease the number of projects that are eligible for EB-5. With that in mind, we urge interested parties to contact their legislators to voice their opinions about the proposal.

As always, please contact Mark Ivener if you have any questions regarding how your EB-5 plan may be affected.