Safety or the Highest Standard for Choosing EB-5 Projects

With the recent successful approval of the WorldWay 520 Bridge Project, the safety of the EB-5 program in the United States has once again been brought to attention.
    On July 19, the news of the approval of the 520 Bridge Project spread like wildfire in the immigration community between China and the United States, causing a huge reaction. However, in the past 10 months, WorldWay has had 5 EB-5 projects approved, yet the immigration community paid no attention; instead, the approval of just one 520 project has caused such a significant stir and response in the immigration community between China and the United States?
    Upon investigation, it was found that this phenomenon can be attributed to the extremely high safety of the 520 Bridge Project, which involves entrusting funds to the Washington State government for management, with repayment guaranteed by the state government. Specifically, the 520 Bridge is an EB-5 project financed through the issuance of marketable bonds by the state government, guaranteed by the state legislature, and backed by the state government's tax revenue capacity, making it a general obligation bond funded 100% by the government. It is precisely due to this exceptionally high level of safety that it has raised widespread skepticism in the industry.
    Reports indicate that the Washington Regional Center and attorney Robert Divine prepared 1,000 pages of documentation to prove that the project has "risks." In fact, if a project requires 1,000 pages of documentation to demonstrate that it has "risks," then this "risk" is one that can only be found with a telescope!
    On May 30, the final memorandum on EB-5 approval policy from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated: the law does not specify what level of risk must be reached, as long as all investment funds are at risk. It is against this legal backdrop that the 520 Bridge Project was successfully approved, leading to the conclusion that safety may become the highest standard for choosing EB-5 projects in the United States.
    A safe EB-5 project is low-risk, not risk-free, meaning it can be completed as planned and successfully operated. Only projects that are completed as planned and successfully operated can create the expected number of jobs and ensure timely repayment. Taking the 520 Bridge Project as an example, it is a general obligation bond backed by the state government's tax revenue capacity, with repayment guaranteed by the state government. With the approved project expected to generate 30,233 jobs, this exceeds nearly 30 times the number required by EB-5 investors. The enormous number of jobs created by the 520 Bridge Project is sufficient to ensure the approval of applicants' I-526 and I-829 petitions.