2016 is destined to be an eventful year for U.S. investment immigration. After 26 years, where is the U.S. EB-5 investment immigration program headed? What major events will occur in U.S. investment immigration in 2016? Recently, Dr. Winner Xing, President of WorldWay Group, and Ms. Linda, General Manager of the Shanghai office, joined forces with an authority from the top U.S. law firm GT, Ms. Kate Kalmykov, to appear on "Chu Guo Ce" and analyze the three major trends in U.S. investment immigration for 2016 for investors.
President of WorldWay (2nd from left), GT Law Firm Attorney Kate Kalmykov (2nd from right), and General Manager of WorldWay Shanghai (1st from right)
During the "Chu Guo Ce" interview, the three guests analyzed the current status of U.S. investment immigration and proposed three major trends for 2016:
Trend 1: Visa Retrogression Remains Severe
According to the latest data from the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website: as of the first quarter of the 2016 fiscal year, there were 21,988 pending applications, and 4,256 pending I-829 petitions for removal of conditions; the average processing time for I-526 petitions continued to slow to 16.3 months, and the average processing time for I-829 petitions slowed to 16.9 months. These phenomena fully demonstrate that many investors are rushing to submit applications to avoid the risks of EB-5 policy changes. The alarm for visa retrogression and backlogs has been sounded, and a new peak in submissions is coming soon.
Trend 2: Higher Investment Thresholds
GT Law Firm has learned from the latest information from authoritative U.S. Congressional departments: regarding future EB-5 policy proposals, Congress has basically reached a consensus on increasing the EB-5 investment amount. Among these, the minimum investment amount for TEA areas is expected to increase to $800,000, and for non-TEA areas to $1 million.
Trend 3: Asset Allocation is Urgent
WorldWay Group points out: In the new era of Chinese capital going global, especially against the backdrop of a continuously rising U.S. dollar and the depreciation of the RMB, the demand for investment immigration and overseas investment aimed at asset security, capital preservation and appreciation, and global asset allocation is growing. EB-5 investment, driven by both immigration and asset allocation needs, is an urgent and preferred choice for global asset allocation.
Facing the three major trends of U.S. investment immigration in 2016, how should EB-5 investors respond? The three guests analyzed in the "Chu Guo Ce" interview: on one hand, investors should apply and invest as soon as possible to accelerate their immigration process; on the other hand, they must choose high-quality EB-5 investment immigration projects and professional, authoritative investment immigration agencies and lawyers.
Currently, the three high-quality projects for which WorldWay Group serves as the exclusive chief agent in China—the DLJ Four Seasons Hotel Resort project (a project successfully approved for investment and repayment by the 100-billion-dollar real estate fund DLJ) and the 90 Columbus Apartment project (a rare Manhattan concept apartment project with a full set of I-526 documents already receiving exemplar approval)—are both popular projects in metropolitan areas. They share numerous advantages such as strong developer strength, sufficient job creation, low investment and repayment risks, and sound exit mechanisms, making them the preferred choices for addressing the three major trends of U.S. investment immigration in 2016.
[Special Note] WorldWay's appearance on "Chu Guo Ce" to analyze the three major trends of U.S. investment immigration in 2016 will be broadcast soon. Please stay tuned. At the same time, WorldWay's 10th Anniversary Celebration for U.S. investment immigration is currently underway with major promotional offers. For more information on activities and projects, please inquire at: 400-138-2929.
