The U.S. EB-5 investment immigration reform has failed to pass through Congress over the past two years, resulting in five extensions, with the most recent one extended to April 28 of this year. Although many immigration experts predicted that the current EB-5 act would be extended once again on April 28, the news coming from Congress is shocking!
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee held an EB-5 reform hearing on Wednesday (the 8th), and a majority of bipartisan members of Congress unexpectedly stated in unison that there will be no further extensions this year.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the proposed EB-5 revision draft on January 11 and invited the public to submit comments by April 11. Major changes include the determination of Targeted Employment Areas (TEA), which would shift from current state government designation to Department of Homeland Security designation, as well as an increase in the minimum investment amount, raising the thresholds for TEA and non-TEA areas from $500,000 and $1 million to $1.35 million and $1.8 million, respectively. This represents a price increase of up to 3.6 times!
In addition, California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley introduced a bill in the Senate on January 24, proposing to terminate the EB-5 investment immigration program.
The House Judiciary Committee held an immigration hearing on March 8, primarily to hear opinions from all parties regarding the EB-5 revision draft proposed by the USCIS.
Unexpectedly, during the hearing, members of Congress from both parties almost unanimously agreed that EB-5 reform should be accelerated and can no longer be delayed. Some members of Congress questioned whether the threshold amount was too low, fearing that EB-5 could become a shortcut for terrorists to enter the United States. Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner stated that the threshold amount has not been adjusted since the EB-5 program went into effect 25 years ago, and has therefore "undermined the original intent of EB-5."
Following the statements from members of Congress, the Judiciary Committee heard testimony from interest groups, researchers, and critics. Some interest groups argued that the USCIS draft is unreasonable and that the increase in investment amounts is too large.
Expert opinion from Worldway Immigration: The fate of the EB-5 act will be decided by Congress. The only thing EB-5 investors can decide is to act as quickly as possible, choose an EB-5 project you are satisfied with and a legitimate immigration agency, and successfully file your application before April 28. Especially against the backdrop of renewed concerns over U.S. investment immigration policy changes, price hikes, and potential shutdowns, locking in an EB-5 project that has already received exemplar approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has become a wise choice for investors.
Based on a precise pulse on the trends of U.S. investment immigration policy changes, Worldway has carefully selected three high-quality projects that have already received I-526 exemplar approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, once again helping investors catch the last train before the U.S. immigration price hike. Currently, these three projects have sparked a hot buying frenzy in the market. For scarce quotas, please call the hotline: 400-138-2929
Approved Project 1: An EB-5 project with funding participation from Goldman Sachs' "Urban Investment Group," BFC, as well as New York State and City governments
Approved Project 2: An EB-5 project that has already received I-526 approval and has completed the employment required for I-829 in advance
Approved Project 3: An EB-5 project that has received I-526 exemplar approval and has already had multiple batches of investors successfully approved
