Will the United States raise the investment immigration threshold? This is a question of great concern to many investors. Let's take a look with WorldWay Immigration!
Will the United States potentially raise the investment immigration threshold? Will you choose to immigrate to the United States?
In the context of the Trump administration's strengthened restrictions on foreign immigration, the threshold for the new round of U.S. investment immigration visas (EB-5 program) may be significantly increased, and the previously relatively lenient investment immigration window is now "counting down." Many foreigners hoping to immigrate to the United States have already "initiated a final sprint," leading to a significant increase in applications received by relevant agencies, with the majority coming from Chinese applicants.
According to reports, the current EB-5 program legislation in the United States is set to expire on April 28 of this year. Before the expiration, the U.S. Congress will review this program, and under the calls from conservative lawmakers, it is highly likely that specific terms of the program will be amended to prevent potential abuse. Possible amendments include raising the general investment threshold from $1 million to $1.8 million, and increasing the investment threshold for "Targeted Employment Areas" from $500,000 to $1.35 million. At the same time, the definition of "Targeted Employment Areas" will be determined by the Department of Homeland Security rather than by individual states, and there will be strengthened oversight to prevent abuse of the program.
Reports indicate that the EB-5 program is one of the measures encouraging overseas immigrants to contribute to the U.S. economy, initiated in 1990, providing 10,000 visa slots annually for qualified investment immigrants. Investors and their family members can typically obtain U.S. green cards and permanent resident status within two years. Wealthy individuals from China have increasingly used the EB-5 program as a "main channel" for immigration to the United States. According to data from the U.S. Department of State, in 2015, over 80% of EB-5 visas were granted to Chinese investors.
If the final investment immigration thresholds are raised to $1.35 million and $1.8 million, the number of Chinese individuals capable of investing to immigrate to the United States will significantly decrease. Previously, it was often joked that if you owned a property in downtown Beijing or Shanghai, selling it would make investment immigration to the United States feasible, but it now seems much more challenging.
A certain company informed reporters that due to the lengthy preparation time for materials and the remittance cycle, unless investors currently have sufficient liquid assets overseas, it will be very difficult to catch the "last train" before the policy changes. They stated that traditionally, there are three pathways for immigration: skilled immigration, investment immigration, and family reunification. Currently, with tightening capital policies in China and the implementation of a blacklist system for illegal currency exchange, investment immigration will certainly be affected, and the market may appear relatively subdued in the short term.