In recent years, those looking to immigrate to the United States through investment have been closely monitoring any changes to the EB-5 policy. The repeated delays by the U.S. Congress regarding the EB-5 Regional Center Program have made the reform process for the EB-5 program quite tumultuous. However, it now appears that the official introduction of the EB-5 program may indeed be on the horizon.
The EB-5 Program Has Been Delayed Again
January 19 may be a critical juncture
We await to see if the EB-5 program reform can finally come to fruition
On December 21, U.S. local time, both the House and Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend the federal government budget until January 19, 2018. This also means that the EB-5 Regional Center Program will once again be extended until January 19, 2018, under the CR. This program will officially take effect after being signed by the President of the United States. The industry generally believes that January 19, 2018, may be an important time point for whether the EB-5 program reform can ultimately be realized. Why is that?
This week, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), under the White House, quietly updated the "final action date" for the immigration agency's administrative reform plan on its website reginfo.gov, moving it up from April 2018 to February 2018.
As we know, the terms of the immigration agency's administrative reform plan are extremely stringent. Among them, the minimum investment amount has increased: for non-TEA areas, from $1 million to $1.8 million; for TEA areas, from $500,000 to $1.35 million. Such a significant increase is enough to intimidate the entire EB-5 community. This is an unwelcome deal for both the urban and rural factions in Congress and the entire EB-5 community, as no one wishes to see the immigration agency's administrative reform plan come to fruition!
It is well known that the current Director of the Immigration Agency, Lee Francis Cissna, was previously a staff member for Senator Chuck Grassley, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has drafted nearly a hundred immigration-related policy documents and letters for Grassley, who has led immigration affairs, and can be said to firmly support Grassley's reform proposals.
Therefore, the industry generally believes that the immigration agency's "administrative reform plan" moving up its "final action date" is essentially a strategy by Grassley, aimed at forcing all parties to reach a consensus to form a new EB-5 reform bill, thereby promoting the early realization of the EB-5 program. It is expected that a new draft of the EB-5 bill will be released after New Year's Day. Of course, this new draft will make further amendments based on the previously agreed consensus between the urban and rural factions in the "2017 U.S. Job Creation and Investment Promotion Reform Act" (draft), which is likely to become the basis for the final reform discussions in Congress. It is anticipated that the definition of "urban priority investment areas" and the provision for 1,500 reserved visa quotas per year from the original draft will continue to be retained in the new EB-5 bill draft.
It is not difficult to see that under the pressure of the immigration agency's significant price increase proposal, Congress may accelerate the reform process of the EB-5 program. So, which will come to fruition first, the Congress or the immigration agency's EB-5 reform? January 19, 2018, has become a key time point for the EB-5 program reform, and whether we will see a resolution then remains to be seen!
WorldWay Immigration Group will continue to monitor the latest developments in the EB-5 policy, bringing you the most authoritative interpretations and first-hand information!
Currently, the Manhattan No. 9 Luxury Boutique Hotel, exclusively represented by WorldWay Immigration Group in the Greater China region, is the first EB-5 project in Manhattan that meets the criteria for "urban priority investment areas," and EB-5 investors are expected to enjoy priority visa quotas.
For investors, it is essential to apply as early as possible to seize the opportunity for low-cost immigration at $500,000, while also choosing EB-5 projects that meet the "reserved visa" conditions, which may shorten the waiting period and allow for a quick green card acquisition, potentially becoming the first beneficiaries after the reform.
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