EB-5 Regional Center Program Extended Without Changes Until September 30, 2016
December 18, 2015 -- The U.S. Congress has extended the EB-5 Regional Center program until Sept 30, 2016 with no changes. For now, minimum investment amounts and the definition of a targeted employment area (TEA) will stay the same. I-924, I-526 and I-829 petitions for Regional Centers and their investors will continue to be processed and adjudicated as normal, until either a reform bill is passed or the program sunsets on September 30, 2016.
The program was extended as part of the government funding bill passed on December 18.
A subset of the EB-5 immigration through investment visa category, the EB-5 Regional Center program allows prospective immigrants to apply for permanent resident status after investing $500,000 in a commercial project together with other investors, rather than starting their own business. Regional Center funding is extensively used by real estate developers for a variety of projects across the country, and about 90% of EB-5 investors come through Regional Centers. Due to the rapid growth in popularity of the EB-5 Regional Center program, in 2014 the EB-5 visa cap of 10,000 was reached for the first time. In 2016, some experts believe the cap could be reached as early as May.
Reform of the EB-5 Regional Center program was brought up in Congress several times over the past year, most notably in June by Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. After much discussion in Congress and with stakeholders, legislators were close to passing a reform bill in December that would tighten the definition of a Targeted Employment Area, raise the minimum investment in a TEA to $800,000, and impose a $10,000 filing fee per investor.
A new provision reserving 2,000 visas per year for rural areas, 2,000 per year for impoverished urban areas, and 2,000 per year for investments in non-targeted areas (i.e. at the $1 million level), leaving 4,000 per year for other areas (i.e. Regional Centers), was also added in December.
At the last minute, however, due to concerns from the EB-5 industry about this provision and about how pending petitions would be treated, Congress opted not to pass the reform legislation but rather to temporarily extend the program without changes.
In a statement on the Senate floor on December 17, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) vowed to continue pursuing reform of the program, citing fraud, abuse and national security concerns.
Under the extension, EB-5 applicants can continue investing in Regional Centers and filing petitions under the old rules -- for now. It is unknown when or how the program may change, since reform legislation could be enacted at any time. 2016 is, however, a presidential election year, so comprehensive reform may be unlikely; the program may simply be extended again. As it is, USCIS has a backlog of 17,000 EB-5 petitions to adjudicate, meaning that 2016 will be another year of anxious waiting for many EB-5 applicants.