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November-18-2022

EB-5 QUESTION OF THE WEEK: MUST EXISTING EB-5 APPLICANTS INVEST MORE UPON AN INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM REQUIRED CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION?

No, pursuant to new legislation, namely the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA), passed in March 2022, existing EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program investors are protected from future legislative changes to the program.

The EB-5 program allows foreign investors to obtain U.S. Green Cards with a minimum investment of $800,000 in a government pre-approved real estate project in the United States. Presently, the minimum required capital contribution in certain areas, such as high unemployment areas, is $800,000 and $1,050,000 in all other areas.

Pursuant to the RIA, the minimum required investment will automatically adjust based on the cumulative annual percentage change in the unadjusted consumer price index for all urban consumers, i.e., inflation. Therefore, it is likely that the $800,000 minimum investment threshold will eventually increase. However, given the newly added grandfathering provision of the RIA, such new changes do not retroactively apply to existing investors. Therefore, if an investor has filed their petition under $800,000 rules and the minimum capital contribution is thereafter increased to $900,000, they will not be liable to invest an additional $100,000 and will be protected under the old rules.

In the past, existing applicants were not protected from legislative changes to the EB-5 program or lapses due to a failure from Congress to timely reauthorize the program. With the new grandfathering provision introduced by the RIA, new and existing EB-5 applicants can rest assured that they will not be negatively impacted by any further changes to the program.

The RIA provides that petitions filed on or before September 30, 2026 will continue to be adjudicated even upon the expiration of the EB-5 program. This reform guarantees that pending EB-5 applications will continue to be processed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and families will still be able to receive their U.S. Green Cards in a timely manner.

With over ten years of experience in the EB-5 industry, we are ready to assist you with your U.S. golden visa application. If you are interested in finding out more about the EB-5 program and its various requirements, contact our team today for a free consultation.