Press Release

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, which was included in the Omnibus spending bill and passed on March 11, was drafted in an aim to elevate the EB-5 Regional Center programme for the overall benefit of all parties involved. Prior to the drafting of the bill, the EB-5 Regional Center programme had remained the same for almost three decades. While the programme showed great economic contributions to the U.S. economy through its requirement for investor capital injection to a government approved commercial enterprise, there were certain measures that needed to be redressed and amended to ensure that the programme remains beneficial to all stakeholders.

On announcement of the new EB-5 Reform bill, it is evident that the changes to be implemented imply that we are now working with a new programme. The fundamentals of the programme are still the same, where investors must invest $800,000 into an approved commercial enterprise and that investment must generate 10 jobs for U.S. persons. However, elements such as job creation counts, visa allocations, Regional Center designations have been changed. It is therefore important for investors, immigration attorneys and Regional Centers to fully understand the changes and how they would affect all future applications. Shai Zamanian, the Legal Director of the American Legal Center in Dubai explains the new regulations and how it benefits new clients, “We welcome the new programme and sense client’s will appreciate it. There are tons of security measures in place and the U.S, government has shown and interest to be more proactive in monitoring EB-5 immigration investments”

Here are some key points on the substantial changes made to the EB-5 Regional Center programme:

1. Reauthorisation Extension

The new law authorises the programme for the next five years, until September 30, 2027. This is the longest reauthorisation the programme has received since 2015. Investors that submit their applications early will have a full immigration cycle before the programme requires reauthorisation again. This means that they could obtain their I-526 approvals, consular interviews, and conditional green cards all within the 5 year extension period. This is quite helpful for those looking to file their applications soon as it should hopefully protect them through their immigration cycle.

2. Grandfathering

If after the 5 year extension period is over and Congress fails to reauthorise the programme, the new law states that the Department of Homeland Security must continue to process applications filed on or before September 30, 2026. This measure prevents the halt in adjudication of investor petitions that are already in the system due to reauthorisation failures. This is helpful for those that have already filed their applications. It is confirmation that previous contracts and immigrant applications will be honored.

3. Concurrent filing

Investors legally based in the U.S. can concurrently file their I-526 petition and their I-485 petition (adjustment of status application to obtain the conditional green card) prior to the approval of their I-526 petition, provided that there are sufficient permanent resident visas available for the candidate. This is helpful for those that have son’s and daughter’s in the U.S. studying as it can speed up their process. It’s also helpful for those on another non-immigrant visa like an E-2 or H1-B.

4. Regional Centers

a. Regional Centers must file an I-924 exemplars (application for Regional Center designation under the EB-5 Regional Center programme) with each offering.

b. Regional Centers must inform the Security of Homeland Security within 120 days should there be changes in the organisational structure, ownership or administration.

c. The Secretary of Homeland Security will audit each Regional Center once every 5 years, Regional Centers who fail to comply with the new laws and regulations will be terminated.

d. Regional Centers must submit annual statements to Homeland security

e. Limitations to job creation counts have been introduced, such as; one job must be considered a direct job and the other nine can be estimated as indirect jobs.

These new rules placed on the Regional Center and projects are quite helpful to the investor as it expands and mandates additional police powers to protect the investor and bring greater transparency. Prior to this enactment, the policing authority was primarily the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission that provided more of a reactionary approach as the EB-5 watchdog. Whereas now, USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security will be more proactive in addition to the police powers of the SEC.

5. Visa allocation

Under the new law, of the 10,000 EB-5 immigrant visas available every year, 20 per cent have been reserved for investors who invest in rural projects, 10 per cent to high unemployment areas and 2 per cent to infrastructure projects. However, over and above the mentioned allocated visas, visas will also continue to be issued based on nationality. Here, most clients will presumably file under a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or within a rural area to qualify for the lower investment amount of $800,000 as opposed to $1,050,000. This clause ensures enough visas will be available for those to practice the lower priced option.

In the weeks to follow the industry will start seeing the various changes being implemented by the relevant authorities. Regional Centers have started amending their project offerings to align with the new regulations, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is ensuring that their internal measures are on par with the new law. It is a new era for the EB-5 Regional Center programme, the industry is excited about the changes that have been introduced as they are essentially better for the investor.

The American Legal Center is a team of U.S. licensed lawyers that have been working on the EB-5 Regional Center programme, within the Middle East for over 12 years. In the month of June 2022, they successfully filed 6 per cent of all global EB-5 applications. Under the leadership of Shahriar Zamanian, they have in-depth experience on the vast number of changes that the programme has undergone in the past and can best guide prospective investors on how to prepare their file for application and approval.