US Immigration: Important Update About EB-5 Investor Green Card Program

15 Jul 2019

Warning bells are playing within the U.S EB-5 Investor Visa community in the US and across the globe. The current US EB-5 investment Green card program began in 1990 ends on 30 Sept 2019 but has been prolonged several times.

In the previous month, the US Office of Budget and Management concluded its review of recommended new laws, and they have now been sent back to the U.S.C.I.S (the US Citizenship and Immigration Service) for implementation. Hence, the proposed laws could probably be announced in the Federal Register as an ultimate rule soon, possibly giving as little as 30-60 days prior to implementation.

New Regulations on EB-5 Investor Visa

The recommended regulations are not assumed to impact on present I-526 petitions filed before the operative date (i.e., the retroactive appeal of the current rules are not expected). However, the laws may well raise the EB-5 the least investment amount, from its present level of $500k, probably to $1.35m (among other modifications) and even more for non-Targeted Areas of Employment.

More importantly, it is broadly believed that the Laws will be announced as early as prior to the close of July 2019 and then 120 days of implementation will happen to coincide with the 30 Sept sunset date of the current program. Both way, the clock is running, and those filings not made prior to the 30 Sept will be subject to the new laws and increase. The only other hope is that US President denies the regulation and sends the resolution to Congress to choose and legislate.

High Rush of Investors Expected

Based on previous experience, when met with a threatened raise in the EB-5 investment, there are high chances that there will be investors rush attempting to make investments and file appeals prior to the effective regulation date.

Also investors from the 3 backlogged nations like Vietnam, China, India may decide to appeal now, as they will not only have a greater investment amount for the same benefit of immigration if they register after the operative date. They may also have a higher wait for their green cards due to the massive influx of new investors anticipated in the next couple of months.

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