EXEO Attorneys | EB-5 Regional Center Program Returns as the Program Increases to $800K

After months of debate and uncertainty, the U.S. Congress has passed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, thereby reopening the EB-5 Regional Center Program and increasing the program’s minimum investment requirement to $800K, among other important changes.

In addition to bringing relief to the thousands of EB-5 Regional Center applicants whose petitions were at a standstill since the program lapsed last June, the new bill brings important changes to the EB-5 program as a whole. Most notably, the minimum investment requirement is increased from USD $500K to $800K for investments in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) and rural areas – which have also been redefined by the new legislation. This increase also puts an end to an awkward chapter in the EB-5’s history, which started when a previous attempt at an investment increase – from 500K to 900K in November 2019 – was reversed by the Federal Court in June of last year, citing important procedural defaults in the original Final Rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

Investments in Non-Targeted Employment Areas for both regional center and direct EB-5 investments will now be set at a minimum of USD $1.05M from the current $1M.

This reform further brings welcome stability to the program by reauthorizing the EB-5 Regional Center program through September 30, 2027 and by including a mechanism that is set to renew the program in 5-year periods thereafter. New protections are also provided for investors who have a pending file by explicitly allowing USCIS to continue processing previously submitted petitions in the event of a future lapse.

The changes will not affect previous petitions, since the bill also includes protections for investors that have already filed their I-526 petitions (“grandfathering”).

In addition to stricter compliance and disclosure obligations for Regional Centers and developers, new EB-5 investors will also benefit from additional measures, namely the following:

• With I-526 petitions, concurrent adjustment of status filings of I-485 filings will be allowed, meaning that applicants who are currently in the US on an F-1 study permit, OPT, H-1B work permit, L-1A work permit and other non-immigrant statuses will be able to apply for and get a Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a Travel Document (TD) within 90-120 days of applying for EB-5 and become free to work anywhere without employer sponsorship.
• In some instances, additional protection for dependent children who have reached the age of majority.

This anticipated development occurred merely days before a potential government shutdown, as part of the overall U.S. Omnibus Spending Bill which passed the House of Representatives on March 9 and the Senate on March 10. Because the US budget needed to pass before March 11 to prevent a government shutdown, Congress further approved a temporary stopgap bill to maintain funding through to March 15. That said, the bill is currently waiting to be signed into law by President Biden, which is expected to happen as soon as March 11.

Compliments of EXEO Attorneys – a member of the EACCNY.