EB-5 Recieves 5-Year Reauthorization

EB-5 Regional Center Program to Receive Reauthorization

DALLAS, March 11, 2022 — The  EB-5 Regional Center Program (EB-5) will be officially reauthorized 60 days from the passage of the Federal appropriations package for FY 2022. The legislation, named the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022”, is great news not just for new investors interested to immigrate to the United States, but for the thousands of investor families that have been waiting in limbo due to the sunset of the program in June of 2021.

This new legislation implements many changes to the program that every current and prospective investor should understand:

Changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program:

• The Regional Center Program will be reauthorized through September 30, 2027 (5.5 years).
• The legislation includes ‘grandfathering’ for all investors who have an I-526 on file, or who file their I-526 petitions prior to September 30, 2026. Those investors will be able to complete the EB-5 process, even if the regional center program were to lapse again.
• The new minimum investment level will be $1.05 million, which will be reduced to $800,000 if the project is located in a qualified high-unemployment or rural area, or is an infrastructure project.
• The new investment amounts will take effect immediately, but the regional center program will not be officially reauthorized for 60 days. During this time, regional centers and regional center investors will not be able to file new petitions with the USCIS.
• The minimum investment amount will be automatically adjusted for inflation every fifth year beginning on January 1, 2027 for the higher dollar amount, and the lower amount will be calculated at 75% of the higher amount.
• New visa set-asides have been implemented: 20% of all visas will go to investors who invest in projects that qualify as rural, 10% will be reserved for high unemployment areas investments as defined under the new law, and 2% will be for infrastructure projects.
• Investors that are already in the United States on another visa can now file their I-526 and their adjustment of status petition (I-485) at the same time.
• New integrity measures are established that will protect investors by adding more reporting requirements for regional centers and their operators, and requiring disclosures of all fees paid.

Prospective investors that are interested to move forward with a new regional center investment have 60 days to begin their due diligence on potential investment opportunities. In the next 60 days, you will need to determine what immigration attorney will handle your case, and make the important decision of what regional center you want to invest with and what project you want to select.