EB-5 Immigration In 2018, What Does The Future Hold?
What does the future hold for EB-5 immigration in 2018?
In a few days, Congress will decide whether or not to extend the EB-5 Regional Center Program. While the future of EB-5 immigration may be uncertain, there are two scenarios to consider.
What is the EB-5 Program?
The EB-5 Program was created as a way to boost U.S. economic growth through capital investment and job creation by immigrant entrepreneurs who invest in commercial enterprises.
What are the two possible outcomes for EB-5 immigration in 2018?
Congress does not extend the EB-5 Regional Center Program:
Although extremely unlikely, if Congress does not extend the EB-5 Regional Center Program many problems will arise. Congress has not yet addressed the issues that could arise if they do not reauthorize the EB-5 Regional Center Program. What will likely happen is that applicants whose petitions were filed and approved prior to the expiration will be grandfathered in and adjudicated. Any issues with grandfathering in applicants may lead to litigation.
At the moment, the
U.S. Department of State (DOS), has released their January 2018 Visa Bulletin, but EB-5 regional center categories for January are listed as "unavailable." This means that if the program is not extended on December 22, no EB-5 regional center visas would not be issued in January, 2018.
Congress extends the EB-5 Regional Center Program for a short period:
This is the more likely of the two scenarios. While Congress could make the program permanent, they may seek this route after reforms are implemented. In this scenario, Congress could pass a short term continuing resolution that extends the program without change for a few months and gives them time to agree upon reforms. If Congress does not enact reforms by April, 2018, it is expected that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will implement EB-5 regulatory changes.
1. Raising the minimum investment amount
2. Allowing certain EB-5 petitioners to retain their original priority date
3. Changing the designation process for targeted employment areas
4. Miscellaneous changes to filing and interview processes
What do these proposed changes mean for the EB-5 Program and is it good or bad?
These changes do not include an adjustment to the number of visas allotted yearly. The backlog for immigrant investors from Mainland China is still a concern. Congress could address this issue by not including family in the 10,000 visas issued. At the moment, roughly only 3,000 of the 10,000 visas go to investors.
Due to the chaos surrounding the investor backlog for applicants from Mainland China, it's difficult to give applicants a timeline of when they can expect to receive a visa. They will generally receive a visa when one becomes available. Factors that can impact an EB-5 investor's visa timeline include other applicants' visa denials, delays, drop outs, divorces, and even deaths.
One of the biggest changes proposed to the EB-5 Program is raising the minimum investment amount. This is expected to cause a drop in applicants. On the one hand, applicants may turn to other visa categories or even other countries for better immigration options, but, on the other hand, applicants who are determined to immigrate to the U.S. and are not as concerned with an increased minimum investment amount may benefit from less applicants, as their application may be processed faster as a result. This would be particularly beneficial to applicants from Mainland China who suffer from an EB-5 visa backlog.
Mainland Chinese applicants may also benefit from a bill that was introduced earlier this year to the United States House of Representatives. This bill, according to the Wolfsdorf Immigration blog, called the
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017,
would end the per country numerical limitation on EB-5 immigrants and it would modify the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to end a provision that requires a reduction of annual Chinese immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. If passed, Chinese investors would be able to obtain their EB-5 visa faster.
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Click here to learn about the EB-5 Program steps. [formidable id="11" title="1"]