EB5 Program Over The Years

The EB5 Program, also known as the Immigrant Investor Program or the Immigration Act of 1990, was created by the United States Congress to increase foreign investments that would boost the U.S. economy and create jobs.

EB5 changed the structure of the U.S. immigration system.

In return for investing in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. and creating jobs, foreigner entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to gain lawful permanent residence in the United States. And as an added bonus, the EB5 investor's spouse and his or her children were also given the right to live and work in the United States under the EB5 Investor's visa.

In 1993, Congress established the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, which created the EB-5 Regional Centers.

One of the benefits of the EB5 regional centers that were designated from USCIS was that they could pool investments from multiple EB5 investors and create more flexible jobs to fulfill the EB5 Program requirements.

The EB5 Program went through a few reforms in the 1990s.

USCIS found several issues with the EB5 Program in the early 1990s which prompted a few reforms. In 1998, to tackle fraud, the appeals unit of USCIS required that EB5 investor provide sufficient proof that the funds for the EB5 investments come from lawful sources. USCIS required that they show proof of personal involvement in their EB5 project. They prohibited EB5 investors from receiving guaranteed returns on their investments, meaning that if there was no risk involved in their project, their project would not be approved.

Additionally, in the 1990s, the appeals unit of the USCIS established program requirements.

These requirements defined the types of commercial entities that qualify, the rules for providing documentation on the funding, and information on how an investment is to be administered.

The EB5 Program expanded in the 2000's.

After a thorough investigation into the EB5 Program in the early 2000's, it was revealed that of the 10,000 allotted visas, only a small amount were actually being granted each year. This led to the development of the Investor and Regional Center Unit (IRCU), which was given oversight of the EB5 Program and made sure it ran more smoothly and reliably.

The number of applicants for the EB-5 continues to grow each year.