The EB-5 Regional Center Program is set to expire on September 30, 2020, if not reauthorized by Congress. For the last 5 years, Congress has continued to reauthorize the program for one year or less at a time, bundling it within Continuing Resolutions to fund the government.
According to The National Law Review, the White House requested reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program be included in the upcoming Continuing Resolution.
With the short amount of time remaining until its expiration, it’s likely that it will be reauthorized without any material changes to the program.
The EB-5 Program is composed of two pathways, investors can choose the EB-5 Direct Investment Program, a permanent program that allows foreign nationals to invest funds directly into a new commercial enterprise. The EB-5 Regional Center Program, which requires near annual reauthorization, allows foreign nationals to invest in a regional center, entities that sponsor EB-5 projects. The programs have very similar requirements. A foreign national must invest $900,000 or $1,800,000 (depending on the location of the project) into a job-creating (or job-retaining) new commercial enterprise in order to become eligible to obtain U.S. visas.
The EB-5 Program was an effective job creating and job saving tool during the Great Recession and all at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer. As Covid-19 continues to bring economic uncertainty and job losses, the EB-5 Regional Center Program, can again be effective tool for recovery.
Foreign investors only receive U.S. lawful permanent residency through the EB-5 Program if they successfully fulfill the program requirements. The main requirement is to prove that they created or saved 10 jobs for U.S. workers.