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Are we going to have the much-awaited EB-5 Reform bill pass Congress before June 30, 2021? That is the big question!
Invest in the USA (IIUSA), the EB-5 Regional Center Program’s only industry trade association is worried. The Executive Director of the Association, Aaron Grau, has been sending emails to its members and various supporters. He has been warning them that this time the situation is more serious. The EB-5 Regional Center Program (Program) will expire on June 30, 2021. If Congress does not reauthorize it before, it will not benefit from being coupled with the omnibus bill anymore. Last year, Congress extended the omnibus spending bill to September 30, 2021, but they left out the Program. As a result, the EB-5 Program now stands on its own and will need to be reauthorized by June 30, 2021.
In the email, Mr. Grau reported that IIUSA negotiated with Senators Grassley and Leahy to draft and enact the EB-5 Integrity and Reform bill that included long-sought integrity reforms and a five-year reauthorization. They completed successful negotiations, but there wasn’t enough time to incorporate it in the omnibus bill. Instead, they reauthorized the Program to only June 30, 2021. IIUSA is aggressively seeking support from its constituents to help out as they continue to work with Senators Grassley and Leahy to have the Reform bill introduced and passed into law before June 30, 2021, when the Program expires.
The objectives of the Reform bill are simple:
1) Instilling integrity measures and
2) Stabilization of the program with a five-year reauthorization.
EB5 Affiliate Network seems optimistic that Congress did not incorporate the Program in the omnibus spending bill this time around. Here is their take on it, and we quote, “For now, the EB-5 world must continue to wait for these changes, but Congress has offered a hint as to its possible intentions in the future. The reauthorization of the Regional Center Program to June 30, 2021, as opposed to the end of FY2021 on September 30, 2021, clearly distinguishes the EB-5 Regional Center Program from the many other government programs it was bundled together within the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021. This separation could insinuate the government’s intention to concentrate more on the EB-5 program as a single issue, which could mean that the highly anticipated EB-5 reform may truly become a reality.”
We also hope that Congress will reach some resolution before June 30, 2021, and the Program will continue to exist. That said, in our last blog, we reported about a dangerous bill, S.386, if passed by Congress, would hurt most of our existing and potential future clients badly. Most mainland China-born EB-5 applicants with priority days way before than other applicants born in countries processing current who filed after them and India-born applicants with severe backlogs in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories would be winning. However, all others who are processing current now will be losing. Mona Shah, in a recent blog, called, H.R.1044/S.386, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, “anything but fair as it will effectively kill the EB-5 program and all other employment-based categories.” We agree. Even though an EB-5 Regional Center program with S.386 in place is better than no Program at all, we sincerely hope that its reauthorization will not be conditional upon accepting this widely unwelcome piece of legislation.
If you want to find out how you can assist by getting your voice heard so that the EB-5 Regional Center program is reauthorized for another five years, or simply want to obtain general information on EB-5, please do not hesitate to call us at + 1 917 355 9251 or write to us at info@americaeb5visa.com.
Posted by americaeb5visa on January 21, 2021