How The New EB-5 Law Stimulates Investments In Rural Areas?

Passed by U.S. Congress in 2022, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act—also known as the RIA—provides significant incentives to investors making investments in “rural areas,” which are defined as locations outside of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) having a permanent population of fewer than 20,000 people.

A bipartisan effort led the RIA from two senators hailing from rural U.S. states, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. They determined too much EB-5 capital was being concentrated in major metropolitan areas, with which immigrant investors are more familiar, and not enough benefitted rural areas.

With this substantial change in EB-5 legislation comes opportunities for investors in rural areas. One of the most obvious benefits of investing in a rural area is the minimum investment amount being $800,000 as opposed to the new standard minimum of $1,050,000. However, given that investors’ main goal is often a speedy path to U.S. residency, the most significant unique advantages a rural investment can offer are priority processing and set-aside visas.

Priority Processing
The RIA calls for investors who apply through projects in rural areas to have their application processed as a priority over investors who use through projects located within an MSA. The new law also states that the goal is to get priority qualifying I-526 (conditional green card) petitions adjudicated within 120 days for projects in rural areas and 240 days for nonpriority projects in MSAs.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/02/23/how-the-new-eb-5-law-stimulates-investments-in-rural-areas/?sh=3a9a9b497a03