A new proposal to reform the controversial EB-5 visa program is causing alarm among real estate developers who’ve used it as a source of cheap capital for years. Some say its conditions would spell doom for the program, which has brought in billions of dollars for New York projects in recent years.
The new bill, sponsored by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), would raise the minimum amount investors would need to pump in to get a green card. That in itself was expected. But what makes it unusual is a provision that would require existing investors to retroactively cough up the additional amounts. It is this provision, real estate insiders say, that could cause investors to pull their money out of U.S. real estate projects, leaving developers in the lurch.