On July 24, USCIS published a final rule making several major changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program effective November 21, 2019. Those changes include:
- Raising the minimum investments amounts from $500,000 to $900,000 for projects in a targeted employment area (TEA) and from $1 million to $1.8 million for non-TEA projects. This change marks the first increase since the program was created in 1990.
- Transferring TEA designation responsibility from the states to the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to combat perceived gerrymandering of TEAs and incentivize more projects in rural and high unemployment areas. This change will likely result in fewer TEA projects, making it more difficult for investors to qualify for the lower investment amount.
- Allowing EB-5 investors to keep their priority date if they have to file a new petition to change their underlying investment. This change may be of only limited benefit to investors who filed their original petitions prior to the effective date of the rule change, as their new petitions will require the new, higher investment amounts.
- Clarifying removal of conditions procedures by confirming that family members who were not included in a principal investor’s petition to remove the conditions on their permanent residence must file independent petitions of their own.
Prospective investors seeking to take advantage of the EB-5 program as it stands now have less than four months to file petitions. Please contact our office if you have questions or would like to discuss your options.
