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Late last night, Congress released the text of the Omnibus spending bill, which includes the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act” at page 2609. With government funding expiring March 11 we anticipate passage of this bill in the next few days.

After nearly 8.5 months of a lapsed EB-5 Regional Center program, Congress has authorized a longer term reform of the EB-5 program and reauthorized the Regional Center program. See previous link to blogs about the lapse.

This reauthorization does the following:

  • EB-5 “Regional Center” Program Re-Authorized
    • Through Sept. 30, 2027
  • Targeted Employment Area (TEA) Designations
    • TEA projects qualify for both the lower investment levels and the visa set-asides (see below)
    • Rural Projects
      • In areas outside a Metropolitan Statistical area, or within the outer boundary of any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more. (No change from prior law)
      • Priority processing for rural projects
    • Distressed Urban Area Projects (“High Unemployment Areas”)
      • Codifies the 2019 USCIS regulation (“donut” approach)
      • Project must be located in a census tract – or any “contiguous” census tracts that “touch” the project’s tract – where average unemployment rate for the tracts is 150% of the national average unemployment rate
      • DHS Secretary has the discretion to include a “directly adjacent” tract (to either the “anchor” tract or a “contiguous” tract) to satisfy the requisite 150% high unemployment criteria
    • Infrastructure Projects
      • A “capital investment project” administered by a “governmental entity” that serves as the “job-creating entity” which receives capital from EB-5 investors, and contracts with a regional center.
  • Investment Amounts
    • $800,000 in TEAs
    • $1,050,000 in non-TEAs
    • On Jan. 1, 2027, and every five years thereafter, investment amounts adjust for inflation.
  • Visa set asides
    • Set-asides are a percentage of the ~10,000 EB-5 visas available every year
    • 20% for rural projects
    • 10% for distressed urban area projects
    • 2% for infrastructure projects
    • Unused visas “carry over” in the same category in the immediately following year
    • Unused visas in any category made generally available for any project, in the year immediately following the “carry-over” year
  • Redeployment of Capital
    • DHS to enact regulations that allow the new commercial enterprise to redeploy capital anywhere in the United States to keep the investment “at risk”
  • Job Creation
    • 10 jobs must be created per investment (same as prior law)
    • One job must be a “direct” job; the other nine can be modeled, estimated “indirect” jobs
    • Construction jobs that last less than two years can satisfy 75% of estimated “indirect” jobs
  • Concurrent Filing of I-526 and I-485
    • Investors can concurrently file their I-526 petitions (showing EB-5 compliance and investment) and their I-485 petitions (application for a “conditional” green card, which adjusts status from a “non-immigrant” to a conditional permanent resident if a visa is available.
  • “Grandfathering” Existing Investors
    • If Congress fails to reauthorize regional centers after the Act’s expiration Sept. 30, 2027, DHS shall continue to process petitions filed on or before Sept. 30, 2026.
  • Integrity Measures
    • New measures to prevent fraud and abuse and to provide tools to DHS to prevent national security breaches.

It is also the first time since 2015 that the EB-5 Regional Center program has been authorized for more than just the current appropriations process. The EB-5 industry came together and pushed for comprehensive reforms. Several of those key reforms did not make it into this legislation including much-needed immigrant visa backlog relief.

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Photo of Laura Foote Reiff ‡ Laura Foote Reiff ‡

Laura Foote Reiff has more than 32 years of experience representing businesses and organizations in the business immigration and compliance field. She is also a business immigration advocate and has long chaired prominent business immigration coalitions. Laura is Co-Founder of GT’s Business and

Laura Foote Reiff has more than 32 years of experience representing businesses and organizations in the business immigration and compliance field. She is also a business immigration advocate and has long chaired prominent business immigration coalitions. Laura is Co-Founder of GT’s Business and Immigration and Compliance Group which she co-led since 1999. She currently chairs the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. Immigration and Compliance Practice. Laura is also Co-Managing Shareholder of the Northern Virginia Office of GT, a position she has held since 2010. As a global leader in the business immigration community, Laura has served on the Boards of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Forum and is currently the Chair of the America is Better Board.

Laura advises corporations on a variety of compliance-related issues, particularly related to Form I-9 eligibility employment verification matters. Laura has been involved in audits and internal investigations and has successfully minimized monetary exposure as well as civil and criminal liabilities on behalf of her clients. She develops immigration compliance strategies and programs for both small and large companies. Laura performs I-9, H-1B and H-2B compliance inspections during routine internal reviews, while performing due diligence (in the context of a merger, acquisition or sale) or while defending a company against a government investigation.

Laura represents many businesses in creating, managing and using “Regional Centers” that can create indirect jobs toward the 10 new U.S. jobs whose creation can give rise to EB-5 permanent residence for investment. She coordinates this work with attorneys practicing in securities law compliance, with economists identifying “targeted employment areas” and projecting indirect job creation, and with licensed securities brokers coordinating offerings. She also represents individual investors in obtaining conditional permanent residence and in removing conditions from permanent residence.

Laura’s practice also consists of managing business immigration matters and providing immigration counsel to address the visa and work authorization needs of U.S. and global personnel including professionals, managers and executives, treaty investors/ traders, essential workers, persons of extraordinary ability, corporate trainees, and students. She is an immigration policy advocacy expert and works on immigration reform policies.

 Admitted in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Not admitted in Virginia. Practice limited to federal immigration practice.