According to multiple media sources and independently confirmed, last week U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter seeking co-sponsors to a process called the Congressional Review Act
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EB-5 Job Creation
EB-5 Regulations Summary
As previously blogged (see EB-5 Regulations Published for Public Inspection), the EB-5 regulations have been published as of July 24, 2019, as final, to take effect Nov. 21,…
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New EB-5 Regulations: Winners and Losers
After years of delay the Obama-era EB-5 immigration regulations were published on July 24, 2019. You can find a copy of the regulations at this link. You can also…
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OMB Completes Review of Obama-Era EB-5 Regulations
Today, OMB posted that they have concluded their review of the Obama-era EB-5 regulations. On Jan. 13, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking to…
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New Bill Introduced to Use Economic Abilities of EB-5 to Assist Disaster Recovery in Declared National Disaster Areas
On April 9, 2019, Rep. González-Colón (R-PR-At Large) introduced H.R.2173 – a bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reserve EB-5 visas each fiscal year for investors in…
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H.R. 5992: The American Job Creation and Investment Promotion Reform Act of 2016
As the Sept. 30, 2016, sunset date approaches for the EB-5 Regional Center program, the EB-5 industry has come together with a unified voice calling for the program to be…
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Recap of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Hearing on the EB-5 Program
On Feb. 2, 2016, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its first hearing of the year regarding the EB-5 Program. The Committee took testimony from Chief of the U.S. Citizenship and…
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Representative Zoe Lofgren and Representative Luis Gutiérrez Introduce EB-5 Regional Center Reauthorization Legislation
On July 29, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, and Representative Luis Gutiérrez introduced H.R.3370, the Entrepreneurial Business Creating Jobs Act of 2015 to permanently reauthorize and reform the EB-5 Regional Center Program. Representative Lofgren’s sectional summary can be found here.
The legislation provides visas for foreign entrepreneurs who obtain venture capital or seed financing and wish to start businesses in the United States. And it provides visas for foreign entrepreneurs who are in the United States in non-immigrant status operating an existing business and can show that the business is growing.
The legislation also permanently reauthorizes the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program, and authorizes for five years the E-Verify Program and the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program. Below are the major components of the legislation:
Provisions for “Venture Capital-Backed Start-Up Entrepreneurs”
- Visas are made available to foreign entrepreneurs on a conditional basis who are sponsored by, as defined by the legislation, a “qualified venture capital fund,” one or more “angel investors,” a “qualified business,” or who obtain funding through a “qualified seed accelerator.”
- In order to have conditions removed, the entrepreneur must show that within a two-year period, the business created full-time jobs for five or more U.S. workers; raised an additional $2 million in capital investment; earned $1 million in revenue; or created full-time jobs for three U.S. workers with salaries of $100,000.
New Report Validates the EB-5 Program as a Most Efficient Job Creation Program
A June U.S. Policy Metrics/Hamilton Place Strategies report Harnessing Private Capital For Job Creation: An Analysis Of The EB-5 Visa Program demonstrates the impact of the EB-5 visa program as a net job creator and budget-neutral catalyst for bringing private investment into the U.S. The report was commissioned by the EB-5 Investment Coalition (EB-5IC), a broad-based, bipartisan organization focused on reauthorizing and strengthening the EB-5 Regional Center Program. This report is authored by Steve McMillin, a partner at U.S. Policy Metrics and former deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush; Michael Solon, also a partner at U.S. Policy Metrics and former budget advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); and Matt McDonald, a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies and a former advisor to President George W. Bush.
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Myth vs. Fact: Responses to Arguments Against the EB-5 Pilot Program
Myth 1: Buy a Green Card – The EB-5 program was established to help high-net-worth individuals buy a green card.
Fact: The EB-5 program is a highly regulated employment-based permanent residence application that takes years to complete. The initial application requires detailed proof of investment in a qualified project. It also requires evidence of an investment of either 1 million USD or 500,000 USD and the creation of 10 jobs for U.S. workers. The investor’s application is screened and, if approved, only a “conditional green card” is granted. The same in-depth review of the project and the investor’s background are conducted two years after conditional status is granted to ensure the individual’s continued eligibility for the EB-5 immigrant investor category.
Myth 2: Loophole for Criminals/Terrorists – The EB-5 program provides an easier way for potential immigrants to go through background clearances, providing a loophole for potential criminals and terrorists.
Fact: As described above, the EB-5 program requires an investor’s record to be reviewed two times – once for a conditional green card and then again when obtaining a permanent green card. In addition to the normal screening process for other employment based permanent residence applicants, which is conducted twice for EB-5 applicants, the EB-5 applicant must have the project reviewed for compliance with regulatory requirements, including proving the requisite amount of investment and the requisite number of jobs to be created. Moreover, EB-5 applicants go through a rigorous vetting process to demonstrate that their source(s) of funds is(are) lawful and that those funds can legally be invested into qualified projects.
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