You can access the comments by BoBi Ahn, Managing Partner, in the above titled article in EB5investors.com by clicking on the link.
Congress Reauthorizes the EB-5 Regional Center Program
On March 10, 2022, as part of the FY 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Bill, the Senate approved a reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program - the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“Integrity Act”). The House passed the same bill the night before. The EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program had lapsed last June 30, 2021. The measure was sent to President Biden, and he is expected to sign it on or before March 15, 2022.
EB-5 Regional Center Program gets Extended (again) without Any Changes
SEC. 204. Section 610(b) of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note) shall be applied by substituting “September 30, 2018” for “September 30, 2015”
This language refers back to Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-395) Section 610 (PDF page 47), which established the regional center program. The 2018 Appropriations Act does not include the EB-5 Reform Act, or other EB-5 changes. It just extends the borrowed time until we get a good piece of EB-5 legislation.
EB-5 Regional Center Program Extension
USCIS administers the EB-5 program, created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Under a program initially enacted as a pilot in 1992, and regularly reauthorized since then, investors may also qualify for EB-5 classification by investing through regional centers designated by USCIS based on proposals for promoting economic growth. On February 9, 2018, the President signed Public Law 115-123; extending the Regional Center Program through March 23, 2018.
Comprehensive Government Funding Bill Includes Language Extending EB-5 Program to September 30, 2017
The final paragraph of the TEXT OF THE HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT NUMBERED 1 TO H.R. 244, THE HONORING INVESTMENTS IN RECRUITING AND EMPLOYING AMERICAN VETERANS ACT OF 2017, Page 734 substitutes "September 30, 2015" with "September 30, 2017". It remains possible that Congress could pass EB-5 legislation before September 30, 2017.
USCIS issues proposed regulation changes: "EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization"
USCIS has issued a proposed rule on "modernization of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program" changing some MAJOR provisions governing EB-5, including: Raising of the minimum capital investment amount to $1.8million (and $1.35 for TEA); Priority Date retention; Elimination of state designation of high unemployment areas. Public comment period ends 4/11/2017.
U.S. SENATE MOVES TO EXTEND EB-5 PROGRAM AS IS
The Senate is moving forward with an extension of the EB-5 immigrant investor program as is and reforms to the program appear unlikely.
The provision to extend the program is included in the continuing resolution, a short-term budget bill that allows the government to keep running until early December.
EB-5 visa program may expire on Sept. 30 if Congress doesn’t take action
The investor visa program, EB-5, is set to expire on September 30, unless Congress can temporarily extend it, or reform it to cut down the loopholes and eliminate the numerous cases of fraud that surface with the program.
Three Immigration Lawyers Sanctioned by SEC for Brokering EB-5 Investment
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has just published three new decisions in connection with administrative proceedings against two well known immigration lawyers, as well as against a third lawyer. One party has allegedly earned $450,000 in commissions from one EB-5 Offeror alone.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2016/34-78658.pdf
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2016/34-78657.pdf
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2016/34-78656.pdf
Price for a Green Card: $500,000 Stadium Stake
For years, sports teams have tried to defray the multimillion-dollar costs of their new stadiums by asking fans to pay thousands for personal seat licenses that entitle them to buy season tickets.
Flávio Augusto da Silva is taking the concept further. In what may be the first deal of its kind, Mr. da Silva, the majority owner of Orlando City of Major League Soccer, is asking investors from Brazil, China and elsewhere to pay $500,000 each for a stake in the stadium he is building near downtown Orlando. In return, the foreign investors receive annual dividends, two season tickets and something even more valuable: a green card that allows them, their spouses and sometimes even their children to live and work in the United States.