USCIS has finalized and submitted final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Feb 22, 2019 bringing the modernization of EB-5 immigrant investor program to one step closer.
The modernization overhaul of EB-5 set to increase minimum investment amounts and funnel more money into rural areas.
The new changes would increase the minimum
- EB-5 investment to $1.8 million (from $1 million)
- Targeted Employment Area (TEA) investment to $1.35 million (from $500,000)
- Federal authority to designate TEAs.
- Priority date retention for foreign investors.
- Ability of dependents to file Form I-829 separately from the principal investor.
OMB has 90 days to review changes until then the current EB-5 rules apply.
EB-5 Regional center program has been further extended until Sep 30, 2019.
In Spring 2018, DHS considering making regulatory changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program. DHS issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to seek comment from all interested stakeholders on several topics, including:
- The process for initially designating entities as regional centers,
- Potential requirement for regional centers to utilize an exemplar filing process,
- Continued participation requirements for maintaining regional center designation, and
- The process for terminating regional center designation.
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