We Now Know What’s In The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Regulation

Here’s what potential investors need to know about the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization regulation that’s set to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Effective Date:

This rule will take effect on November 21, 2019. This is 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Usually, a rule goes into effect 30-60 days after it’s published, but DHS wanted to give EB-5 petitioners and the EB-5 market reasonable time to adjust their plans to take into account these future changes.

Minimum Investment Amount Increases & Inflation:

• The minimum investment amount in a TEA will increase from $500,000 to $900,000.
• The minimum investment amount in a non-TEA will increase from $1 million to $1.8 million.
• DHS will account for inflation by creating a mechanism to automatically adjust the minimum investment amount based on the unadjusted CPI-U every 5 years.

Priority Date Retention:

DHS will allow EB-5 investors to keep an approved priority date for a subsequently filed petition, unless the investor’s petition was revoked for fraud, willful misrepresentation, or material error. Basically, if a regional center was terminated, an investor could be eligible to retain their priority date.

Targeted Employment Area (TEA) Designations:

DHS will eliminate state TEA designations and become the sole authority to designate TEA. DHS will also tighten the qualifications for TEA designations.

Miscellaneous: 

• DHS will clarify the filing process for the principal investor’s derivatives who are filing their I-829 petition separately.
• More flexibility for where the EB-5 interview can be located.

No change:

Unfortunately, there’s no changes to the annual visa allocation. Congress, not DHS, must change this if they wish to resolve the issues with the visa backlog.

NOTE: If you still have questions about the new regulation or the EB-5 Program in general, send us a message. If you’re interested in applying for an EB-5 visa now, you can still lock in the lower investment amount ($500,000) before the rule goes into effect in November. Fill out our free evaluation form below.