Senator Mike Rounds (R-ND), Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx) introduced a comprehensive EB-5 bill on 11/5/2019 marked S. 2778 and called “Immigrant Investor Program Reform Act.” Many of the elements, for example the bill’s integrity measures, are refined versions from prior legislative efforts. Some are notably new. The bill calls for a 6-year reauthorization of the EB-5 program to September 30, 2025. The text is not yet published.
Top 4 highlights:
- $1 million for Targeted Employment Area (TEA) investment; $1.1 million for non-TEA investment
- 30% visa set aside (approximately 3,000) annually for TEAs, half of which would go to rural TEAs
- Parole relief for visa-backlogged investors
- Extensive oversight authority and integrity reform
Interplay with new EB-5 Modernization Regulations effective 11/21/2019? If enacted, the new law would supersede the regulations.
Big changes are afoot in EB-5.
What could be more on our minds than the EB-5 modernization regulations coming online in 10 days?
Legislation that could trump them.
See my press release with an overview of S.2778, the comprehensive EB-5 reform bill sponsored by Senators Rounds, Graham and Cornyn.
The changes would affect us all — regional centers, visa-backlogged investors, brokers and everyone else in the EB-5 ecosystem.
Dynamic times ahead.
