It was recently announced that the EB-5 visa program will likely be extended by an additional week pending Congresses reform decisions and negotiations. The program was originally set to expire on April 28th, 2017 but Congress opted for an extension after running short on time to come up with a comprehensive reform plan for the program.
The EB-5 visa program offers permanent U.S. residency to foreign nationals who are investing in specific job-creating businesses and projects and has been reauthorized several times since it got its start in 1990. The program was created by Congress in an effort to help stimulate the U.S. economy and to qualify for the program, applicants are required to invest anywhere from $500,000 to more than $1 million.
While the program has been very popular abroad, it has come under a great deal of criticism by Congress in recent years. A majority of EB-5 visas are now held by Chinese investors, causing concerns among GOP immigration opponents and some Democrats. Instances of fraud and abuse in relation to the program have also been increasingly noted and bills to terminate the program all together have been proposed on multiple occasions in the last few months.
The week-long extension to the program was part of the continuing resolution passed by the House and the Senate and after the extension is up, it is reportedly likely that that the program will be reauthorized without any major reforms this time around however a revamped EB-5 bill is expected to pass by the end of September.
