As reported earlier on Path2USA, USCIS had released a new ruling making significant changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program. https://www.path2usa.com/eb-5-immigrant-investor-program These changes are to go into effect today, November 21, 2019. One of the prominent changes is to exponentially increase the minimum standard EB-5 investment to $1.8 million and the minimum Targeted Employment Area (TEA) investment to $900,000. For investors seeking to continue using the older rule and the lesser investment amount had to file petition I-529. This however, stops after today with the new amount going into immediate effect.

What Should EB-5 Investors Expect With the New Ruling?

• Increased Minimum Investments: The most prominent change comes in hiking up the minimum investor threshold to $1.8 million from $1 million in Non-Targeted Employment Areas and to $90000 in Targeted Employment Areas (TEA). Moreover, this is expected to increase every five years owing to expected inflation.
• Priority Date: Investors can retain their priority date if the project they invested in did not take off due to any extraneous circumstances that was beyond their control. The investor must have a priority date set by a previously approved I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur to retain their position in the US green card queue.

• Re-mapping of urban areas: USCIS will now identify and designate TEAs which was an area governed by the State. According to the new ruling, USCIS will not include as many remote high-unemployment areas from which U.S. workers may commute to TEA jobs. This means that investors will have lesser access to urban development projects starting today.
• Approved Regional Centers will expire starting today. This means that any Regional Center that does not meet the new EB-5 eligibility criteria, will not qualify for an investment. Basically, investors need to look at the re-mapping of eligible areas if they are keen on investing. Regional Centers are economic enterprises designated by USCIS for participation in the Immigrant Investor Program.
• Additional Paperwork for Dependents: Starting today, all dependents have to file for their own Form I-829, Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status that is originally granted for two years.

The EB5 Green Card, also known as immigrant investor program, is an employment based green card category that allows foreign investors to obtain permanent residency in the United States by making the necessary investment in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. and create 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.