In our recent article “EB-5 News Is Not All Bad for Chinese Investors,” we informed our readers that some reports of the end of the EB-5 Regional Center program for Immigrant Investors have not always been completely accurate. We strongly recommend that you click on the article link to review it in its entirety.
In that article, we correctly noted that:
If Congress fails to pass impending spending legislation, it will more like pass yet another Continuing Resolution that funds government programs in question just as they are currently funded and have been for the past several years.
That is precisely what Congress has done. We had assumed, however, that the Continuing Resolution would extend through the entire 2018 fiscal year.
The Trump administration is making every effort to get its spending bill for 2018 passed by Congress, so the Continuing Resolution that we had anticipated extends only until December 22, 2017.
What has been resolved is that Congress will continue to appropriate funding to operate the government programs with no changes to those included in the Resolution. That means that the EB-5 Regional Center program for Immigrant Investors will remain with no changes in any of its rules or regulations until at least December 22nd. That, in turn, means that Immigrant Investors may continue to file I-526 applications under that same rules and regulations through that date.
Don’t Be Misled
On or before December 22nd, Congress will either
- Pass a new spending bill that may or may not affect any part of the EB-5 program, or
- Pass another Continuing Resolution that continues to fund the government without any proposed changes
Either way, it does not appear that the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa program – whether by Direct Investment or by the Regional Center program – will undergo any immediate changes. Although bills have been submitted to Congress, no bill is close to being seriously considered, let alone passing. Therefore, it is not likely that the minimum investment will increase or that the Regional Center program will be discontinued.
Be Thoughtful, But Not Anxious
We always encourage our readers to be careful and considerate in their immigration and investment decisions. We do not want them to be anxious. Nor do we want our readers and clients to be misled into making important decisions based on inaccurate information.
Should investors take advantage of the minimum investment opportunity while they can? Of course.
Should they invest in a Regional Center project? That is a decision for each investor to make. Our recommendation – based primarily on shorter processing time and opportunities – is that readers consider using the Direct Investment route, at least until we know what, if anything, Congress will do.
America is a country built on immigration and built by immigrants. The current administration is focusing on growing the U.S. economy. They know that cannot be done by keeping immigrants out, but by attracting the right immigrants so that they, too, can prosper and enjoy the land of the free and the home of the brave.
As always, we welcome your input and discussions about immigration on our LinkedIn group: Business and Immigration News & Views https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8140530
Dr. Gregory Finkelson’s book, Moving Your Family to America – A Simple Guide to Business and Investment Immigration is now available on Amazon. Click on the link to order your copy now: www.Biz-Visa-USA.com. You may contact us directly at www.Business-Visa-USA.com, www.Business-Visa-USA.cn, www.Business-Visa-USA.hk or www.Business-Visa-USA.ru.
