USCIS Re-Starts EB-5 Regional Center Program

On March 15, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a law [link] that included provisions that authorize the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program through September 30, 2027. The EB-5 Regional Center Program had expired on June 30, 2021, after Congress did not pass legislation reauthorizing it. Under the reauthorized Regional Center Program, investors will be required to invest $800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project. The new law provides that 20% of the annual allocation of EB-5 visa numbers will go to those seeking to invest in targeted rural areas, 10% for those seeking to invest in targeted high employment areas, and 2% for investors in infrastructure projects. The law provides that EB-5 derivatives can apply for adjustment when the principal investor applies his or her EB-5 petition. It also includes new provisions for USCIS inspections of targeted employment area sites and rules governing what qualifies as investment funds under statute e.g., new rules clarifying how gifts and loans are treated.