EB-5 Program Changes: Minimum Investment Amounts Increased

On July 24, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish final rules, making significant changes to the EB-5 investment based green card program. These changes will become effective on Nov. 21, 2019. 

“New developments under the final rule include:

• Raising the minimum investment amounts;
• Revising the standards for certain targeted employment area (TEA) designations;
• Giving the agency responsibility for directly managing TEA designations;
• Clarifying USCIS procedures for the removal of conditions on permanent residence; and
• Allowing EB-5 petitioners to retain their priority date under certain circumstances.” USCIS website

Major changes to EB-5 in the final rule include:

• Raising minimum investment amounts: As of November 21, 2019, the minimum investment amount for Direct Investment cases will increase from $1 million to $1.8 million and the minimum investment amount in a TEA Regional Center program will increase from $500,000 to $900,000. The final rule also provides that the minimum investment amounts will automatically adjust for inflation every five years. 

• Allowing EB-5 petitioners to keep their priority date: The final rule also offers greater flexibility to immigrant investors who have a previously approved EB-5 immigrant petition. When they need to file a new EB-5 petition, they generally now will be able to retain the priority date of the previously approved petition, subject to certain exceptions.

 The Law Office of Atoosa Vakili assists investor applicants in their EB-5 case processing from start to finish. Contact us through our webpage to schedule an initial consultation: Contact Us