Congress Passes Short Term Funding and New EB-5 Rules Come into Effect Today

On November 18, Congress passed a temporary continuing resolution to fund the government through to December 20. This means that the EB-5 regional center program through to December 20. However, unlike all previous extensions, the new EB-5 rules also come intro effect today.

The new minimum investment amount has increased from $800,000 to $900,000 for Targeted Employment Areas (rural areas or those designated as having an unemployment rate of at least 150 % the national average). Minimum investment amounts for non-TEA investments will increase from $1 million to $1.8 million. In addition, minimum investment amounts will increase automatically every five years.

As of today, DHS will eliminate a state’s ability to designate certain geographic and political subdivisions as high-unemployment areas; instead, DHS would make such designations directly based on revised requirements in the regulation limiting a TEA to the immediate area around an EB-5 project, such as a census tract or contiguous tracts and adjacent areas. USCIS will no longer permit the inclusion of more remote high-unemployment areas from which U.S. workers may commute to TEA jobs. For more information about the changes to the new EB-5 laws, please click here.

The programs included continuing resolution also includes extensions of the E-Verify system, the Conrad 30 waiver program, and the Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker program.