It's here! A sneak peek of the new EB-5 regulations

After more than two and a half years, Obama-era EB-5 immigration regulations are set to be published on July 24, 2019, with an effective date 120 days after publication or Nov. 21, 2019.

‍

What do these new regulations do? Well,

1. Drastically increases investment amounts to $900,000 and $1.8 million from the current amounts of $500,000 and $1 million.
2. The new TEA definitions clarify that any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more outside of a metropolitan statistical area may qualify as a TEA and substituting “contiguous” to “directly adjacent” when describing census tracts that can be added for purposes of defining a TEA (under distress criteria). In addition, DHS will make TEA designations, which eliminates the current practice of a state being able to designate certain areas as high unemployment areas.

How this will impact the future of the EB-5 Visa Program is yet to be seen, but many industry participants vehemently oppose these changes over concerns that the investment amounts are too high.