The recent announcement of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 EB-5 investors would make the potential EB-5 investors wonder how the legislation could affect them.
Currently, this bill is focused on providing national security reforms to the programs. While there will be new measures and regulations that regional centres will need to conform to, there won’t be any investors’ burdens. The changes that the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 sets its sight on to execute should make investors more confident to trust regional centres to manage their investments properly.
Here’s an overview of a few changes that the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 would implement in case it passed.
Stability and Continuity of EB-5
The EB-5 Reform requires reauthorisation in every few months. The current bill expires on June 30th, 2021. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act is likely to solve this issue immediately by reauthorising the EB-5 program till 2026 and will make the bill more long term in nature and bring permanency.
More accountability to the EB-5 investors
The new EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act would require regional centres to provide annual statements to Department of Homeland Security (DHS)and their investors accounting for investor capital and certifying compliance with program requirements”. Further, regional centres would be required to use a fund administrator or commission an independent annual audit to ensure no misuse of investor funds.
Safety of investors
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, keeping in mind the possibility of fraud, however minor, has provisions to safeguard victims’ immigration benefits. The bill allows investors, who were defrauded, to continue participating in the program if they were not a part of the fraud and meet all other program requirements. Further, the bill would give investors and petitioners the right to request administrative appellate review of certain DHS decisions and adjudications.
Additionally, the bill protects against the age-out of the children of certain EB-5 investors, in case their petitions are terminated or applications denied, by allowing the immigrant investor to petition again for an unmarried son or daughter. A child who has reached the age of 21 may still be considered a child of the EB-5 petitioner.
Process on time
The bill would further address the issue of lengthy wait time faced by US immigration. If the bill is passed, the Director of USCIS would be required to study the fees charged in the administration of the EB-5 program within a year. The results of this study would then need USCIS to set fees at a level to process petitions promptly and efficiently.
Future of EB-5
The passing of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 would be a significant victory for the EB-5 program. It is a fact that the EB-5 program has successfully fuelled the economic development in the US and has brought billions of dollars to the US economy, most of which has gone through regional centres.
Thus the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 ensures that investors can feel confident in the regional centre of their choice and allows the program to continue with its successful track record of growing America’s economy and creating jobs.
Acquest Advisors is an Investment Immigration Advisory specialising in Citizenship and Permanent Residency through Investment Immigration programs run by governments esp. America, Canada & Europe.