What Needs to Be Fixed with EB-5
Public Policy & Regulation Partner Ron Klein was quoted in a GlobeSt article discussing the future of the EB-5 Visa Investor Program, which offers a path to U.S. Citizenship to people who lend a minimum of $900,000 to a U.S.-based project that creates or retains at least 10 U.S. jobs. Policymakers and stakeholders have six months to determine what is next for the program. The path forward will likely be challenging because there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the program over the past few years. In September 2019, Senators Chuck Grassley and Patrick Leahy introduced legislation to tackle fraud, abuse and national security threats in the program, but it never became law. Mr. Klein said the industry supports anti-fraud measures. It also doesn’t have a problem with specific fixes that would incentivize EB-5 investment in more rural areas, which senators like Grassley want. However he notes that minimum pricing limits on projects are a problem.
“There’s a differential right now in the rule between the projects within the urban core areas, or the areas that are considered the more desirable ones, and the less desirable ones for doing development or manufacturing,” Mr. Klein said.