EB-5 Regional Center Program to Receive Reauthorization (Source: CMB Regional Centers)

The EB-5 Regional Center Program (EB-5) will be officially reauthorized 60 days from the passage of the Federal appropriations package for FY 2022. The legislation, named the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022”, is great news not just for new investors interested to immigrate to the United States, but for the thousands of investor families that have been waiting in limbo due to the sunset of the program in June of 2021. 

CMB Regional Centers, a leader in the EB-5 industry, has been working closely with others in the industry and law makers to establish long-term reauthorization and integrity reforms since 2015. Pat Hogan, CMB’s CEO and Founder, is one of the longest serving board members with IIUSA, the largest trade organization involved with the EB-5 regional center program. His work was essential to achieve this result. 

CMB has always lived by this motto: take care of the investor first, and we will both achieve success. The new EB-5 legislation establishes important integrity and transparency measures for the industry, and protects the thousands of immigrant investor families with pending EB-5 petitions, allowing them to continue on their path to permanent residency in the United States. 

This new legislation implements many changes to the program that every current and prospective investor should understand: 

Changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program: 

  • The Regional Center Program will be reauthorized through September 30, 2027 (5.5 years).
  • The legislation includes ‘grandfathering’ for all investors who have an I-526 on file, or who file their I-526 petitions prior to September 30, 2026. Those investors will be able to complete the EB-5 process, even if the regional center program were to lapse again.
  • The new minimum investment level will be $1.05 million, which will be reduced to $800,000 if the project is located in a qualified high-unemployment or rural area, or is an infrastructure project. 
  • The new investment amounts will take effect immediately, but the regional center program will not be officially reauthorized for 60 days. During this time, regional centers and regional center investors will not be able to file new petitions with the USCIS.
  • The minimum investment amount will be autom