With passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, the Regional Center program has been reauthorized for five years, through September 30, 2027. This is great news for EB-5 issuers and investors who have been eagerly awaiting the program’s renewal.
While the current 60-day freeze on new I-526 applications presents a rare opportunity for Regional Centers to attract investors, it also gives stakeholders a chance to review all the other provisions in the bill and implement the necessary solutions before new projects commence.
Along with renewal of the Regional Center program, the bill contains a wealth of other changes, including increased integrity measures and stiff penalties for Regional Centers who violate regulations. Anyone involved in EB-5 needs to understand these new rules to avoid costly mistakes, and JTC is here to help.
To help you better understand the changes coming to EB-5, JTC hosted a free webinar. Titled, “A New Era for EB-5: Navigating the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022,” it featured a panel of experts breaking down the bill and how to adjust to its new provisions.
Among the topics discussed by the panel will be the many updates to the EB-5 program, which included (but are not limited to):
- Increased Investment Amounts: For all new filings, the minimum investment in a Targeted Employment Area is now $800,000. This applies to rural and high-unemployment areas as well as infrastructure projects, which now qualify at the TEA level. The minimum for other projects will be $1,050,000.
- Reserved Visas: 20% of visas in each fiscal year will be reserved for those investing in rural areas, with 10% for high-unemployment areas and 2% for infrastructure projects.
- Pooled Direct Investments Now Require a Regional Center: All I-526 filings for investments with two or more EB-5 investors must be sponsored by a Regional Center. Pooled direct investments are no longer possible without an RC, and individual direct investors cannot take advantage of indirect job creation even if sponsored by an RC.
- Redeployment: Funds can now be deployed throughout the US instead of being limited to within the RC area. However, redeployment now comes with additional requirements, including a mandate that violating these rules can result in the termination of the Regional Center.
- Fund Administration Requirement: Regional Center projects, if they wish to avoid yearly audits, must retain a third-party fund administrator, with specific guidelines for the functions tasked to the administrator.
At the webinar, our panel of industry experts will discuss these and other changes to EB-5 and how issuers can safely navigate the new requirements in order to ensure compliance. How can you take advantage of the pooled direct investment RC requirement? What are your options when looking for a fund administrator? How can you make sure you stay in line with redeployment regulations? If you have any of these questions, this webinar is for you.
Speakers set to appear include:
- Jill Jones, General Counsel, JTC ICS US
- Robert C. Divine, Shareholder, Baker Donelson
- Ronald R. Fieldstone, Partner, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, LLP
- H. Ronald Klasko, Managing Partner, Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP
