New EB-5 Rule May Almost Triple Required $500K Investment Amount for U.S. Green Card
April 25, 2019
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New EB-5 Rule May Almost Triple Required $500K Investment Amount for U.S. Green Card
Securing a U.S. green card via the EB-5 program may cost investors nearly three times more than the current $500,000 requirement due to a new regulation circulating in Washington, D.C. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program has a new Modernization Regulation pending that may significantly increase the required investment amount from $500,000 to $1,350,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), and from $1 million to $1.8 million for non-TEAs. Those who apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services program before this regulation is approved are likely to lock in the current required investment amounts and thus would not be affected by the increase.
Unfortunately, the investment amount increases will not end there if the regulation is passed. In addition to the above potential increases, the new regulation also would stipulate an adjustment to the minimum investment amounts every five years to account for inflation. Luckily, investors can apply now to avoid paying the increased amount.
While these investment amount increases are the most significant changes the new Modernization Regulation will impose on investors, there is an additional change that also should be considered.
The regulation will move the responsibility of designating TEAs from individual states to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the definition of a TEA will become much narrower. Currently, each state has the ability to designate a TEA using its internally adopted methodology. If this function is moved to the DHS and the scope of the TEA is more limited, more projects may require an investment at the higher level of $1.8 million.
The timing for these changes depends on when the regulation is reviewed and, if accepted, published in the Federal Register. From that point, it could take 30 days at a minimum, or up to several months, for the new requirements to take effect.
The EB-5 program has not experienced any formal revisions since its inception in the 1990s; thus, these proposed changes are intended to reform parts of the program. It is possible that the regulation is not accepted, or that the regulation is changed significantly prior to being accepted and published, but there is no guarantee that this will happen.
The only sure way to guarantee investing the lower required amounts of $500,000 for TEA or $1 million for non-TEA is to apply now, before the regulation is finalized and published.
And we can help you with that. The LCP Group, L.P. has been investing in major real estate projects since 1974. We also have helped more than 1,000 foreign investors realize their American dream through our investment opportunities in the EB-5 program. Our most recent project in the Florida Space Coast is a TEA high-yield investment opportunity that may return up to two times your $500,000 investment amount. To learn more, please email us now to schedule a call or meeting at info@thelcpgroudev.wpengine.com.
Naturally, interest in obtaining an EB-5 green card has picked up significantly since this regulation was announced in February. But there is still time to complete the application process and secure your EB-5 investment at the current amount of $500,000.
Take advantage of the opportunity to get permanent green cards for you and your family before the required investment amount almost triples!
