On June 22, 2021, in the case of Behring Regional Center, LLC v. Chad Wolf, the U.S. District Court for California’s Northern District vacated the 2019 EB-5 Modernization Regulations (2019 Regulations). The 2019 Regulations originally increased the EB-5 minimum investment amount from $500,000 to $900,000 for investments in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) and from $1 million to $1.8 million for EB-5 investments in non-TEAs.
As of today, there is a small (about 1 week) window of potential opportunity to invest and file an EB-5 application using the lower investment amounts. This is good news for EB-5 investors who are ready to file now.
The other side of this story though includes 2 major points to consider:
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, is likely to reinstate the increased investment amounts of $900,000/$1,800,000. Congress may also act to keep the higher investment amounts, but will be slower to act.
- The EB-5 Regional Center Program is currently only authorized until June 30, 2021. It needs to be reauthorized by Congress again. There is concern that Congress will not act quickly enough and the program may lapse.
Important Note: The direct investment EB-5 program remains open and ready for investment.
If you or your family are interested in investing and coming to the U.S. using the EB-5 visa program, we encourage you to contact us today to get answers to your immigration questions and plan for your future in the U.S.
Disclaimer: Due to this very small window of opportunity and how quickly things are evolving, even if a new Form I-526 petition is filed in time (which cannot be guaranteed) the potential outcome may not be as anticipated because of the fluidity of the situation being beyond the control of regional centers, projects, investors, and attorneys.