As the session of the Congress is winding down, the Congress shall not reauthorize the components of the EB-5 investor visa program permanently.
Under this program, the overseas investors with their families could qualify for the permanent residency immigration if they are going to invest a minimum $5,00,000 in the US and create or preserve the 10 jobs.
Supporters said that the program will generate jobs and will also helps in financing the US businesses that will also have the hard time for attracting the investors. The program is regulated poorly and it is susceptible for frauds and bearing miserable economic benefits.
The US Immigration and Citizenship services estimated that from the 30th of September, 2014, the program had generated at least 73,000 jobs and around $11 billion in the investments since the beginning of EB-5 program which was 25 year ago. And that’s the meager amount that is compared with more than $200 billion of overseas capital the US attracts every year.
In the year 1990, when the program was created, it did not generate much of the interest till the recent recession. The developers in the US saw this program as the path for attracting the inexpensive capital and the increasing number of foreign population, mostly from the Asian countries who seek entry into the US.
The major component of this program is the regional centers, these are the private firms that are approved by the government for connecting the investors with the projects in the US or the businesses who are in need of the capital. Around 95%of the applicants apply through the regional centers.
This EB-5 program needs foreigners to invest $1million but the entry goes down towards $5,00,000 for the investments in the areas that is having 1.5 time the unemployment rate of the nation.
This regional center part of the EB-5 was going to get expired on the 30th September, but an extension was approved by the Congress through the month of December.
Lawmakers had introduced three bills to reauthorize the regional centers with some changes, but the leaders from Congress shall be asking if the EB-5 program is worth hassle of fixing.
