A bipartisan Bill seeking to extend and reform the EB-5 investor visa programme was introduced in the US Congress on March 18, 2021.
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021, introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican) and Patrick Leahy (Democrat), calls for the reform and reauthorisation of the EB-5 Regional Centres programme for a period of five years.
The current EB-5 program lapses June 30. The bill seeks to extend this to 2026.
Once the bill is signed into law, it will provide a continuous extension until 2026 making this the longest extension since the program began and bringing much needed stability to a program which, in recent years, has been dogged by many short-term reauthorisations. The bill will give comfort and protect the interests of applicants who have already filed an EB-5 petition and await approval, along with those applicants yet to come.
Moreover, the bill seeks to bring measures to improve the integrity, transparency and accountability to a program which brings much needed investment and employment in areas of high unemployment at no cost to the taxpayer.
This bill will, through its provisions for enhanced transparency and integrity, in a program which attracts and collectively invests many billions of foreign applicant’s savings into mostly rural EB-5 approved property development programs, provide a much-needed improvement in financial protection for current and future investors into the EB-5 program.
The Act also establishes new disclosure requirements for EB-5 regional centres for the protection of investors by certifying regional center compliance with program rules. The Department of Homeland Security will be required to provide regular site visits to regional centres and audits of their programs.
Residency Invest, a Residency and Citizenship by Investment provider, is a supporter of this bill.
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