The Current State Of The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program has been turbulent the last few years. The first major change requires a look back in November 2019 when USCIS increased the required investment amounts from $500,000 in a TEA (Targeted Employment Area) and $1 million in a non-TEA to $900,000 and $1.8 million, respectively. This increase was almost immediately challenged with litigation in federal court. In June 2021, a federal court found that the increase in investment amounts was invalid, thereby reducing the minimum investment amount for TEA projects back to $500,000. The court also found the change in the definition of a TEA to be invalid. This ruling was made only days prior to the expiration of the EB-5 Regional Center Program on June 30, 2021, when Congress did not timely reauthorize the program, resulting in the current lapse of the EB-5 Regional Center Program.