EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
September 15, 2023
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), there are five categories of employment-based
(EB) visas in the permanent immigration system. Congress created the fifth category (EB-5), the
Holly Straut-Eppsteiner
immigrant investor visa, in 1990 (Immigration Act of 1990 [P.L. 101-649]) to benefit the U.S.
Analyst in Immigration
economy through job creation and foreign capital investment. It provides lawful permanent
Policy
resident (LPR) status to foreign nationals who invest capital in a new commercial enterprise

(NCE) that creates jobs. Approximately 10,000 visas annually, 7.1% of all employment-based
visas, are allotted to immigrant investors and their family members.

The minimum investment amount for the EB-5 category is $1,050,000, or $800,000 if the investment is in a targeted
employment area (TEA)—a rural or high-unemployment area—or in an infrastructure project. The investment must create or
preserve full-time employment for at least 10 U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, LPRs, or other foreign nationals lawfully
authorized to be employed in the United States.
The EB-5 visa grants investors, their spouses, and children (known as derivatives) conditional LPR status. After
approximately two years, they must apply to remove the conditions on their LPR status. If the investor has met the program
requirements (i.e., invested the required money and created the required jobs), they will receive full LPR status. If the
investor has not met the requirements or does not apply to have the conditional LPR status removed, the investor’s and their
derivatives’ conditional status is terminated, and, generally, they are required to leave the United States or will be placed in
removal proceedings.
The EB-5 visa has two pathways, the standalone program and the Regional Center Program. Both may make use of TEAs for
a reduced investment amount. In the standalone program, established under the 1990 legislation, foreign nationals invest in
an enterprise that uses the capital for direct job creation (jobs held inside the NCE). The standalone program is permanently
authorized. In 1992, Congress established the Regional Center Program as a pilot program. Regional centers are “any
economic unit, public or private, which [are] involved with the promotion of economic growth, including increased export
sales, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment.” The program allows investors
to pool their investments in a regional center to fund a project in a specific geographic area and to count a certain proportion
of indirect jobs (held outside the NCE) toward the job creation requirement. The Regional Center Program now accounts for
most EB-5 investors’ participation (94% of individuals admitted to the United States under the EB-5 category from FY2018
through FY2022 invested in regional centers). However, unlike the standalone program, the Regional Center Program is not
permanent and it requires regular reauthorization. In 2021, authorization for the program lapsed for nearly nine months.
Lawmakers had long called for various reforms to address concerns about EB-5, including the instability of the Regional
Center Program, minimum investment amounts that had been unchanged since 1990, TEA gerrymandering, instances of
fraud, and investor protections, among others. In 2019, DHS implemented a federal regulation that made some changes to the
program; however, the rule was challenged in court and subsequently vacated by a federal district judge.
In March 2022, Congress passed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) within an omnibus funding package,
enacting several program changes. The legislation codified the Regional Center Program in the INA and reauthorized it
through FY2027. It set new investment thresholds; codified processes for TEA designations; established set-asides for visas
for investments in rural areas, high-unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects; and implemented new fees and
oversight measures.
After low levels of admissions under the EB-5 category during the COVID-19 pandemic in FY2020 (3,966) and FY2021
(2,635), admissions increased to 10,885 in FY2022. Nationals from a relatively small set of countries dominate participation
in the EB-5 program. In FY2022, nationals from China, India, and Vietnam comprised more than three-quarters of EB-5
admissions, with China alone representing 56.3% of all admissions.
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Contents
Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 1
EB-5 Investor Program Requirements ............................................................................................. 2
Investment of Capital ................................................................................................................ 2
A New Commercial Enterprise (NCE) ...................................................................................... 4
Job Creation .............................................................................................................................. 5
Regional Center Program ................................................................................................................ 5
What is a Regional Center? ....................................................................................................... 6
Regional Center Designation .................................................................................................... 7
The EB-5 Petition Process ............................................................................................................... 8
I-526 Petition Trends ................................................................................................................. 9
EB-5 Admissions ........................................................................................................................... 12
Economic Impact ........................................................................................................................... 14
Fraud and National Security Oversight within EB-5 ..................................................................... 15
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Regulation ..................................................... 16
EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA).............................................................................. 17
Regional Center Oversight Provisions .................................................................................... 18

Figures
Figure 1. Forms I-526 and I-526E Received and Pending with USCIS, FY2013-FY2022 .......... 10
Figure 2. Form I-526 Filings by Country, FY2013-FY2022 ......................................................... 12
Figure 3. Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Admissions by Pathway, FY2003-FY2022 ........................ 13

Tables
Table 1. FY2022 Admissions by Country ..................................................................................... 14
Table 2. Selected EB-5 Provisions Before and After the Reform and Integrity Act ...................... 17

Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 19

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Overview
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was established in the Immigration Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-
649) to attract new foreign capital investment to the United States and generate employment.1
EB-5 is the fifth of five permanent, employment-based (EB) visa preference categories that
provide lawful permanent resident (LPR) status under the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA).2 The Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) within the Department of Homeland
Security’s (DHS’s) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers the program.
Unlike most EB categories,3 EB-5 investors do not require an employer sponsor. Rather, EB-5
immigrants must invest a specified amount of capital in a new commercial enterprise (NCE) in
the United States that creates or preserves at least 10 jobs. Investments in targeted employment
areas (TEAs)—rural and high unemployment areas—as well as those in infrastructure projects,
qualify for a lower investment amount.
Investors may choose from two pathways: the standalone (or standard) program and the Regional
Center Program, which allows an investor to pool their investment with others to fund a project in
a specific geographic area. While standalone investments must create or preserve direct jobs
(those held within the NCE), regional center investors may count some indirect jobs (those held
outside the NCE) toward the requirement. Both standalone and regional center investments may
be made in TEAs to qualify for the lower investment amount ($800,000). The Regional Center
Program was established by Congress as a pilot program in 1992. It has become the primary
pathway for EB-5 investors since 2008 and now accounts for most EB-5 investments (see Figure
3). Nevertheless, unlike the standalone EB-5 provision, which does not expire, the Regional
Center Program must be regularly reauthorized. In 2021, the program’s authorization lapsed for
nearly nine months, during which time only the standalone option was available.
USCIS initially grants those admitted under the EB-5 category conditional permanent resident
status for two years.4 Subsequently, investors and their derivatives must apply to remove the
conditions on their status. If they have met the visa requirements (i.e., invested and sustained the
required money and created the required jobs), they receive full LPR status. If a foreign national
investor has not met the requirements or does not apply to have the conditional status removed,
his or her conditional LPR status is terminated, and, generally, the foreign national is required to
leave the United States or will be placed in removal proceedings.
Typically, there are 140,000 total employment-based visas made available each fiscal year across
all EB categories, with 7.1% of that total (approximately 10,000) allocated to EB-5 investors and
their derivatives (spouses and children5). Admissions have fluctuated over the years: in some
years, they have fallen well below their allocation; in others, they have reached the maximum
allotted. Immigrant admissions under the EB-5 category were relatively low in FY2020 (3,966)
and FY2021 (2,635) during the COVID-19 pandemic, down from 9,082 in FY2019 (see Figure
3). Admissions increased to 10,885 in FY2022, on par with pre-pandemic levels. New
applications for the EB-5 program, however, remain low relative to recent years.

1 S.Rept.101-55, p. 21.
2 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) §203(b)(5). For more on the employment preference immigration system, see
CRS Report R42866, Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview.
3 For more information about other employment-based categories, see CRS Report R47164, U.S. Employment-Based
Immigration Policy.
4 INA §216A; 8 U.S.C. §1186b.
5 Under INA §101(b)(1), a child is an unmarried person under age 21.
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Some lawmakers, investors, and industry stakeholders representing a variety of perspectives on
EB-5 have held longstanding concerns about the program and its operations. These include
uncertainty and unpredictability of the Regional Center Program, which must periodically be
reauthorized by Congress; TEA gerrymandering; instances of fraud in the EB-5 program; visa
availability; and application processing times.
In recent years, EB-5 program requirements had been in flux. A 2019 federal regulation made the
most substantive modifications to the EB-5 program since the Regional Center Program was
introduced, including increased investment thresholds. However, a 2021 federal court decision
vacated the rule and the program reverted to its previous requirements. Also in 2021,
authorization for the Regional Center Program expired and the program remained lapsed for
nearly nine months.
In March 2022, Congress passed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), marking the
first major EB-5 legislation enacted in three decades. The legislation codified the Regional Center
Program in the INA and reauthorized it for five years; established visa set-asides for investments
in rural areas, high-unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects; set new investment
requirements tied to inflation; codified new requirements for TEA designations; implemented
new fees; and introduced new oversight measures.
EB-5 Investor Program Requirements
There are three primary elements to EB-5 program requirements: (1) the investment of capital (2)
in an NCE (3) that results in job creation. Investors have two available pathways to gain LPR
status through the EB-5 visa: the standalone pathway and the Regional Center Program. As noted
previously, the overwhelming majority of investors invest through the Regional Center Program.
Both pathways require the same investment threshold and job creation level. The primary
differences between these pathways are the measure of job creation and the role of the investor in
the enterprise. In both pathways, most investors choose to invest in TEAs, which require lower
minimum investments.
Investment of Capital
Capital is the investor’s “cash and real, personal, or mixed tangible assets” valued at fair market
value in U.S. dollars.6 Capital must be owned and controlled by the investor or held in a trust to
which they maintain unrestricted access and it must be acquired through lawful means. The entire
capital investment must be at risk for the purpose of generating a return.7 The investment in the
NCE must be continuously maintained during the sustainment period, which consists of the
investor’s two years of conditional LPR status.8
Prior to the RIA, minimum investment requirements had remained unchanged from the 1990
legislation—$1 million or $500,000 in a TEA—until a 2019 federal regulation increased them to

6 INA 203(b)(5)(D)(ii); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(D)(ii).
7 At risk means immigrant investors cannot be guaranteed the return of any part of their investment or a rate of return
on their investment. There must be a risk of loss and chance for gain. The investor may receive a return on the
investment during or after the conditional residence period, as long as before or during the conditional residence period
or before required jobs are created the return is not a portion of the principal investment and was not guaranteed to the
investor. DHS, USCIS, Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part G, Chapter 2, “Eligibility Requirements.”
8 This is the case for investors who filed their Form I-526 on or after the RIA’s enactment date (March 15, 2022). If the
investor has met the job creation requirement and the capital has been returned to the investor before the sustainment
period has ended, the capital may be further deployed to maintain eligibility.
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$1.8 million or $900,000 in a TEA.9 However, when that rule was vacated by a federal district
court in June 2021, the amounts reverted to those in place prior to 2019.10
The RIA subsequently codified increased investment amounts, though to a smaller extent than the
2019 regulation. Under the law, for petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, applicants must
invest in an NCE a minimum of $1,050,000, or $800,000 in a TEA or infrastructure project.11 The
new amounts reduce proportionally the discount for TEA investments from 50% to 24% from the
original amounts. Additionally, the law now requires that both investment amounts be adjusted
for inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), every
five years.
The RIA also changed the designation process for TEAs. Previously, state-level officials could
designate TEAs. There were widespread concerns that the census tracts combined to create TEAs
were gerrymandered, or deliberately manipulated, so that projects in wealthy areas could reach
the qualifying unemployment rate.12 For example, for some projects located in affluent
neighborhoods, TEA designations—which qualify investors for the lower investment amount—
relied on pairing those projects’ census tract with adjacent, economically distressed ones. These
concerns were addressed in the now-vacated modernization rule, which had implemented a
change requiring that only DHS could designate TEAs and specified that only census tracts
related to EB-5 projects could be included in groupings.13 The RIA implemented a similar
requirement.

9 DHS, “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization,” 84 Federal Register 35751.
10 USCIS has stated that it “does not apply the amounts from the vacated rule to any petitions, regardless of when
filed.” DHS, USCIS, Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part G, Chapter 1, “Purpose and Background.”
11 Applicants who filed their petitions before March 15, 2022, are subject to the previous investment requirements ($1
million, or $500,000 in a TEA).
12 See, for example, Amanda T. Boston, “Manufacturing Distress; Race, Redevelopment, and the EB-5 Program in
Central Brooklyn,” Critical Sociology vol, 46, no. 7 (2021), pp. 961-976 (hereinafter, “Boston, 2021”); Aria Bendix,
“New York’s $25 billion Hudson Yards development claimed funding from a year’s worth of immigrant visas—here’s
why it was legal,” Business Insider, April 12, 2019; and Norman Oder, “Column: What’s really at stake in the EB-5
investor visa overhaul: honesty,” PBS News Hour, December 15, 2015.
13 USCIS, “New Rulemaking Brings Significant Changes to EB-5 Program,” July 23, 2019, https://www.uscis.gov/
archive/new-rulemaking-brings-significant-changes-to-eb-5-program.
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Which investments qualify for a lower amount?
Investments in TEAs and infrastructure projects qualify for an investment amount that is 24% lower than the
standard amount ($800,000 vs. $1,050,000). A TEA is defined under statute as either a rural area or an area
experiencing high unemployment of at least 150% of the national average.
Rural areas are areas outside Metropolitan Statistical Areas, as designated by the Office of Management and
Budget, or areas outside of cities and towns with populations of 20,000 or more, based on the most recent
decennial census. The RIA directs USCIS to prioritize processing petitions associated with investments in rural
areas. Annually, 20% of EB-5 visas are reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a rural area.
To qualify as high unemployment areas, the census tract or contiguous census tracts in which the NCE is principally
doing business must have a weighted average unemployment rate that is at least 150% of the national average.
High unemployment areas must be designated by DHS; they may not be designated by any other federal, state, or
local officials. Annually, 10% of EB-5 visas are reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a high-unemployment
area.
An infrastructure project is a “capital investment project in a filed or approved business plan, which is administered
by a governmental entity (such as a Federal, State, or local agency or authority) that is the job-creating entity
contracting with a regional center or new commercial enterprise to receive capital investment ... as financing for
maintaining, improving, or constructing a public works project.”14 Annually, 2% of visas are reserved for qualified
immigrants who invest in infrastructure projects.
A New Commercial Enterprise (NCE)
An NCE is generally one established after November 29, 1990.15 The law defines an NCE as “any
for-profit organization formed in the United States for the ongoing conduct of lawful business,”
and includes the following business forms:
• sole proprietorship,
• partnership (whether limited or general),
• holding company and its wholly owned subsidiaries (provided that each
subsidiary is engaged in a for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of a
lawful business),
• joint venture,
• corporation,
• business trust, and
• limited liability company.16
Investors must submit evidence that they are or will be engaged either in the “day-to-day”
management of the NCE or in “policy formulation” (e.g., the investor shows evidence
that he/she is a limited partner in a limited partnership agreement).17

14 INA 203(b)(5)(D)(iv); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(D)(iv).
15 A business established on or before November 29, 1990, may also count as an NCE if it is restructured, reorganized,
or expanded through the capital investment. November 29, 1990, is the enactment date of the Immigration Act of 1990.
16 INA §203(b)(5)(D)(vi); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(D)(vi). This definition, as codified in the INA, applies to petitions filed
on or after March 15, 2022. Previously, commercial enterprise was similarly defined in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
17 DHS, USCIS, Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part G, Chapter 2, “Eligibility Requirements.”
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Job Creation
Qualifying investments in an NCE must create a minimum of 10 full-time jobs.18 Depending on
the type of investment (standalone or regional center), these may be a combination of direct jobs,
indirect jobs, and induced jobs.
Direct jobs are those created directly by the NCE (i.e., there is a direct employer-employee
relationship between the NCE and the employee). Investors using the standalone pathway (non-
regional center investments) must create direct jobs.
Indirect jobs are jobs held outside of, but created as a result of, the NCE; for example, as a result
of the project’s spending on goods and services from suppliers in the geographic region. Indirect
job creation must be calculated using “reasonable methodologies” such as economic models.19
Under the RIA, regional center investors may meet up to 90% of the job creation requirement
through indirect jobs (the remaining 10% must be direct jobs).20 Entities that receive and create
jobs through capital received from regional center NCEs are referred to as job-creating entities
(JCEs).
Induced jobs are a type of indirect jobs created from personal spending on consumer goods and
services by direct and indirect employees. Regional center investors may count such jobs using
reasonable methodologies. These jobs may be located outside the geographic boundaries of the
regional center.21
If an immigrant invests in a troubled business, either directly or through a regional center, they
may show preservation of jobs for at least two years, in lieu of creating new jobs.22
Regional Center Program23
Regional centers are intended to provide a coordinated focus of foreign investment on a particular
project or projects by pooling investments across multiple investors24 (see section entitled “What
is a Regional Center?” for a detailed discussion). In order to receive investment from EB-5
immigrants, a regional center must be designated as such by USCIS.
The Regional Center Program differs from the standalone program in three ways. First, although
both pathways require individual investors to create at least 10 jobs, in the regional center
context, as described above, 90% of those jobs may be indirect. Second, unlike with the
standalone EB-5 program, foreign nationals investing in a regional center are unlikely to be
involved in the management and daily activities of the commercial enterprise. Third, the

18 The position must be full-time, meaning at least 35 hours a week, and be held by a qualifying employee (U.S. citizen,
LPR, or other work-authorized migrant), meaning an individual legally able to work in the United States. Jobs are also
expected to last two years and cannot be intermittent, temporary, seasonal, or transient in nature. 8 C.F.R. §204.6(j)(4).
19 8 C.F.R. §204.6.
20 INA §203(b)(5)(E)(iv); 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(5)(E)(iv). Jobs that are created by construction activity and will last less
than two years may satisfy up to 75% of the job creation requirement.
21 DHS, USCIS, Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part G, Chapter 2, “Eligibility Requirements.”
22 A troubled business is one that has existed for at least two years, has incurred a net loss for accounting purposes
during the 12 or 24 months preceding the priority date on the investor’s Form I-526, and had a loss for the same period
of at least 20% of its worth prior to the loss. 8 C.F.R. §204.6(j)(4)(ii).
23 For more information about the EB-5 Regional Center Program, see CRS In Focus IF11848, EB-5 Immigrant
Investor Regional Center Program.
24 Pooled investments can also include investments from non EB-5 investors, such as U.S. citizens.
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standalone EB-5 program is permanent, while the Regional Center Program must be
reauthorized.25
Foreign nationals may invest in any of the regional centers currently approved by USCIS to
qualify for conditional LPR status.26 Although a regional center does not have to be in a TEA,
almost all foreign nationals applying for EB-5 status invest with regional centers whose defined
boundaries constitute a TEA.
In recent years, reauthorization of the Regional Center Program had occurred primarily through
short-term continuing resolutions, typically in consolidated appropriations bills, leading to
uncertainty for regional center investors.27 On June 30, 2021, authorization for the Regional
Center Program expired and remained lapsed for nearly nine months, during which time USCIS
did not process pending applications and rejected new applications associated with regional
center investments.28
In March 2022, the RIA repealed the original pilot program and reauthorized the Regional Center
Program through September 30, 2027, by amending Section 203(b)(5) of the INA (8 U.S.C.
§1153(b)(5)), and implemented new program requirements.
What is a Regional Center?
A regional center is “any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion
of economic growth, including increased export sales, improved regional productivity, job
creation, and increased domestic capital investment.”29 More simply, the term regional center
refers to an entity (often a limited partnership or a limited liability corporation) where investment
from multiple foreign nationals and non-EB-5 investors (e.g., U.S. citizens) can be pooled to fund
a broad range of projects.30 Regional centers must “operate within a defined, contiguous, and
limited geographic area ... with the purpose of concentrating pooled investment” within that
area.31
Regional centers can be privately owned, publicly owned (operated by a city, county, state, or
economic development agency), or a public-private partnership.32 There are many different
models for regional centers. For example, in the lending model, the NCE is a lending entity that
provides loans to a JCE seeking funding for business activities, such as new construction or

25 Currently, Congress has authorized the program through September 30, 2027.
26 For a list of approved regional centers, see U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigrant Investor Regional
Centers, http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-
preference-eb-5/immigrant-investor-regional-centers. There is no citizenship requirement to file for regional center
designation with USCIS.
27 See, for example, Suzanne Monyak, “Immigrant investors on edge as EB-5 lapse enters eighth month,” Roll Call,
February 16, 2022; and Chris Fuchs, “Will This ‘Fast Track’ to US Citizenship Be Renewed?”, NBC News, June 17,
2015.
28 For more information, see archived CRS Insight IN11838, EB-5 in Flux: Updates Regarding the Regional Center
Program and Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Rule.
29 8 C.F.R. §204.6(e).
30 In addition, approximately 20% of those receiving LPR status from an investment under the standard EB-5 category
are involved in pooled investments. CRS conversation with staff from USCIS’ Immigrant Investor Program Office,
April 8, 2016.
31 INA §203(b)(5)(E)(iii); 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(5)(E)(iii).
32 For a discussion of regional center public-private partnerships, see Lazaro Zamora and Theresa Cardinal Brown, EB-
5 Program: Success, Challenges, and Opportunities for States and Localities, Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington,
DC, September 2015.
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expansions of their operations. Regional centers can also use an equity model, where pooled EB-5
investments are used to purchase equity stakes in a project company (i.e., job-creating entity). In
addition, regional centers have been created for direct investment to build a variety of projects,
such as hotels, a ski resort, convention centers, arenas, and retail and mixed use developments.
Certain state33 and local governments have also established their own regional centers or public-
private partnerships (e.g., City of Dallas Regional Center and Philadelphia Authority for
Industrial Development).
Since the inception of the Regional Center Program in 1992, the number of USCIS-approved
regional centers has increased substantially across the United States. In FY2007, there were 11
approved regional centers.34 As of April 2023, there were 640 USCIS-approved regional centers.35
The proportion of immigrant investors using regional centers, specifically those in a TEA, has
been increasing, especially since FY2007. Since FY2008, immigrants investing in regional
centers and their family members (derivatives) have represented by far the largest proportion of
EB-5 visas issued and adjustments of status, representing 94% over the last five fiscal years of
available data (FY2017-FY2022; see Figure 3 below).
Regional Center Designation
The RIA introduced new requirements for regional center designation by USCIS. Regional
centers seeking USCIS designation must file Form I-956, Application for Regional Center
Designation, and submit proposals that describe the defined, contiguous, and limited geographic
area of the regional center; how the pooled investments will promote economic growth in that
area; the jobs that will be created directly or indirectly; the amounts and sources of capital that
have been committed to the regional center; policies and procedures to monitor NCEs and JCEs
and ensure program compliance; and information about all persons involved with the regional
center.36 The proposal must also establish that the regional center will have a “substantive
economic impact” on the regional or national economy and be supported by valid forecasting
tools. The filing fee for Form I-956 is $17,795.
Once designated, regional centers must submit a project application for each investment offering
through an NCE, using USCIS Form I-956F, before an investor files a petition associated with
that project. Each project application must include a business plan, a “credible economic
analysis” showing estimated job creation, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators, all investment and offering documents, and
policies and procedures that demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws.37
Regional centers must demonstrate ongoing eligibility for USCIS designation each year by
providing evidence of continued promotion of economic growth and filing a Regional Center
Annual Statement, Form I-956G. Under the 2022 legislation, regional centers must pay annual
fees to fund the EB-5 Integrity Fund (see the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA)”
section below). Regional centers with 21 or more investors must pay an annual fee of $20,000;

33 Currently, there are no active state-run regional centers.
34 DHS, USCIS, Number of Approved EB5 Regional Centers Fiscal Year(s): 2007 – 2012, https://www.uscis.gov/sites/
default/files/USCIS/Resources/Reports%20and%20Studies/Immigration%20Forms%20Data/Employment-based/
I526_I924_I829_performancedata_qtr43.pdf.
35 DHS, USCIS, “Approved EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Centers,” https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-
united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor-
regional-centers/approved-eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers.
36 INA §203(b)(5)(E)(iii); 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(5)(E)(iii).
37 INA §203(b)(5)(F)(i); 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(5)(F)(i).
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the fee is $10,000 for those with 20 or fewer investors. USCIS may terminate a regional center’s
designation if it fails to submit the required information or demonstrate continued promotion of
economic growth, does not pay the required annual fee, does not consent to an audit, or violates
certain other requirements.38
USCIS RIA Implementation, De-Authorization of Regional Centers,
and Related Litigation
Following the RIA’s enactment, USCIS announced that because the RIA repealed and replaced the 1992 law that
established the Regional Center Program,39 regional centers previously designated under that statute were no
longer authorized. Instead, USCIS directed regional centers to seek re-designation by providing proposals “in
compliance with the new program requirements.”40 Some Members of Congress expressed concern that
redesignation was not required under the RIA and would introduce “unnecessary complications” and agency
burdens.41
Resulting litigation challenged USCIS’s interpretation of the law under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
An order by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granting plaintiffs’ motion for
a preliminary injunction stated, “USCIS was almost certainly wrong in assuming that the Integrity Act affirmatively
deauthorized existing regional centers, so the agency was almost certainly wrong to announce that the centers are
no longer authorized.”42 In a settlement agreement, USCIS agreed to allow previously designated regional centers
to retain their designation.43
Subsequently, USCIS specified that regional centers remain designated only for existing projects and investors, and
a Form I-956 must be filed in order to sponsor new projects and investors. New litigation challenged this policy
under the APA in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, seeking a preliminary
injunction. In August 2023, the court denied the preliminary injunction.44
The EB-5 Petition Process
The EB-5 petition process requires various steps before an individual can obtain full (i.e.,
unconditional) LPR status. The first step of the process is filing USCIS Form I-526, Immigrant
Petition by Standalone Investor, or I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor, and
paying the $3,675 filing fee.45 The petitioner must prove that he/she meets the requirements for
EB-5 classification, including that the capital has been or is in the process of being invested, the
capital was obtained by lawful means, and he/she has presented a valid business plan or showed
that the investment will go to a USCIS-approved regional center.
Once USCIS approves the I-526/I-526E, the foreign national must obtain a visa from the
Department of State (DOS) to enter the United States if they are not currently in the country, or

38 For more information about regional center terminations and a list of terminated regional centers, see DHS, USCIS,
“Regional Center Terminations,” https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-
based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers/regional-center-terminations.
39 P.L. 102-395, §610.
40 DHS, USCIS, “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program,” https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-
workers/eb-5-immigrant-investor-program, accessed April 16, 2022.
41 Letter from Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn, and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham to
Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, May 9, 2022.
42 Behring Reg. Ctr. LLC v. Mayorkas, 22-cv-02487, (N.D. Cal. June 24, 2022), Doc. 63 at 5.
43 Nate Beck, “USCIS Says Congress Wanted ‘Makeover’ Of EB-5 Program,” Law360, August 19, 2022; and Dorothy
Atkins, “USCIS, Investors Cut Deal Ending Suits Over EB-5 Reforms,” Law360, August 25, 2022.
44 Alyssa Aquino, “Feds’ New EB-5 Center Approval Rule Likely To Stand,” Law360, August 8, 2023.
45 Electronic filing is not currently available for the I-526/I-526E. In an April 2023 stakeholder engagement webinar,
USCIS stated it was taking steps to transition to electronic submission.
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adjust status46 to conditional permanent residence with USCIS if they are.47 Most EB-5 investors
and their derivatives are admitted from outside the United States.48 Individuals not in the United
States file Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, with DOS and
individuals within the United States file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent
Residence or Adjust Status, with USCIS. At this stage, DOS and USCIS also check that the
foreign national is not inadmissible under the INA’s grounds of inadmissibility.49 Those who
adjust status within the United States receive their conditional residence once the I-485 is
approved. Those who receive a visa from DOS receive their conditional residence once they are
admitted into the United States. Under the RIA, if a visa is immediately available to the investor,
he/she may file concurrently the I-526 and I-485.50
An investor can petition to remove the conditional status after approximately two years by filing
Form I-829 Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status.51 Form I-
829 requires a $3,750 filing fee and $85 biometric fee.52 The investor must submit evidence that
he/she has invested the required capital,53 sustained the investment during their U.S. residence,54
and that the NCE has created or is expected to create the required jobs.55 If the I-829 is approved,
the conditionality on the residency of the immigrant investor and his/her derivative family
members is removed.
I-526 Petition Trends
After being largely underutilized in its early years, the EB-5 program grew in the wake of the
2008 financial crisis, which increased demand for EB-5 capital as an alternative funding source,

46 “Adjustment of status is the process by which an eligible individual already in the United States can get permanent
resident status (a green card) without having to return to their home country to complete visa processing.” U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Adjustment of Status, https://uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-
procedures/adjustment-of-status.
47 A visa must be available for the foreign national to apply for the visa or to adjust to conditional permanent residence
status—immigrant visas for employment-based immigrant preference categories are numerically limited, so they are
not always immediately available.
48 About 80% for the last five available fiscal years, FY2017-FY2021. DHS, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, Table
7, FY2017-FY2021.
49 The grounds of inadmissibility include criminal, national security, health, and indigence grounds as well as past
violations of immigration law. INA §212(a). See also CRS Report R41104, Immigration Visa Issuances and Grounds
for Exclusion: Policy and Trends.
50 Visas may be unavailable for individuals from countries for which the EB-5 category is oversubscribed due to per-
country limits. Concurrent filing of the I-526 and I-485 allows those investors who are already present in the United
States on a nonimmigrant status to remain in the United States while their application is pending and adjust to LPR
status without leaving the country.
51 The I-829 form instructions state that an investor can petition to remove the conditions within the 90-day period
immediately preceding the second anniversary of obtaining his/her conditional permanent resident status.
52 Under 8 C.F.R. §103.17, “DHS may charge a fee to collect biometric information, to provide biometric collection
services, to conduct required national security and criminal history background checks, to verify an individual’s
identity, and to store and maintain this biometric information for reuse to support other benefit requests.” During a
biometric services appointment, USCIS captures fingerprints, photographs, and signatures from I-829 applicants.
53 The evidence may include an “audited financial statement or other probative evidence.” See 8 C.F.R. §216.6.
54 Such evidence may include bank statements, invoices, receipts, contracts, business licenses, federal/state income tax
returns, and federal/state quarterly tax statements. See 8 C.F.R. §216.6.
55 For direct jobs, evidence may include payroll records, tax documents, and Forms I-9; for indirect jobs, evidence may
be generated using “economically or statistically valid forecasting devices.” For more information, see DHS, USCIS,
Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part G, Chapter 5, “Removal of Conditions.”
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particularly for real estate development projects.56 Filings of Form I-526 (investor petitions)
remained high through FY2017, and then dropped substantially through FY2022 (Figure 1),
likely reflecting impacts from increased investment amounts under a now-vacated federal
regulation (see the “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Regulation” section
below), long processing times, uncertainty regarding the Regional Center Program, and the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 1. Forms I-526 and I-526E Received and Pending with USCIS, FY2013-FY2022

Source: DHS, USCIS, “All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types,” multiple years.
Note: The I-526E petition for regional center investors was introduced following passage of the RIA; previously,
all investors used the I-526.
Until recently, Chinese nationals have driven new applications for the EB-5 program (Figure 2).
In FY2013, Chinese nationals represented approximately 84% of I-526 petitions filed with
USCIS. Chinese nationals’ filings declined substantially in FY2018, to 38% of filings, driving a
general decline in participation as USCIS proposed major changes to the program via regulatory
action (see the “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Regulation” section below).
Filings by Chinese nationals declined to 2.5% of the total in FY2022.
In recent years, USCIS has been under scrutiny for its backlogs of pending petitions, including
EB-5 petitions.57 USCIS experienced a growing backlog of pending I-526 petitions through
FY2017 (Figure 1), which then declined after the IPO restructured and hired more personnel.
Pending petitions increased again between FY2019 and FY2020, then declined approximately
14% from FY2020 to FY2021 during the Regional Center Program lapse. Pending petitions have
generally plateaued since FY2021, even though filings have declined substantially in recent

56 Testimony of Jeanne Calderon, NYU Stern School of Business Clinical Associate Professor, in U.S. Congress,
House Committee on the Judiciary, Is the Investor Visa Program an Underperforming Asset?, hearing, 114th Cong., 1st
sess., February 11, 2016, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00/20160211/104454/HHRG-114-JU00-Wstate-
CalderonJ-20160211.pdf.
57 The agency has announced backlog reduction plans. For example, see DHS, USCIS, “Reducing Processing
Backlogs,” https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/reducing-processing-backlogs; and “USCIS Announces New
Actions to Reduce Backlogs, Expand Premium Processing, and Provide Relief to Work Permit Holders,” press release,
March 29, 2022.
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years.58 As of the second quarter of FY2023, 12,819 Forms I-526/I-526E were pending with
USCIS.59
USCIS publishes processing times covering six-month periods that show the mean time it took to
complete 80% of petitions that were adjudicated during that six-month period.60 For Form I-526,
these include 56 months for all nationals other than those from China, and 85 months for Chinese
nationals.61 USCIS historical processing data for the I-526 show a steady increase in median
processing times from FY2018 (18 months) to FY2023 as of August 2023 (50 months), despite a
general decline in filings during that period.62
In recent years, USCIS has experienced processing backlogs for a range of immigration benefits,
resulting from insufficient staffing and impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.63 The agency has
responded with backlog reduction strategies.64 For example, for Form I-526, USCIS is using a
“visa availability approach” that prioritizes processing for investors for whom a visa is already
available or will be available soon.65
The RIA instructed USCIS to complete a fee study by March 2023 to determine how adjusting
fees would allow the agency to complete applications more efficiently.66 Separately, in 2023 the
agency published a proposed rule with proposed changes to its general fee schedule that included
several EB-5 fee increases. Among them, it proposed increasing filing fees for Form I-526/526E
by 204%, Form I-829 by 154%, and Form I-956 by 168%.67

58 USCIS has generally contended with substantial backlogs in recent years. For more information, see DHS, USCIS,
“USCIS Announces New Actions to Reduce Backlogs, Expand Premium Processing, and Provide Relief to Work
Permit Holders,” March 29, 2022; and USCIS Ombudsman, Annual Report 2022, June 30, 2022.
59 DHS, USCIS, “All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types,” July 2023.
60 For more information about USCIS case processing times, see DHS, USCIS, “Case Processing Times,”
https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/more-info.
61 DHS, USCIS, “Check Case Processing Times,” https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/, accessed August 25, 2023.
62 DHS, USCIS, “Historical National Median Processing Time (in Months) for All USCIS Offices for Select Forms By
Fiscal Year,” https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt.
63 USCIS Ombudsman, Annual Report 2021, June 30, 2021; and DHS, USCIS, Fiscal Year 2022 Progress Report,
December 2022.
64 See, for example, DHS, USCIS, “USCIS Announces New Actions to Reduce Backlogs, Expand Premium
Processing, and Provide Relief to Work Permit Holders,” press release, March 29, 2022.
65 DHS, USCIS, “Update to Visa Availability Approach for Form I-526,” July 18, 2023.
66 INA §203(b)(5) note; 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(5) note. CRS is not aware of a publicly available study as of the cover date
of this report.
67 DHS, USCIS, “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration
Benefit Request Requirements,” 88 Federal Register 1096, January 4, 2023.
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Figure 2. Form I-526 Filings by Country, FY2013-FY2022

Source: Data provided to CRS by USCIS on July 6, 2023.

EB-5 Admissions
Each year, approximately 10,000 EB-5 visas are available for investors and their spouses and
unmarried children under age 21.68 From FY2003 to FY2005, the number of EB-5 visas issued
grew five-fold (from 64 to 346), and then increased by seven-fold by FY2010 (to 2,480). As
mentioned previously, the program grew in popularity after 2008, when U.S. financial crisis
reduced the availability of commercial lending funds and made EB-5 an attractive alternative
funding source.69
Annual EB-5 admissions rose above 10,000 for the first time in FY2014 and again in FY2015,
and remained just under 10,000 each year from FY2016 to FY2019 (Figure 3). Admissions
dropped substantially in FY2020 and FY2021, likely reflecting impacts from the COVID-19
pandemic—which interrupted consular processing of immigrant visas abroad70 and led to
substantial USCIS processing backlogs71—and the 2021 lapse in authorization for the Regional
Center Program, during which time USCIS paused processing EB-5-related petitions.72 In
FY2022, admissions under the EB-5 category rebounded to 10,885.73 For several years, the vast

68 Derivatives count against the numerical limit of 10,000 for the category.
69 DHS, “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization,” 84 Federal Register 35762, July 24, 2019; and Testimony
of Jeanne Calderon, NYU Stern School of Business Clinical Associate Professor, in U.S. Congress, House Committee
on the Judiciary, Is the Investor Visa Program an Underperforming Asset?, hearing, 114th Cong., 1st sess., February 11,
2016, at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00/20160211/104454/HHRG-114-JU00-Wstate-CalderonJ-
20160211.pdf.
70 U.S. Department of State, National Visa Center Immigrant Visa Backlog Report, March 2023.
71 USCIS Ombudsman, Annual Report 2022, June 30, 2022, pp. 2-11.
72 See CRS Insight IN11838, EB-5 in Flux: Updates Regarding the Regional Center Program and Immigrant Investor
Program Modernization Rule.
73 This number exceeds the statutory cap because the INA contains provisions to re-allocate unused employment-based
(continued...)
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majority of immigrants admitted under the EB-5 category were regional center investors,
including 94% of those admitted in FY2022.
Figure 3. Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Admissions by Pathway, FY2003-FY2022

Source: FY2013-FY2021: DHS, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, Table 7, multiple fiscal years. FY2022:
Department of State, Report of the Visa Office, Table V, Part 3.
Notes: Includes principal investors and derivative family members (spouses and children). DHS Yearbook tables
have some missing values within standard and regional center pathways, therefore, sums presented may fall short
of actual admissions.
Nationals from a relatively small set of countries dominate participation in the EB-5 program.
Due to 7% per-country limits under the INA,74 the EB-5 category tends to be oversubscribed for
nationals from China and India, meaning that foreign nationals from those countries who have
been approved for a visa must wait for a visa number to become available. As of March 2023,
20,936 approved petitions from Chinese nationals and 1,133 from India were awaiting visa
availability.75
The INA contains an exception to the 7% per-country limit if the total number of available
employment-based visas exceeds the number of immigrants eligible for those visas in a given
year. In such cases, individuals from oversubscribed countries may receive more than 7% of
visas.76 In FY2022, nationals from China, India, and Vietnam comprised more than three-quarters
of EB-5 admissions, with China alone representing 56.3% of all admissions. Table 1 below
shows the number and percentage of admissions in FY2022 for the 10 countries with at least 100
EB-5 admissions. Even though Chinese nationals are filing fewer I-526 petitions (Figure 2),
many have already been waiting in the queue for a numerically limited visa number to become
available; therefore, their admissions under the program remain high relative to other nationals.

visa numbers from the previous fiscal year. See CRS Report R47164, U.S. Employment-Based Immigration Policy,
“Exceptions to Numerical Limits and the Per-Country Ceiling” section.
74 For more information about per-country ceilings, see CRS Report R42866, Permanent Legal Immigration to the
United States: Policy Overview.
75 DHS, USCIS, “Number of Form I-140, I-360, I-526 Approved Employment-Based Petitions Awaiting Visa
Availability By Preference Category and Country of Birth, As of March 2023,” https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/
files/document/data/EB_I140_I360_I526_performancedata_FY2023_Q1_Q2.pdf.
76 INA §202(a)(5)(A); 8 U.S.C. §1152(a)(5)(A).
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Table 1. FY2022 Admissions by Country
Number of
Percentage of
Country
Admissions
Admissions
Total
10,885
100%
China
6,125
56.3%
India
1,381
12.7%
Vietnam
815
7.5%
South Korea
396
3.6%
Brazil
336
3.1%
Taiwan
255
2.3%
Mexico
164
1.5%
Hong Kong
142
1.3%
Canada
121
1.1%
Venezuela
103
0.9%
All other
1,047
9.6%
Source: Department of State, FY2022 Report of the Visa Office, Table V, Immigrant Visas Issued and Adjustments
of Status, Part 3 (Employment Fifth).
Economic Impact
Congress created the EB-5 visa category to increase investment and job creation in the U.S.
economy. However, a lack of data has impeded comprehensive, longitudinal analyses of the
program’s economic impact and job creation, especially at the local level.77 In 2013, the DHS
Office of Inspector General (OIG) raised concerns78 about the validity of USCIS estimates of
economic impact.79 In response to the OIG’s recommendation, USCIS commissioned an
economic impact study by the Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics
Administration.
Published in 2017, the study examined EB-5 investor projects during FY2012 and FY2013. It
identified $16.7 billion in total investment spending, of which $5.8 billion was generated by
approximately 11,000 EB-5 immigrant investors (about $521,405 per investor, indicating that
most had invested in TEAs at the discounted amount).80 An estimated 174,039 jobs were
generated through EB-5 related projects during this period—this included jobs generated with

77 Audrey Singer and Camille Galdes, Improving the EB-5 Investor Visa Program: International Financing for U.S.
Regional Economic Development, Brookings-Rockefeller, Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation, February
2014.
78 DHS Office of Inspector General, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services: Employment-Based Fifth
Preference (EB-5) Regional Center Program, OIG-14-19, December 2013.
79 USCIS reported that from FY1990 to FY2014, the EB-5 visa had generated more than $11.2 billion in investments
and at least 73,730 jobs, U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, Is the Investor Visa an Under Performing
Asset? testimony of Rebecca Gambler, Director of Homeland Security and Justice at the U.S. Government
Accountability Office, 114th Cong., 2nd sess., February 11, 2016.
80 Non EB-5 investments included domestic and foreign sources of capital including equity from project developers,
commercial loans, and investment from other project participants.
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non-EB-5 investment spending. Most investment spending and jobs were generated through
regional centers.81
Additional studies of economic impact have been published by stakeholder groups and other
organizations not affiliated with the federal government.82 A 2019 economic impact study
commissioned by two advocacy groups, the EB-5 Investment Coalition and Invest in the USA,
examined projects during FY2014 and FY2015.83 The study identified approximately $11 billion
in capital investment through the Regional Center Program, which represented 2% of foreign
direct investment in the United States during that period. Two-thirds of Regional Center Program
investments were in the construction sector. Other sectors receiving these investments were hotels
and motels; real estate; wholesale trade; architecture, engineering, and related services; and health
care. Investments supported an estimated 355,200 jobs.
Although these studies have identified substantial capital investments, the EB-5 program has been
scrutinized for the high proportion of investments that have gone to projects in affluent, urban
areas,84 including those made at the discounted rate for TEAs.85 More recently, Congress
tightened TEA requirements for high-unemployment areas (see the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity
Act of 2022 (RIA)” section and Table 2 below). There are mixed findings in the scholarly
literature on the impacts of EB-5 projects: some studies find that the program leads to urban
revitalization in distressed areas86 while others argue that it displaces residents in working-class
communities of color.87
Fraud and National Security Oversight within EB-5
Some Members of Congress and other observers have long expressed concerns about instances of
fraud in the EB-5 program.88 Reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have
identified two general types of fraud within EB-5: (1) immigration benefit fraud committed by
visa applicants, by which foreign nationals obtain visas through the EB-5 category based on
fraudulent information or misrepresentation, including document fraud and identify fraud; and (2)

81 David K. Henry et al., “Estimating the Investment and Job Creation Impact of the EB-5 Program” (U.S. Department
of Commerce, Office of the Chief Economist, 2017), https://www.commerce.gov/news/reports/2017/01/estimating-
investment-and-job-creation-impact-eb-5-program.
82 See, for example, David Kay, “The Economic Impact and Contribution of the EB-5 Immigration Program, 2013”
(Commissioned by Invest in the USA, 2015), https://iiusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Economic-Impacts-of-the-
EB-5-Immigration-Program_2013_FINAL-web.pdf; and Audrey Singer and Camille Glades, Improving the EB-5
Investor Visa Program: International Financing for U.S. Regional Economic Development, Brookings-Rockefeller,
Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation, February 2014.
83 Jeffrey B. Carr and Robert A. Chase, “Assessment of the Economic Value and Job Creation Impacts of Project
Capital Investment Activity Under the EB-5 Program,” Economic & Policy Resources, February 28, 2019.
84 Eliot Brown, “How a U.S. Visa-for-Cash Plan Funds Luxury Apartment Buildings,” Wall Street Journal, September
10, 2015, https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-immigrants-cash-funds-luxury-towers-in-the-u-s-1441848965.
85 Testimony of Jeanne Calderon, NYU Stern School of Business Clinical Associate Professor, in U.S. Congress,
House Committee on the Judiciary, Is the Investor Visa Program an Underperforming Asset?, hearing, 114th Cong., 1st
sess., February 11, 2016, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00/20160211/104454/HHRG-114-JU00-Wstate-
CalderonJ-20160211.pdf.
86 Edward S. Smith, “Revitalizing Urban America through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program,” in Immigrant
Entrepreneurship in Cities, ed. Cathy Yang Liu (Atlanta: Springer, The Urban Book Series, 2020), pp. 265-277.
87 Boston, 2021.
88 See, for example, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Citizenship for Sale: Oversight of the EB-5 Investor Visa
Program, hearing, 115th Cong., 2st sess., June 19, 2018.
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the defrauding of “good-faith” foreign national investors by third parties associated with regional
centers, NCEs, or JCEs.89
Multiple government entities and law enforcement agencies monitor the EB-5 program for fraud,
misconduct, and national security concerns. Within DHS, these include USCIS’s Fraud Detection
and National Security Directorate (FDNS) and Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE’s)
Homeland Security Investigations. Outside DHS, entities include the Department of State, the
SEC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of the Treasury’s Committee on
Foreign Investment in the United States.90
In a 2023 report, GAO acknowledged RIA provisions that address certain concerns about fraud,
including codifying DHS’s authority to deny or revoke EB-5 petitions predicated on fraud or
misrepresentation and to terminate or sanction regional centers (see the “EB-5 Reform and
Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA)” section below).
The report specifies a number of steps taken by IPO and FDNS to address risks of fraud in the
immigrant investor program in recent years, including conducting fraud and national security
assessments, establishing a Compliance Division to review regional centers’ compliance with
program requirements, conducting site visits to NCEs and JCEs, and sponsoring fraud and
national security trainings.
GAO’s analysis also identified certain shortcomings with regard to national security and fraud.
For example, GAO’s analysis of USCIS data found that although the agency documented a
general increase in national security concerns associated with the program from FY2016 through
FY2021, it did not have readily available data on fraud or national security trends, such as
specific reasons for denying petitions or terminating regional centers.91
For years, lawmakers concerned about instances of fraud and national security risks in the
program called for legislative reforms to it, and, in some instances, for termination of EB-5.92
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization
Regulation
Prior to the RIA in 2022, the most significant changes to the EB-5 program in decades were made
by executive action under the now-vacated DHS EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
Modernization regulation.93 The regulation, proposed in January 2017 and implemented in
November 2019, represented the most substantial overhaul to the EB-5 program since Congress
introduced the Regional Center pilot program in 1992. It
• increased minimum capital investment amounts from $1 million, or $500,000 in
a TEA, to $1.8 million, or $900,000 in a TEA;

89 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Immigrant Investor Program Additional Actions Needed to Better
Assess Fraud Risks and Report Economic Benefit, GAO-15-696, August 2015, and Immigrant Investor Program:
Opportunities Exist to Improve Fraud and National Security Risk Monitoring, GAO-23-106452, March 28, 2023
(hereinafter, GAO 2023).
90 For a full description of each entity’s role and an overview of their recent fraud and national security data, see GAO
2023, pp. 13-14 and pp. 36-38.
91 GAO 2023, p. 32.
92 See, for example, H.R. 2901 and S. 831 in the 117th Congress and S. 2540, S. 2778, and H.R. 773 in the 116th
Congress.
93 DHS, “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization,” 84 Federal Register 35750, July 24, 2019.
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• removed states’ authority to designate areas of high unemployment as TEAs; and
• allowed applicants to retain priority dates of approved I-526 petitions for a
subsequent application (e.g., if the investor’s application was approved but the
regional center in which they invested was terminated for reasons outside their
control).
In December 2020, the Behring Regional Center, LLC, sued DHS alleging in part that then-
Acting Secretary Chad Wolf had been improperly appointed and, therefore, the rule was in
violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (Behring Regional Center, LLC v. Wolf et al.). On
June 22, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted plaintiffs’
motion for summary judgement and vacated the rule. As a result, as of that date, the regulations
that were in place before November 19, 2021, went back into place. USCIS initially appealed the
decision but later withdrew its appeal.
EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA)
In March 2022, Congress passed the RIA within the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L.
117-103, Division BB).94 Legislative reform to the EB-5 program had long been awaited by many
lawmakers, industry stakeholders, and other observers, particularly after the 2019 modernization
rule was vacated and the Regional Center Program lapsed for an extended period in 2021.95
The table below outlines some of the major changes made by the RIA, some of which were
discussed previously in this report, and compares them with the provisions in place prior to the
RIA (note that the table does not account for changes made under the modernization rule, which
was vacated).
Table 2. Selected EB-5 Provisions Before and After the Reform and Integrity Act

Pre-RIA
RIA
Investment amounts
$1,000,000 non-TEA
$1,050,000 non-TEA
$500,000 TEA
$800,000 TEA/infrastructure project
Adjustment of investment
None
Minimum investment amounts are to
amounts
be adjusted every five years based on
the change in the unadjusted
consumer price index for all urban
consumers
High-unemployment area
State government officials could
Can only be made by DHS; includes
TEA designation
certify a TEA by identifying a
the census tract, or contiguous census
particular geographic or political
tracts in which the NCE is principally
subdivision as an area of high
doing business and for which the
unemployment
weighted unemployment rate is 150%
of the national average

94 Prior to the RIA’s enactment in 2022, previous iterations of EB-5 immigration reform bills had been introduced in
the 116th Congress (S. 2540 and S. 2778) and first session of the 117th Congress (S. 831).
95 See, for example, Ron Nixon, “Program That Lets Foreigners Write a Check, and Get a Visa, Draws Scrutiny,” The
New York Times, March 15, 2016; Suzanne Monyak, “Immigrant investors on edge as EB-5 lapse enters eighth month,”
Roll Call, February 16, 2022; and Andy J. Semotiuk, “EB-5 Immigration News - Will The Program Be Resuscitated?”
Forbes, June 28, 2021.
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Pre-RIA
RIA
Visa set asides (percentage
3,000 visas for TEAs (rural areas or
20% rural area, 10% high-
or number of visas)
high-unemployment areas)
unemployment area, 2% infrastructure
3,000 visas for Regional Center
project
Program
Regional Center Program
Last authorized through June 30, 2021
Authorized through September 30,
authorization
(six-month reauthorization)
2027 (five-year reauthorization)
Source: CRS analysis of the RIA
Notes: Applications are subject to the law in place at the time of filing.
Regional Center Oversight Provisions
The RIA enacted several new oversight measures for the Regional Center Program. The
legislation repealed its former authorizing provision, Section 610 of the Departments of
Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (P.L.
102-395). It codified the Regional Center Program in INA Section 203(b)(5)(E) and authorized it
through September 30, 2027.
The legislation established the EB-5 Integrity Fund, comprised of annual regional center fees
($20,000, or $10,000 for those with 20 or fewer investors) and $1,000 fees from each Immigrant
Petition by Regional Center Investor filed. USCIS must use the fund for investigations, including
detecting and investigating fraud and other crimes related to the program, determining
compliance with immigration laws, and conducting regional center audits (every five years) and
site visits (for each new NCE or JCE).
The RIA also requires that
• DHS audits each regional center at least once every five years;
• DHS conducts at least one site visit to each NCE or JCE96;
• regional centers submit a comprehensive business plan, a credible economic
analysis showing estimated job creation, and other financial and policy
documentation prior to any individual investor’s application based on that
regional center; and
• regional centers submit annual statements indicating their compliance with
program requirements and accounting for collected fees.
The legislation established requirements for record keeping, fund administration, and annual
statements and sets rules and standards for third-party promoters of a regional center, NCE, or
JCE, who must now register with USCIS. DHS may sanction regional centers that fail to submit
annual statements, submit fraudulent statements, or deviate from their business plans in a manner
that violates their designation under the law. The RIA authorizes DHS to establish sanctions
including fines, temporary suspension from program participation, permanent bars from program
participation, and terminating regional center designations. It forbids the involvement in regional
centers of persons who have committed fraud or certain other criminal offenses, persons who are
not U.S. nationals or LPRs, and foreign governments.

96 There is no specified time period; DHS must provide regional centers at least 24 hours’ notice of a visit.
Congressional Research Service

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EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

Author Information

Holly Straut-Eppsteiner

Analyst in Immigration Policy

Disclaimer
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Congressional Research Service
R44475 · VERSION 12 · UPDATED
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