In the wake of the passing of the “Fiscal 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill”, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently announced that the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program has been extended through September 30, 2009.
Under the Pilot Program, permanent resident status (based on EB-5 eligibility) is available to investors, either alone or coming with their spouse and unmarried children. Eligible foreign nationals under the Pilot Program are those who have invested – or are actively in the process of investing – the required amount of capital into a Regional Center ($500,000 in an economically depressed areas; $1M otherwise).
Regional Centers are private and public third party entities that have been approved by USCIS to participate in the program. They enable the pooling of capital for a targeted investment in designated regions of the United States. As such, an Immigrant Investor is not required to oversee the investment nor achieve the requisite job creation as otherwise required for EB-5 eligibility. The Regional Center program thus allows foreign investors to obtain the benefit of their investment, while receiving a green card, without being involved in the day-to-day operations of a U.S.-based business.
The Pilot Program is a temporary program originally scheduled to expire on September 30, 2008. Congress later extended the program through March 6, 2009, and recently re-extended it through September 30, 2009. As a result of the most recent extension of the Pilot Program, USCIS will continue to receive, process, and adjudicate all Regional Center Proposals and Forms I-526, Immigrant Petitions by Alien Entrepreneurs, and Forms I-485, Applications to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, affiliated with Regional Centers relying on “indirect” job creation analysis.
At present, there are approximately 45 Regional Centers across the United States. Last year, the Pilot Program spurred nearly $1 billion in foreign investment in the U.S. and created 20,000 jobs.