As the brilliant Suzanne Lazicki pointed out in her posting today , the EB-5 Regional Center program has received an astonishing 7 short-term extensions in the past two years, and it’s been a good five years since Congress did anything meaningful to improve the program. The TEA abuse and unlawful kickbacks to foreign agents which Big EB-5 relies upon entirely continues unabated, and the only EB-5 lobbying going on in Washington right now is to bankroll the status quo, in continuing, perpetual defiance to what Congress intended when it created the EB-5 Investor Visa category in the Immigration Act of 1990.
I am certainly not surprised at the inaction, but this time around, it’s different. It’s a little too quiet. Perhaps its the overall chaotic state of Washington’s internal operations since the new administration took office; perhaps it is indifference to a tremendously powerful vehicle for creating American jobs during a time of record-low unemployment. Whatever the reason, even the routine frantic marketing push by Big EB-5 which typically characterize these last minute nail-biters seems to be missing.
In any event, here we are, once again, staring at the official expiration of the program next week on December 8th. As usual, I agree with Suzanne’s take: the program WILL be extended and any changes which might be snuck into the budget bill will only be those which advance the agenda of all the “impoverished” high-rise developers in Manhattan…no real reform. Once again, the only advice I have for prospective EB-5 investors is this: if you’ve decided to immigrate to the U.S. with your family via EB-5, the longer you wait, the more expensive and convoluted it will get.
Be careful out there, folks, and choose wisely.
Jose
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