The EB-5 Regional Center Program (EB-5) will be officially reauthorized 60 days from the passage of the Federal appropriations package for FY 2022. The legislation, named the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022”, is great news not just for new investors interested to immigrate to the United States, but for the thousands of investor families that have been waiting in limbo due to the sunset of the program in June of 2021.
CMB Regional Centers, a leader in the EB-5 industry, has been working closely with others in the industry and law makers to establish long-term reauthorization and integrity reforms since 2015. Pat Hogan, CMB’s CEO and Founder, is one of the longest serving board members with IIUSA, the largest trade organization involved with the EB-5 regional center program. His work was essential to achieve this result.
CMB has always lived by this motto: take care of the investor first, and we will both achieve success. The new EB-5 legislation establishes important integrity and transparency measures for the industry, and protects the thousands of immigrant investor families with pending EB-5 petitions, allowing them to continue on their path to permanent residency in the United States.
This new legislation implements many changes to the program that every current and prospective investor should understand:
Changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program:
The Regional Center Program will be reauthorized through September 30, 2027 (5.5 years).
The legislation includes ‘grandfathering’ for all investors who have an I-526 on file, or who file or have filed their I-526 petitions prior to September 30, 2026. Those investors will be able to complete the EB-5 process, even if the regional center program were to lapse again.
The new minimum investment level will be $1.05 million, which will be reduced to $800,000 if the project is located in a qualified high-unemployment or rural area, or is an infrastructure project.
The new investment amounts will take effect immediately, but the regional center program will not be officially reauthorized for 60 days. During this time, regional centers and regional center investors will not be able to file new petitions with the USCIS.
The minimum investment amount will be automatically adjusted for inflation every fifth year beginning on January 1, 2027 for the higher dollar amount, and the lower amount will be calculated at 75% of the higher amount.
New visa set-asides have been implemented: 20% of all visas will go to investors who invest in projects that qualify as rural, 10% will be reserved for high unemployment areas investments as defined under the new law, and 2% will be for infrastructure projects.
Investors that are already in the United States on another visa can now file their I-526 and their adjustment of status petitions at the same time.
New integrity measures are established that will protect investors by adding more reporting requirements for regional centers and their operators, and requiring disclosures of all fees paid.
Prospective investors that are interested to move forward with a new regional center investment have 60 days to begin their due diligence on potential investment opportunities. In the next 60 days, you will need to determine what immigration attorney will handle your case, and make the important decision of what regional center you want to invest with and what project you want to select.
CMB has an over 20 year history of assisting EB-5 investors and their families with their immigration pursuits. To date, nearly 6,000 investors from 103 countries have chosen CMB for their EB-5 investments. CMB’s 78 separate investment partnerships maintain a 100% project approval rate when adjudicated by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). CMB continues to work with the same strong developers that have the same commitment of maintaining a successful track record.
CMB has EB-5 projects available that meet all the requirements of the newly passed legislation that reauthorized the EB-5 regional center program. These EB-5 investment opportunities involve the construction of logistics facilities and have long term leases already in place with Fortune 500 companies in the e-commerce industry.
Available units in CMB EB-5 partnerships may subscribe fast. We encourage all prospective EB-5 investors to select an immigration attorney and begin the due diligence process now.
To learn more about the EB-5 Investor Visa, or CMB’s current EB-5 offerings, please contact us to schedule a free initial consultation with a CMB Investor Relations Manager. Our contact information is email or +1-309-797-1550
CMB engages Prevail Capital, LLC, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC, to be the administrative placement agent for all CMB EB-5 partnerships.
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 has officially been attached to the federal omnibus spending bill by the US House of Representatives, which is slated to be voted on and passed by House and Senate ahead of the March 11, 2022 deadline. The bill is the result of a lengthy bipartisan effort to reform the EB-5 Regional Center Program headed by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
The bill includes numerous changes to the EB-5 program, including new protections for investors, a change to the minimum investment amount, and new integrity and compliance requirements for regional centers. Below is a high level summary of some of the important changes that are included in the new law.
Effective Date and Authorization
The bill will extend the EB-5 regional center program through September 30, 2027. Although the changes to the minimum investment amount and TEA regulations (discussed below) will take effect immediately, the regional center program will not officially be reauthorized until 60 days after the bill passes.
Grandfathering
The new bill includes protections from future regional center program expiration for investors that have already filed their I-526 petition with the USCIS and new investors who file prior to September 30, 2026. If the regional center program were to lapse again, those investors that filed their petitions prior to September 30, 2026, would remain eligible to continue with the EB-5 immigration process.
CMB is very excited to see this language included in the bill as we saw this provision as necessary integrity to protect all investors that have invested into the EB-5 Regional Center Program. Now through September 30, 2026, EB-5 investors can now move forward with certainty that their immigration petitions will be adjudicated (even those in countries with a long wait list).
Minimum Investment Amounts
The new minimum investment amount will be $1,050,000, which is reduced to $800,000 if the EB-5 project is located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or is an infrastructure project. A TEA includes an area of high unemployment or a rural area, and must qualify under the same requirements as the previous EB-5 regulations that were introduced in 2019. An infrastructure project is a public works project in which a governmental entity is the job-creating entity that receives the EB-5 capital from the new commercial enterprise.
Job Creation (Direct and Indirect Limits)
Indirect jobs can now only account for up to 90% of the job creation required for an EB-5 visa, or up to 75% if the construction of the project is less than two years. The remaining required job creation must be through direct job creation, which can be proven using reasonable econometric methodologies.
Visa Set Asides
A certain number of the total amount of approximately 10,000 annual visas allocated to the EB-5 program will now be ‘reserved’ through visa set asides each year for investors that invest in certain categories: 20% of all visas will go to investors who invested in projects that qualify as rural, 10% for high unemployment areas as defined under the new law, and 2% for infrastructure projects.
Regional Center Requirements
The bill includes numerous stringent new requirements for regional centers in relation to securities compliance, record keeping, ownership, and administration. All regional centers will undergo a USCIS audit at least once every 5 years. Additionally, a new integrity fund has been created in which regional centers must contribute $10,000-$20,000 annually (depending on the size of the regional center) to allow the USCIS to investigate and monitor the all of the parties within the EB-5 industry to ensure compliance.
Promoters
All direct and third-party promoters working in the EB-5 program must register with the USCIS. This includes broker-dealers in the United States and all migration agents, consultants, and finders in other countries. All fees paid to these promoters must be disclosed in writing to the investor in detail, which will be filed the investor’s petitions. Additionally, the promoters must comply with certain bad-actor requirements in order to be eligible to participate in the EB-5 program.
CMB Regional Centers
CMB is extremely excited for the future of the EB-5 program, as is protects past investors and provides the much needed integrity we have all been advocating for years. This new legislation paves the way to realize EB-5’s full potential as a job creation tool for the U.S. economy.
As one of the oldest and most successful regional centers in the industry, CMB is looking forward to providing high quality EB-5 investment opportunities to those who want to pursue permanent residence in the United States.
We’re excited to announce that CMB Regional Centers’ (CMB) Group 25 just received its first I-829 approval! This is a life changing milestone for the CMB limited partner that was approved. It is also great news for other investors in this partnership, as it means the USCIS determined that the Group 25 investment generated the requisite number of jobs to satisfy the requirements of the EB-5 program for each of the investors.
The I-829 petition is the final step in the immigration process for EB-5 investors. An approval removes all EB-5 conditions and grants permanent U.S. residence to the petitioner and their immediate family. Once permanent residence is achieved, the investor can either choose to pursue American citizenship, or complete a simple green card renewal every 10 years.
Group 25 included 52 EB-5 investors from China, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, Russia, and South Korea. The partnership made a loan of $26 million to Stillwater Capital Partners (“Stillwater”) to partially finance the construction of three residential developments in Texas:
The Peak Street Townhomes is a 180 unit luxury townhome community located just north of downtown Dallas.
The Hyde Park Apartment Homes are located in Austin, TX. The complex includes 210 modern apartment units on a 2.4 acre site.
The Alamo Heights Apartment Homes include 107 units on a 4.28 acre site in San Antonio, TX.
Group 25 opened for subscription in 2014 and was the first collaboration between Stillwater and CMB Regional Centers. The loans Group 25 extended to finance these projects were fully repaid in 2020, and the partnership has since returned funds to eligible EB-5 investors.
Founded in 2006, Stillwater is a fully integrated, private real estate company with expertise in sourcing, underwriting, developing, acquiring and managing a vast spectrum of real estate products. Although Stillwater has experience across all real estate products, their primary focus is on residential developments, both single-family and multifamily projects. To date, Stillwater has participated in over $8+billion in real estate transactions and have completed in excess of 6,500 combined residential units. Stillwater has 70+ team members with offices located in Dallas, Frisco, Austin, Phoenix, Nashville and Denver.
Stillwater is a cross-platform partner of CMB affiliate, NHK Capital Partners. NHK Capital Partners, is a Hogan family company focusing on investment opportunities in the U.S. alternative investment sector. NHK’s mission is to provide risk adjusted returns to investors by generating current income from its debt investments and/or capital appreciation from its equity related investments. The company was founded in response to requests from former CMB limited partners searching for opportunities to grow their wealth after successfully immigrating to the United States through the EB-5 program. NHK has partnered with Stillwater to develop four residential projects all across Texas.
CMB and NHK continue to partner with Stillwater to produce high quality investment options for our clients. If you’d like more information about our current offerings, please contact CMB at: www.cmbeb5visa.com; [email protected]; or +1-309-797-1550, or NHK HERE.
CMB engages Prevail Capital, LLC, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC, to be the administrative placement agent for all CMB EB-5 partnerships.
CMB is honored to work with so many unique and fascinating families from all over the world. One of our favorite things is hearing the stories of our investors as they start their new lives in America. We consider our investors as part of our family, and it warms our hearts to not only be let into their lives, but also to help them realize their immigration goals. We recently heard from one particular family, The Harrisons, who shared their story and experience working with us. We hope you also enjoy their story, and if you’re part of the CMB family, we would love to hear from you too.
The Harrisons, Group 78
“As a family, we are honored to fulfill a lifelong dream and have the opportunity to immigrate to the USA. We have both worked in the airline industry most of our lives and regularly flown in and out of the US. So America really feels like a second home. We have a deep sense of belonging. Andrew was born in Scotland and immigrated to New Zealand as a young child and I was born and raised in New Zealand, although have European descent. We met as teenagers and married 10 years later, both then immigrating to Queensland, Australia in 1990.
We have 2 Australian-born talented teenagers; Luke aged 17 and Sophia aged 15. Both are singers, actors, performers, ambassadors and television show hosts. Academically, both are studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Both plan to attend college in the USA. They are excited about future opportunities, their career paths and living in the USA. They have traveled in the US and share our love, passion and respect for America and the American people. Luke recorded his debut album at age 12 in the USA and has performed live on American television. His high-profile vocal coach is based in New York.
We are also blessed to have some wonderful friends and family throughout the USA and even though immigrating feels like a natural progression it is much deeper than this. We are drawn because America is a place where success is celebrated and welcomed, positivity is a way of life and opportunity is a reality! We are extremely grateful to CMB for their support, professionalism, knowledge and kindness and for helping us turn our dreams into a reality. As a family, we are excited beyond words!”
-Maria Harrison
Luke wrote his most recent song “Free” to encourage others they are free to be who they are and to be proud of that. Always be true to yourself and surround yourself with loving positive people; have the courage to remove yourself from negative situations that hold you back. Celebrate being you!
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