EB-5 Investor Visa Program Extended One Week to May 5, 2017

On April 28, 2017, President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution earlier passed by the US House and Senate, to continue funding the US government until May 5, 2017. The one week extension was made as legislators continue to battle over major policy decisions via government funding of those programs.

NBC News describes the debate as "The short-term measure was needed after negotiations between the two parties in Congress and the administration on a long-term bill fell short of Friday's deadline.

Those negotiations hit a snag earlier this week with last-minute demands by President Donald Trump. But after just several days, Trump dropped his request for funding for the construction of a border wall and said he would continue to fund cost-sharing subsidies for low-income people in the Affordable Care Act.

Trump's concessions helped to move talks along but sticking points still exist, including funding for Puerto Rico and health insurance for coal miners to name just two."

The EB-5 Investor Visa program, which has been regularly renewed since its creation in 1990, has been attached to the US federal budget cycle for the past several years. While many legislators continue to advocate for change to the program, this small program is always subsumed under larger discussions on immigration and healthcare.

US Freedom Capital anticipates the EB5 Investor visa program will continue to be extended along with the US budget without changes for the near term, while US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) ponders the public comment received from its proposed EB-5 rule changes.

USCIS has proposed raising the minimum investment amount for the EB5 program from the current USD$500,000 to $1.35 Million, among other technical changes. We expect those changes to be effective in the summer of 2017.