EB-5 Fiscal Year 2019 and 2020 Statistics Reviewed
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published the 2020 fiscal year statistics for all their visa categories. The statistics detail how many applications the government department received in each quarter of the 2020 fiscal year and of those how many were processed. Comparing the 2020 I-526 petitions for the EB-5 immigrant investor category against the 2019 I-526 petitions will provide an understanding of how the program performed under the 2020 circumstances.
Job Creation Under the EB-5 Program
According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with the required capital investment of $900,000 participants of the EB-5 program must ensure that their investment creates 10 jobs for qualifying U.S. citizens. While the requirement for job creation differs based on whether the investor chooses to invest in a commercial enterprise that already has preapproval from the U.S. government or a commercial enterprise that does not have this preapproval. The inclusion of job creation requirements is another one of the many reasons why this program is pivotal for the United States.
Renewal of EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
The EB-5 immigrant investor program was designed by Congress with a sunset provision. This means that every year Congress will review the program holistically and determine whether it is still beneficial to the United States and thus should it be renewed for another year. 30 June 2021 is when the EB-5 program will reach its expiry date and would need to be renewed by Congress. Normally this is not a problem as in the past the program has always been automatically renewed with the omnibus bill, however, Donald Trump decoupled the EB-5 program from the omnibus bill. Meaning that the program would now require independent review and renewal.
Alejandro Mayorkas: Secretary of Homeland Security
Alejandro Mayorkas has been confirmed as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). His appointment as Secretary of Homeland Security provides him the authority to lead the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department
Using Personal Loans and Unsecured Loans for EB-5
Personal loans or unsecured loans are possible for EB-5 investment and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will now accept these funds for the program.
U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021
On February 2, 2021, President Biden signed multiple executive orders to speed along his immigration reforms. The three executive orders pertain to the humanitarian initiatives of the Biden administration that would help families reunite, especially in cases of the U.S. and Mexican border, allowing some asylum seekers that have been stuck in limbo, and streamlining the citizenship process to those afflicted.