As expected, the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (the “CR”) last night which extended the Federal budget until January 19, 2018. It is expected that the President will sign the CR today. This new short-term extension made no changes to any federal programs, and as a result, the EB-5 Regional Center Program has been extended in its existing form, meaning individual investors may continue to file I-526 petitions until this date.
It is important to mention that the Department of Homeland Security has indicated that the regulations proposed last year increasing the amount of investment and significantly restricting the determination of a Targeted Employment Area will be published in February 2018. As a result, absent legislation regarding the EB- Program, EB-5 investors should be expecting that investment amounts will be increasing next year. Therefore, it is very likely that the coming weeks will likely be the last opportunity for EB-5 investors to invest under the current EB-5 Program investment amounts.
The Cozen O’Connor EB-5 team will continue to follow any proposed legislation affecting the EB-5 Regional Center Program in the weeks to come.