New USCIS Data Shows Remarkable Growth for EB-5 Program
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) July 24, 2015 -- Invest in the USA (IIUSA), the national not-for-profit industry trade association for the EB-5 Regional Center Program (the "program"), recently released its analysis of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data demonstrating significant growth of the EB-5 program in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2015.
Under EB-5, a program created by Congress with broad bipartisan support, foreign nationals who invest between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in approved U.S. businesses are eligible for permanent residency if the U.S. government confirms that their investment created at least 10 American jobs within two years of the investment.
According to IIUSA’s analysis, the amount of investment in the first two quarters of FY2015 represented a $400 million increase compared to the first two quarters of FY2014 and a $1.1 billion increase compared to the first two quarters of FY2013.
Specific data points of interest include:
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) through EB-5 totaled $826 million in the first quarter of FY2015 and $989 million in the second quarter of FY2015.
• There are over 13,000 EB-5 eligibility petitions pending approval with USCIS, which represent over $6.5 billion in potential FDI.
• Considering the amount invested so far, as well the number of petitions pending approval, EB-5 FDI in FY2015 is on track to nearly double the FDI from FY2013.
“Nearly $1 billion in FDI per quarter is an amazing feat for our industry. It shows what an integral part of development finance capital markets EB-5 has become,” said IIUSA Executive Director Peter D. Joseph. “Although these investment amounts are staggering, there are still billions of more dollars in EB-5 investments waiting to be injected into the economy that are currently being held up by a growing backlog at USCIS.”
With the program’s September 30th “sunset” date quickly approaching, a growing number of supporters are joining advocacy efforts supporting reauthorization. Both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties recently adopted resolutions affirming their support for the Program, and over 600 individuals and organizations have signed IIUSA’s “EB-5 is Working” letter urging Members of Congress to pass reauthorization legislation. Reauthorization is critical to ensure that billions of investment dollars are available to create U.S. jobs and revitalize communities across the country.
Allen Wolff, IIUSA, http://www.iiusa.org, +1 (202) 795-9669, [email protected]
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