New EB-5 Regs in 2017?

01/11/2017 Update: USCIS published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking  “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program” (Docket No. USCIS-2016-0008)  and Notice of Proposed Rule-making EB-5 Investor Program Modernization (DHS Docket No. USCIS 2016-0006).

–ORIGINAL POST–

While we’ve been focused on how Congress might change EB-5, the immigration service is taking action. Since Spring 2015, DHS has published Rule 1615-AC07 (Improvement of the Employment Creation (EB-5) Immigrant Regulations) bi-annually as an agenda item in the Office of Management and Budget’s Rule list. Since the “stage of rule-making” just said “Long-Term Actions,” with no specified timeline, I didn’t actually hope to see action any time soon. But now, the Fall 2016 OMB Rule list has upgraded the status of 1615-AC07 to “Proposed Rule Stage” and has added a timetable date: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on date 01/00/2017. That means that in just a couple months, we could be getting our chance to read and comment on new regulations that make significant EB-5 program changes (including increased investment amount), and those regulations could go live shortly after the comment period closes. (Or not — my post from June discusses the regulatory process and how it’s played out before.) The Fall 2016 version of the rule notice goes into more detail on what DHS intends to accomplish with the new regulations, and promises to address a point not mentioned in earlier notices: “providing the opportunity to mitigate the harsh consequences of unexpected changes to business conditions through priority date retention in limited circumstances.” While new legislation from Congress might primarily focus on the regional center program, new DHS regulations will affect all EB-5 investors, and this notice concerns everyone in EB-5.

DHS/USCIS RIN: 1615-AC07 Publication ID: Fall 2016
Title: Improvement of the Employment Creation Immigrant Regulations

Excerpted from http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201610&RIN=1615-AC07

Abstract:
DHS proposes to amend its regulations governing the employment-based, fifth preference (EB-5) immigrant entrepreneur category and EB-5 regional centers to modernize the EB-5 program based on current economic realities and to reflect statutory changes made to the program. DHS is proposing to update the regulations to include the following areas: priority date retention, increases to the required investment amounts, revision of the Targeted Employment Area requirements, clarification of the regional center designation and continued program participation requirements, and further definition of grounds for terminating regional centers.
Statement of Need:
The proposed regulatory changes are necessary to reflect statutory changes and codify existing policies, more accurately reflect existing and future economic realities, improve operational efficiencies to provide stakeholders with a higher level of predictability and transparency in the adjudication process, and enhance program integrity by clarifying key eligibility requirements for program participation and further detailing the processes required. Given the complexities involved in adjudicating benefit requests in the EB-5 program, along with continued program integrity concerns and increasing adjudication processing times, DHS has decided to revise the existing regulations to modernize key areas of the program.
Anticipated Costs and Benefits:
As a result of these amendments and resulting modernized program, DHS believes that regional centers, entrepreneurs, and the Federal each benefit. This rule would benefit regional centers by clarifying the requirements for designation and continued participation in the EB-5 program, making the application process more transparent for regional centers and streamlined to improve DHS operational efficiencies. The rule would benefit entrepreneurs seeking to participate in the program by providing the opportunity to mitigate the harsh consequences of unexpected changes to business conditions through priority date retention in limited circumstances. This rule would also provide a more transparent process for entrepreneurs seeking to participate in the regional center program by providing increased consistency and predictability of adjudications through the clarified regional center continued program participation requirements. These changes will also streamline the adjudication process and improve DHS operational efficiencies, resulting in improved adjudication times. Finally, the Federal Government will benefit from clarifications and enhancements to the EB-5 program to strengthen program integrity, reducing the risk of fraud and national security concerns in the program, as well as improving operational efficiencies to reduce overall program costs.