Last week, U.S. media outlets reported that Senator Dianne Feinstein proposed to end EB5 Visa Investor Program by opposing an extension of the program beyond December 11, 2015. The expiration will not touch the EB5 program itself, only the Regional Center program which accounts for more than 90% of all investor applications
Feinstein’s announcement was notable because it was the first instance in which a US Senator publicly advocated for ending the Regional Center Program. While other representatives have been critical of certain aspects of the program, they have publicly sought only to introduce reforms to the program.
Senator Feinstein’s main concern is that the program is “unfair” insofar as it allows wealthy investors to circumvent the massive backlogs that applicants for some family-based visas and employment-based visas are experiencing, in some cases up to 23 years. In addition, Senator Feinstein pointed out several cases in which EB-5 investors were treated unfairly and were subjected to fraud.
Specialists are very skeptical that Senator Feinstein’s proposal will receive support from other members of Congress because the program helps US economy to grow, generates jobs for the locals, and does not create any burden to the taxpayers.