A Judge orders a return to $500,000
- On June 22, 2021, the EB-5 new July 2019 Rule, which had become effective in November, 2019, was vacated by Judge Jacqueline Corley of the US District Court Northern District of California – the Rule is no more and never really was.
- The July 2019 Rule had raised the minimum investment amount in the EB-5 program from $500,000 to $900,000 in Targeted Employment Areas (TEA) and from $1 million to $1.8 million and made it much harder for a project to be considered located in a TEA.
- Judge Corley in BEHRING REGIONAL CENTER LLC, v. Chad Wolf (Case No. 20-cv-09263-JSC) declared that the rule is no more, vacating the final rule promulgated by the Department of Homeland. She ruled it never was in the first place and remanded to the agency for further action.
- Accordingly, as of June 22, 2021, for new petitions and those filed previously, the EB-5 investment amount for TEA located projects reverts back to $500,000
A word of caution:
- While what is old is now new again, it also may prove to be too good to be true. Firstly, the Department may choose to appeal.
- And, current Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said he supports the rule, so we’re going to end up with this rule sooner or later.
