priority urban investment area, a rural area, or a special
investment zone). The Secretary would establish a fee to
process these requests within 60 days of the designation
request submission.
Under this Act, the definition of ‘rural area’ would be narrowed to those areas outside the outer boundary of any city or
town having a population of 20,000 or more, and is within any
census tract that is greater than 100 square miles in area with a
population density of less than 100 people per square mile.
The definition of ‘special investment zone’ would be
substantially restructured, and now is defined as an area
consisting of (1) a city or county that has an unemployment
rate that is at least 150 percent of the national average or (2)
a census tract, or not more than 12 census tracts, that have
an unemployment rate that is 150 percent of the national
average, may not include a census tract in which the project
is not physically located, may not include special land use
census tracts encompassing public parks, forests, large bodies
of water, or those with primarily non-commercial or nonindustrial use. Even more restrictive, the special investment
zone would not include more than one census tract in which
the project is not primarily physically located.
Upon enactment, the number of visas set aside for
investors in targeted employment areas would be 2,000 for
immi grants who invest in rural areas, and 2,000 for im-
migrants who invest in priority urban investment areas.
Ultimately, these changes would have significantly
impacted future EB-5 petitions being submitted by immigrant investors looking to invest under a Regional Center
Program. However, as the proposed Act was postponed for
consideration until September of next year, and instead, an
extension of the existing EB-5 Program was implemented
without any changes, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor
program remains the most attractive program available
to immigrants wishing to invest in the United States and
secure a pathway to permanent residency.
★
Enrique Gonzalez is the managing partner
of the Florida office of Fragomen, Del
Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP. He counsels
a broad spectrum of individuals, clients,
and institutions, with an emphasis on
advising high-net worth individuals on
investment-oriented immigration routes
such as the EB-5 visa. He also manages
the compliance programs for companies
involved in industries
as wide-ranging
as entertainment,
Enrique Gonzalez
healthcare, agriculture,
energy, education/
research, food service, technology, and hospitality.
Gonzalez is a member of the EB5 Investors Magazine
Editorial Board.
WWW.EB5INVESTORS.COM
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