EB5 Investors Magazine "Top 25 issue" Volume 9 Issue 1 | Page 71

TOP ATTORNEYS IN SPECIALIZED FIELDS
LAURA FOOTE REIFF
GREENBERG TRAURIG

Laura Foote Reiff has been involved in EB-5 since the program ’ s inception in 1990 . With roots as a business immigration attorney assisting with EB-5 direct investments , Reiff is a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig , LLP ’ s immigration and compliance group , a comanaging shareholder for the firm , and the leader of The EB-5 Immigration Coalition – a diverse organization of trade associations and businesses working to advance the EB-5 program . She collaborates with Greenberg Traurig ’ s dedicated EB-5 team , which includes professionals such as economists and securities attorneys , to assist both investors and developers across the full spectrum of EB-5 matters .

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE EB-5 REFORM AND INTEGRITY ACT OF 2022 ?
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act was a good start in a very long road to full EB-5 reform . We have a long way to go before we see the program operating in a way that benefits the U . S . more fully . We fought to have the agency recognize preexisting regional centers and pre-existing approved projects ( before that was overturned ) and we need Congress to act to deal with significant concerns about backlogs and other key issues .
WHAT IMPACT DO YOU THINK THE PANDEMIC AND THE PROGRAM LAPSE HAVE HAD ON THE EB-5 INDUSTRY ?
The program lapse and COVID have seriously impacted the program . Many visa numbers have gone unused in a program that has so many investors in backlogs . We also have an agency that can ’ t figure out whether there really was a lapse at all . Department of Justice speaking on behalf of the agency in court on June 1 , 2022 , alleged that the program never really lapsed at all and that pursuant to Section 610 ( a ) of the 1992 Appropriations Act and that Section 610 ( a ) the program continued up and until the passage of the reform act . This runs directly contrary to agency interpretation and guidance to the community .
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