The EB-5
Immigrant Investors Program has been busy in 2013. With fall approaching, the
year will soon be over and New Year will be upon us, symbolizing a new
season for the EB-5 program. In 2013, the SEC has led two major fraud investigations
into the EB-5 Program. This results in tighter government control of the
program to allow only legitimate projects to take advantage of the program. The
SEC involvement has made a major impact and will continue to impact the future
success of the EB-5 program.
There
are
nearly 450 approved EB-5 regional centers with close to 100 centers
being
approved in 2013. We expect the number to increase and see close to 500
EB-5
regional centers by spring of 2014. This increasing number of approved
centers
increases competition for investors’ pool in China and other parts of
the world. Alien investors now have more projects to choose from which
results in a longer
decision making process. EB-5 brokers, agents, finders and investors
are conducting more in-depth due diligence
than ever before and taking further caution to select their project.
With slow
I-526 petition processing, investors want to select the safest and best
structured project
available while they wait to be approved.
Artisan Business Group will lead a 13 member EB-5 business delegation to China next week to get an
update on the EB-5 emigration agent and investors market. It is important to
continue to keep up with the EB-5 market in China as we advise our EB-5 clients
across the US on the EB-5 market demands. Stay updated on the EB-5 market by
bookmarking our blog at www.EB5NewsBlog.org.
