Chinese Retrogression Likely to be Averted, Live from Las Vegas – EB-5 Investors Magazine Annual Conference
by Mona Shah, Esq.
Yi Song, Esq.
Since the onset of the possibility of Chinese Retrogression, it has been a topic of intense interest both to the Investor community as well as to EB5 Stakeholders.
The authors have been consistently arguing that the furore over retrogression has been exaggerated.
At the EB5 Investors conference in Las Vegas (January 17, 2015) – Congressman Jared Polis and Senator (and presidential candidate) Rand Paul, both stated their support for legislation for the elimination of Chinese retrogression.
Senator Rand Paul stated that he would introduce and support a Bill increasing the quota from 10,000 to 20,000 visas. More likely, however is an Interim Rule based off Obama’s Executive Order reshuffling the immigrant numbers.
This Interim Rule would cure Chinese Retrogression by adding the following measures:
- Derivatives being taken out of the current quota
- Allowing for the roll over of unused visas from previous years
- Eliminating the per country limit
- Allowing for concurrent filings (early adjustments)
This measure will be bipartisan as it is being supported by both Republicans and Democrats. It will add finesse to president Obama’s Executive Order. Politicians from both sides support the EB5 program. This is important as following the last elections, Congress is now controlled by the Republican Party.
These changes need to happen if the United States is to take advantage of the demise of the Hong Kong Investment Program. On January 15, 2015 the Hong Kong government announced its immigrant investor program was indefinitely suspended. After Canada terminated its federal immigrant investor program in early 2014, US eliminated another fierce competitor. Experts predict that about 40,000 potential investors from HK will transfer to the EB-5 Program.
Congressman Polis suggested that he has been gathering support in Congress and the Senate to ensure that this individual immigration bill is passed before Compressive Immigration Reform is brought to Congress. These measures are non controversial, unlike many elements in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill and therefore needs to be passed before CIR to avoid delay. The Congressman also encouraged EB-5 stakeholders to participate in the legislative process, to take initiatives to reach out and educate the congressmen and senators for the prosper of the EB-5 Program.
Congressman Polis emphasized that the message the initiatives sent to the Washington politicians is important. EB-5 is essentially is a business development program. To support EB-5 is “pro-business” and to support job creation. The notion of “pro-business” will make some politicians in both parties more comfortable than saying “pro-immigration”.
The message that came out of today’s event is one that the author’s have been predicting from the outset – that retrogression has been exaggerated. There will most likely be new measures in place to avoid retrogression. Even if these measures are slow to take place this year, the visa numbers are predicted to be used up by June. October 1 is the start of the new fiscal year and there will be 10,000 new visas available.