广州侨外美国移民特邀律师解读EB-5区域中心计划最新变法动向

自1993年由美国国会设立以来，广州侨外美国移民发现 EB-5区域中心项目已成为美国EB-5投资移民办理的主流选择，有超过90%的EB-5签证通过向区域中心投资而获得。作为一个刺激经济增长并创造就业的临时计划，EB-5区域中心项目经历数次的顺延和不断发展已愈趋成熟，并将在2018年迎来设立以来的25个年头。
虽然于本月初再获短暂延期至今年12月8日，然而经过近几年来国会关于EB-5修法博弈进展的不断推进，以及移民局行政改革计划的倒逼，EB-5改革已经迫在眉睫。在 “12.08” 新一轮法案到期之后，EB-5政策将迎来何种命运，也成为业界和投资人关注的焦点。为此，侨外移民特邀拥有20余年从业经验的资深EB-5移民律师Ignacio Donoso先生，对EB-5区域中心项目至今取得的成果，以及政策未来进行独家解读。

Ignacio A.Donoso
全美移民律师前三甲
美国移民律师协会EB-5委员会理事
从业20余年，蝉联“全美最佳律师”

近期活动预告
主题：问道财富风向  远见投资机遇——2017侨外投资规划展·全球资产配置广州专场
时间：10月22日（周日）13:00
地点：广州市珠江新城丽思卡尔顿酒店三楼
Q: 如何客观看待EB-5区域中心项目至今取得的成果？
Ignacio A.Donoso律师 :
The EB-5 Regional Center Program offers both an extraordinary tool for creating jobs, transforming communities and offering access to visas to deserving investors with economic capital, and a platform for risk-prone investments tied to complex visa processes.  In the last two decades, the EB-5 Regional Center program has seen thousands of visa applicants – primarily from China – who have completed the full cycle of investment, from conditional green card status, to job creation, and then removal of conditions with return of their investment capital.  Some investors can point with pride to the fact that their capital was used to help build landmark projects in major American cities while creating thousands of jobs for U.S. workers.  At the same time, the EB-5 Regional Center Program has experienced projects that have failed, or been mismanaged, or were simply paper-thin schemes to enrich promoters at the expense of investors.
广州侨外美国移民：EB-5区域中心项目在为美国带来卓越的就业创造和社区改造的同时，也为合格的投资人提供了通过经济资本获得签证的渠道，并涉及一个风险投资绑定复杂签证流程的平台。在过去的二十几年中，EB-5区域中心项目见证了数以千计从签证申请（主要来自中国）到完成完整的投资流程，当中涉及临时绿卡状态、创造就业、临时绿卡条件解除、获得投资本金返还等多个关键节点。对于众多投资人而言，他们可以自豪地宣布，当他们的资金被用于建造美国主要城市地标性项目的同时，也为美国带来了数以千计的就业岗位创造。当然，也存在部分EB-5区域中心项目经历失败或不当管理，或纯粹是以消费投资人来谋取利益的骗局。
Q: 国会关于EB-5区域中心改革已取得哪些进展？面临哪些挑战？
Ignacio A.Donoso律师 :
Legislators in Congress and industry leaders throughout the U.S. have been negotiating for approximately two years on changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program.  To some, these negotiations have yielded little more than a series of improvised short-term extensions of the EB-5 Regional Center Program.  Yet, the negotiations themselves have brought about a fundamental awareness that EB-5 Regional Center Program has been tremendously successful as a tool for investment and job creation.  The challenges for the future, therefore, concern reaching agreement on how best to direct investment of EB-5 capital to communities throughout the U.S.; how to decrease the potential for project failures and mismanagement, and how to reduce visa waiting lists to reasonable levels for Chinese EB-5 applicants.
广州侨外美国移民：国会立法者和来自全美的行业领袖针对EB-5区域中心变法议题已进行了历时两年的谈判。虽然对于某些人而言，这些谈判的成功只是取得一系列短暂的临时延期。然而，谈判本身已经达成了“EB-5区域中心项目作为投资和创造就业工具已取得重大成功”的基本共识。所以，未来的挑战在于：如何最好地将EB-5资金直接投资到美国的社区；如何减少潜在的项目失败和不当管理；如何为中国EB-5申请人合理地缩短签证排期等。
Q: 如何看待上述挑战通过立法或改革手段解决的可能性？
Ignacio A.Donoso律师 :
As discrete negotiations among elected officials continue, observers do expect a legislative solution, but few are predicting when the U.S. Congress will resolve the challenges. Recent events are indicative efforts by legislators and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to continue seeking solutions.  First, the U.S. federal government has postponed issuance of new EB-5 regulations by USCIS until April 2018. Second, the EB-5 Regional Center Program was extended until December 8, 2017 without changes, after it was set to expire on September 30, 2017.  Most observers believe that these two actions give legislators needed time to reach agreement on changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
广州侨外美国移民：关于改革的谈判仍然在进行，观察者们也在期待立法的解决办法，但是谁也无法预测美国国会何时能够解决这些挑战。最近的很多迹象都表明，美国移民局仍在继续努力寻找解决办法，美国联邦政府已经将美国移民局公布新的EB-5法案的日期延期至2018年4月。其次，EB-5区域中心项目也没有任何变化地延期到2017年12月8日，虽然其本应在2017年9月30日到期。很多观察者相信以上两个举动将会给立法者们预留足够的时间，就EB-5区域中心法案的改革达成一致。
Q: 从目前种种迹象来看，EB-5未来将面临哪些改革条款？
Ignacio A.Donoso律师 :
Most proposed new EB-5 legislation and the proposed USCIS regulations for the EB-5 Regional Center program will increase the minimum investment amount from its current $500,000 for Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) and $1,000,000 for non-TEAs. One recent EB-5 reform bill was released in late July 2017 by Congressman Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The Fitzpatrick EB-5 bill proposed to continue the EB-5 Regional Center program but increase TEA investments to $800,000 and increase the investment threshold to $1.2 million for all other investments. This solution is similar to two proposed laws presented in April 2017.  The first, by Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), would raise TEA investments to $800,000 and non-TEAs to $925,000.  The second, by Sen. Grassley (R-IA), would raise TEA investments to $800,0000 and maintain non-TEAs unchanged at $1,000,000.
广州侨外美国移民：无论是大部分最新的EB-5立法提案，还是移民局的EB-5区域中心法规改革提案，都提到了目标就业区50万美金的最低投资额和非目标就业区的100万投资额的上涨。最近的一个EB-5改革方案于2017年7月由国会议员Fitzpatrick（R-PA）提出。该EB-5草案提议，将EB-5区域中心项目延期的同时，将TEA最低投资额涨至80万美金，其他区域的投资额则涨至120万美金。该建议条款与2017年4月份两份提案内容基本一致。第一份是由Sen. Cornyn（R-TX）提出，提议将TEA地区最低投资额涨到80万美金，非TEA地区则涨至925万美金；第二份是由Sen.Grassley（R-IA）提出，提议把TEA地区的最低投资额增加到80万美金，非TEA地区的投资额则保持不变，仍为100万美金。）
Q: 除了各种EB-5改革提案，EB-5区域中心政策未来是否还受哪些其他因素影响？
Ignacio A.Donoso律师 :
In contrast to these proposed bills, on August 2, 2017, Senator David Perdue (R-GA) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a proposed bill to entirely revamp the U.S. system for granting lawful permanent residence (i.e., a “green card”) and, in the process, eliminate the EB-5 program and all other Employment Based immigration categories. The Perdue-Cotton bill, known as “Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act,” or “RAISE Act”, would create a points system for granting green cards, while simultaneously reducing the total number of green cards issued each year. The RAISE Act seeks to create a long list factors that would allot points to applicants. Points would be granted to applicants for factors such as: knowledge of the English language, completion of university education, achievements showing extraordinary ability, or making an investment in the U.S.  For example, a RAISE Act applicant would be granted 6 points for investments of at least $1.35 million, and 12 points for investments of at least $1.8 million.  Such an investment must last at least 3 years, and the applicant must play an active management role in a new commercial enterprise.  Despite making an investment under the RAISE Act, an applicant is not assured of having sufficient points to qualify for a green card.
广州侨外美国移民：与这些提案相反的是，2017年8月2日，共和党参议员David Perdue和Tom Cotton提出了一项提案，要求彻底改革美国颁发合法永居（即“绿卡”）的制度，并在这个过程中取消包括EB- 5计划在内的所有职业移民类别。这个被称为“为增强经济改革美国移民法案”或“RAISEAct草案”的提案，提出将创造打分系统来颁发绿卡，同时减少每年颁发的绿卡总数。“RAISE Act草案”期望建立一个给申请者计分的长列表，获得分数的因素有:英语水平、教育程度、卓越成就，或者在美国投资。例如，在美国投资135万美元以上可积6分，投资180万美元以上则可积12分，且投资必须持续至少3年，同时申请人必须在新企业中发挥积极的管理作用。然而即便投资人在“RAISE Act草案”框架下进行投资，也不能保证能有足够的分数来获得绿卡。
广州侨外移民专家解读：
尽管经历近25年的发展，EB-5区域中心项目已更加成熟，但至今悬而未决的行业监管不严、EB-5欺诈等问题，使得变法迫在眉睫。而通过国会和移民局双线推进的改革行动中不难看出，EB-5涨价已是板上钉钉，而移民局更为严苛的改革条款，也将倒逼国会各利益方尽快赶在移民局行政改革落地前达成一致，出台新改革法案。
因此，为避免“12.08”政策到期后EB-5改革一旦落实所带来的诸多变数，侨外美国移民建议已确定移民美国、且资金条件成熟的投资人，尽早准备递件移民局，把握现行50万美元低门槛、高性价比投资移民美国的政策 “末班车”！