On Sept. 22, 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a powerpoint presentation with updates on the EB-5 investor visa program for Fiscal Year 2008. Here are the highlights:
- 12 new EB-5 regional centers were approved.
- 1017 Forms I-526, Immigrant Petitions for Alien Entrepreneurs, were filed.
- 350 Forms I-829, Petitions by Entrepreneurs to Remove Conditions, were filed.
What does this mean? First, with more approved EB-5 regional centers, investors now have more choices for passive investments, meaning more options for EB-5 investments that don’t require investors to establish and manage their own businesses. Second, while EB-5 filings are up, it’s still hard to call the EB-5 program popular–only a fraction of the total 10,000 visas per year are being used. You can see the powerpoint presentation here.
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