The EB-5 visa program experienced record demand in 2015 as potential immigrants—over 80% Chinese—feared a key provision of the law would expire. (It didn't).
The program received 17,691 applications in 2015, up over 50% from the 11,744 it received in 2014 and way above the 6,554 applicants in 2013, according to figures released recently by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
EB-5 cash helps fund some of the nation’s largest private developments; to date, NYC’s Hudson Yards has received over $1B from EB-5.
Worries over an EB-5 shutdown stemmed from political criticism of the visa program for effectively letting wealthy foreigners buy Green Cards for themselves and their families.
“It’s no secret that the program has long been riddled with corruption and national security vulnerabilities,” Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said of the EB-5 program this month.
Still the program passed unscathed through the past year's budget fight, and looks to remain secure for the near future. [WSJ]
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