Hello, I’m Martin Lawler. I’m an immigration lawyer in San Francisco, and I specialize in EB-5 investment green cards.

The EB-5 program requires today an investment of $500,000 and creating 10 jobs in a business. The USCIS, the immigration service in the United States, has just published new, proposed regulations increasing the investment amount to $1.35 million if the project is in a high unemployment area called a Targeted Employment Area, or a TEA. And for a project located outside a TEA, the investment amount would be raised to $1.8 million.

These are proposed regulations. The immigration service has allowed the public 90 days to comment upon them. They will review the comments, and then they may issue final regulations. They may change the regulations, increase or decrease the investment amount, and the new administration may change them altogether.

There’s also a proposal in Congress by Senator Grassley to increase the investment amount to $1 million effective October 2018. But today the investment amount remains at $500,000 in a Targeted Employment Area, in which most projects are located. If you invest today and file your 526 EB-5 petition today, then the investment amount of $500,000 should be locked in.

There’s a lot changing in this program. You may look at my website www.aboutvisas.com for more information or feel free to contact me at MLawler@aboutvisas.com or my telephone number 415-391-2010. Look forward to speaking with you.

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