As has been a yearly requirement for the Regional Center portion of the EB-5 Program, Congress must extend the law which authorizes regional centers in order for that portion of the EB-5 visa category to continue. The current law authorizing the Regional Center portion of the EB-5 Program expires on Sept. 30, 2020. Since 2015, Congress has extended the EB-5 Program in increments of a year or less without change through legislation known as “Continuing Resolutions”, which also fund the government. Recently, the White House outlined requested reauthorizations of certain programs, including the Regional Center portion of the EB-5 Program, that it wished to be included in a new Continuing Resolution. It is expected that this reauthorization would continue the Regional Center portion of the EB-5 Program without material change. A partial government shutdown will occur unless a Continuing Resolution is passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.

While there may be some last minute attempts by industry leaders and the chairman and ranking judiciary committee members to come up with a comprehensive EB-5 reform package, given the broader political climate of election season it appears that there will not be enough time to pass comprehensive legislation regarding the EB-5 Program. Depending upon the makeup of the new Congress in 2021 there may be renewed pushes for revisions to the EB-5 Program and the Regional Center portion.