Proposed Bill Would Expand EB-5 to Add EB-6
A new bill has been introduced that would provide reforms to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and add a new category of visa called EB-6. Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) proposed the EB-Jobs Act of 2015 in advance of renewal proceedings for the popular program in September. The new measure looks to redefine the Targeted Employment Area concept to better incentivize investment in certain areas before creating the conditional EB-6 visa, GlobeSt.com reports. Areas targeted include those with high unemployment or large population declines, rural areas and those with closed military bases. The EB-6 visa would provide green cards to venture capital-backed startups and "self-sponsored startups" as long as they can demonstrate job creation in the US. The bill is the second introduced this year that would provide reforms to the EB-5 program. Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Mark Amodei (R-NV) introduced the American Entrepreneurship and Investment Act of 2015 in February; it's been referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. [GS]
