As Suzanne Lazicki’s analysis demonstrates, the RIA has revived EB-5 demand—but at a level far beyond what annual visa limits can sustain. Severe backlogs and retrogression are no longer theoretical; they are here. Against this backdrop, the passage of the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) on March 15, 2022, was a significant milestone. Yet, even as the law was celebrated, it left several important questions unanswered. Consequently, education and advocacy efforts persisted. Following reauthorization, Invest in the USA (IIUSA) actively engaged on Capitol Hill, expressing gratitude to Members of Congress for their support in revitalizing the Program after its lapse in 2021. Since then, IIUSA has organized over 200 meetings with congressional policymakers and staff, consistently updating them on the progress, successes, and ongoing challenges of the Regional Center Program. These engagements have focused on three primary priorities— unresolved issues that require continued attention.
Key EB-5 Advocacy Priorities
- Pursuing Permanency for the Program
A top priority is ensuring the EB-5 Regional Center Program is made permanent. Recent legislation has granted permanent status to Opportunity Zones as an economic development tool; it is only logical that the same stability should be extended to the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
- Securing Investor Protections
Another critical objective is safeguarding the “grandfathering clause” of the RIA, which protects immigrant investors if the law lapses again. Currently, this protection is set to expire in 2026. Advocacy efforts are focused on reconciling this expiration with the Program’s overall sunset in 2027 and ultimately making both permanent.
- Increasing Visa Availability
It is also essential to secure a greater number of EB-5 visas. This not only supports the Program’s vitality but also fulfills congressional intent and maximizes the Program’s impact on job creation and economic development.
The Opportunity for Meaningful EB-5 Advocacy
This moment presents a rare alignment of favorable factors for advocacy—provided that the industry unites and works collaboratively.
- Though the differing expiration dates for the “grandfathering clause” (2026) and the Program itself (2027) might seem problematic, they could prove advantageous;
- Recent public support from conservative figures, following President Trump’s “Gold Card” announcement, has added positive momentum to ongoing efforts; and
- The possibility of addressing the derivatives issue through legislative or administrative offers a (possible) clear path toward resolution.
Together, these aligned opportunities make now a pivotal time for strategic, focused advocacy in support of the EB-5 Program.
2026 and 2027: Expiration of the RIA
Although September 30, 2027, the expiration of the RIA, is a natural rallying point for the EB-5 industry, September 30, 2026, is the actual focus. Many believe that, following the Program’s lapse in 2021, EB-5 applicants will be very resistant to invest without the RIA’s grandfather protection. If they are correct, the Program will stall for up to a year until it is reauthorized in 2027.
Consequently, IIUSA has forcefully lobbied to correct the statutory text and align the 2026 deadline with the 2027 deadline. There are several possibilities to close this gap. For example, a simple fix can occur in the next appropriations continuing resolution changing the 2026 sunset to comport with the 2027 date. Alternatively, it is possible that the entire Program is reauthorized a year early in 2026, well before the scheduled 2027 date.
An early reauthorization scenario is unorthodox. It is often said that Congress does not do anything before it must, but Senator Grassley, who championed the RIA and especially its commitment to rural communities and increased “integrity measures” is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee only through 2026. It may be that he will want his continued imprimatur on the legislation during his tenure as opposed to relinquishing the gavel and command over the process to another senator. If so, 2026 becomes an even clearer focal point.
Conservative Support
Unexpectedly, President Trump’s Gold Card initiative sparked unprecedented attention to investment migration and, therefore, the EB-5 Program. There has never been so much said in mainstream media outlets about the value of investment migration and its impact on job creation and local economies. Several conservative pundits, including Stephen Moore, Mercedes Schlapp, and Chad Wolf, drafted op-eds extolling the benefits of investment migration and EB-5.
As the conversation about the Gold Card continues (In September 2025, the President signed an executive order intending to formally establish the Gold Card program) so too does an increasing recognition of how immigrant investors benefit the American economy; how EB-5 is, in fact, an “America First” immigration program.
This conservative political rhetoric and support are another (and important) reason the EB-5 ecosystem has an opportunity for meaningful and strategic advocacy.
Derivative Relief
Building directly on Suzanne Lazicki’s analysis, which shows that 62% of EB-5 visas are consumed by spouses and children, differentiating “more visas” from derivative relief is a nuanced conversation. However, it is one IIUSA has been having with Congressional staff and Members of Congress for almost two years. In one-on-one meetings, once EB-5’s incredible economic impact is clear and how much more impactful it can be without counting derivatives, the logic of eliminating the derivative count is irrefutable.
However, despite demonstrable Congressional intent, there is still reluctance to discount derivatives in the EB-5 category. Republicans are generally averse to expanded immigration, and many Democrats feel giving derivative relief to EB-5 applicants before doing so for all the other backlogged categories is patently unfair.
That is why IIUSA and other advocates must continue to emphasize that the EB-5 Program is an economic development program more in line with opportunity zones and new market tax credits than the H-1B or any other visa program. IIUSA’s recently published economic impact report does a great job of highlighting the economic benefits of an “unleashed” EB-5 Program and coupled with the recent rhetoric and support of investment migration generally (see above) the nuanced conversation may begin to clear up in favor of derivative relief as we approach 2026 and 2027.
What’s Next?
The table is just about set for meaningful conversations about reauthorization legislative text. IIUSA has developed a list of priorities in addition to permanent authorization, fixing the grandfathering clause, and instituting derivative relief. Given our unique political landscape and the timing of a 2026 deadline AND a 2027 deadline, the focus will remain on those top three priorities. Capitol Hill meetings will continue. Efforts to bring together other DC advocates, including the Rural Alliance and the Real Estate Roundtable, are underway, and IIUSA’s grassroots efforts are likewise churning.
If the industry can remain in sync and the reality of EB-5’s economic impacts can be made clear (over and over again) to conservatives and Democrats alike, then the Program stands to gain phenomenal policy wins that will make it a fixture in U.S. economic development programming for many years to come.
Download EB-5 After the RIA White Paper
Investors aren’t the only ones benefiting from the passing of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) in March 2022. As the most comprehensive legislative reform in the Program’s history, rural states throughout the United States have seen transformative effects from EB-5 financed projects.
CanAm’s white paper brings together leading voices from across the EB-5 stakeholder community to reflect on the RIA’s powerful effects and measure the Program’s impact to date like never before.
Watch the Webcast: Navigating the Future of EB-5
In a recent CanAm webinar, Chief Operating Officer Christine Chen sat down with Aaron Grau, Executive Director of IIUSA, and Lee Li, IIUSA’s Director of Policy Research and Data Analytics. Their wide-ranging conversation covered everything from the grandfathering timeline to new filing trends, updated adjudication data, rural investment growth, and what the pathway to a permanent reauthorization could look like.
About the Author
Aaron Grau
Executive Director, IIUSA
Aaron Grau joined IIUSA as its executive director in September 2018. Earlier, Mr. Grau was General Counsel for an Alexandria, Virginia-based boutique-lobbying firm. While there Mr. Grau developed extensive experience establishing, managing, and growing trade associations, including the National Job Corps Association and the National Organization of Rehabilitation Partners. Given associations’ ability to leverage broad-based platforms to impact policy, economics, and business, he maintained his interest and abilities in trade association management through his career in Pittsburgh and today.
Prior to his association management work, Mr. Grau was Majority Counsel on the US Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, where he developed Senate hearings and negotiated and drafted several pieces of federal legislation. He was part of the Senate team that created the Workforce Investment Act, a bipartisan bill signed into law during a Rose Garden ceremony in August 1998.
Mr. Grau has a BA from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Juris Doctorate from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Courts and has been honored by the State of Ohio for his legislative work on behalf of people with disabilities.
