On July 29, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order in the case IIUSA v. USCIS regarding the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) and how it affects the EB-5 sustainment period. While the case has drawn significant attention within the EB-5 industry, the court’s ruling did not change existing USCIS policy and does not require investors to take any immediate action.
What the Court Decided
In its ruling, the court denied both IIUSA’s motion for summary judgment and USCIS’s cross-motion to dismiss, citing that USCIS’s guidance on sustainment is not yet considered final agency action. USCIS is in the process of developing a comprehensive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to fully implement the RIA, which is expected to be published in November 2025.
The court explained that the forthcoming rule could address the issues raised by IIUSA, and that it would be premature to rule on the correct interpretation of the RIA’s sustainment requirement at this time. Until then, USCIS’s current guidance remains in place, and the court has directed the parties to provide regular status updates.
CanAm’s Perspective: Investor Security First
As we discussed in our February blog, the RIA changed the sustainment requirement by stating that post-RIA investors’ capital must be “expected to remain invested for not less than two years.” USCIS’s current guidance interprets this language as starting the two-year period at any point during the investment, even before the investor files for their visa.
Because the definition of the sustainment period remains subject to interpretation—and potential changes following the NPRM—CanAm continues to take a conservative approach to project structuring and loan terms. This ensures that our investors’ immigration outcomes are protected regardless of how USCIS ultimately defines the sustainment period.
How CanAm Structures Investments to Meet Sustainment
- Minimum 3.5-year loan terms: We build in loan terms long enough to meet the sustainment requirement under even the strictest interpretation.
- Alignment with market realities: Loan terms are structured to match project construction and stabilization timelines, reducing the need for redeployment.
- Full capital deployment before the clock starts: We ensure EB-5 capital is fully deployed into the job-creating entity (JCE) before the sustainment period begins.
- Flexibility and buffers: We incorporate time buffers to protect investors in the event of project delays or USCIS processing backlogs.
As Christine Chen, CanAm’s Chief Operating Officer, noted earlier this year:
“We structure our projects with sufficient flexibility to ensure that the sustainment requirement is met under any interpretation. That remains our priority.”
What Investors Should Know
This latest court ruling does not change USCIS’s current sustainment policy or impact the timelines of any CanAm projects. The NPRM expected later this year will provide further clarity, but CanAm’s conservative and investor-centric approach already positions our investors to remain compliant under any outcome.
We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates as soon as more information becomes available.
