Cynthia Gomez, Counsel in Saul Ewing's Washington, DC office, will be speaking at the American Immigration Lawyers Association DC Fall Conference on Friday, November 14, 2025. Cynthia, along with several other professionals, will be discussing "EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program: Evolving Standards, Compliance, and Forward Strategy."
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, created by Congress in 1990 to spur U.S. economic growth through foreign investment and job creation, continues to evolve under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The program offers qualified investors a pathway to permanent residence through capital investment that creates U.S. jobs. Yet both investors and attorneys face growing complexity in compliance, adjudication standards, and project oversight. This session provides a practical overview of EB-5 program fundamentals, highlights current issues affecting petitioners and practitioners, and outlines forward-looking strategies as the Regional Center Program approaches its 2027 reauthorization. Topics to be covered:
- Overview of EB-5 program structure, including defining job creation and “at-risk” investment
- Lawful source-of-funds requirements — evidentiary standards, tracing methodologies, and addressing complex sources such as gifts, loans, or cryptocurrency proceeds.
- Key provisions of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022
- Visa set-asides and processing priorities, and how to manage case delays and backlogs
- Current USCIS interpretations of Targeted Employment Area (TEA) designations
- Due diligence and fraud prevention — identifying red flags in regional center offerings, reviewing project documents, and safeguarding clients from financial or immigration risk.
- Advising clients in a shifting market — post-COVID real-estate trends, evolving investor demographics, and growing global competition for capital.
