EB5 Investors Magazine English Edition, Volume 4, Issue 2 | Page 98

IS CHINA’S EB-5 MARKET SLOWING DOWN? OPINION DVRC Government Infrastructure EB-5 Projects DVRC in conjunction with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is pleased to announce the latest examples of EB-5 financing being utilized in 100% government infrastructure projects for the public good. By Connor Chen Recently, USCIS released the EB-5 petition data from the second quarter of the U.S. government’s 2016 fiscal year (January to March 2016). The second quarter of 2016 saw a deep drop in EB-5 applications, with only 848 I-526 petitions submitted. This is down from more than 6,000 per quarter in recent years. Nearly every regional center official I meet asks, “Is the Chinese EB-5 market slowing down? Does the visa backlog issue make potential Chinese investors hesitate to go with EB-5?” These are difficult questions to answer, since it is difficult to determine how significant the visa backlog issue will be in the long-run. But the Chinese EB-5 market is not slowing down; in my opinion, it’s merely resting. Factors that I Feel are Influencing the Drop in Chinese I-526 Petitions There may be three reasons why we have seen a deep drop in the number of petitions: 1. The Sept. 30/ Dec. 11 Deadline Many people rushed to submit their applications before September 30, 2015, and then even more Delaware Valley Regional Center 1845 Walnut Street Suite 2500 Philadelphia, PA 19103 +1.267.227.9183 [email protected] www.thedvrc.com 97 www.septa.org www.septa.org/rebuilding www.paturnpike.com www.paturnpike.com/travel/construction.aspx THIS ADVERTISEMENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER EB5 INVESTORS TOMAGAZINE SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE ANY INTERESTS IN ANY SPECIFIC PROJECTS. Connor Chen, who operates the applicants sought to file in time for WeChat channel EB5Sir, worked in the December 11, 2015 extension. the technology and overseas trading How frenzied was this period of industries for a decade before time? We can tell from the EB-5 transitioning into EB-5 in 2011. Chen petition numbers over the last few previously worked for a regional quarters of 2015. center in Washington and the Law Offices of Vaughan de Kirby. He has There is a joke around here about a bachelor’s degree in engineering how to understand the current and an M.B.A. situation with I-526 petitions. In WWW.EB5INVESTORS.COM 98