EB-5 Investor Rights and Protections Under the Reform Act

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program has undergone a fundamental transformation in investor protection since the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA). For years, the program operated under a framework that left significant gaps in oversight, allowing instances of fraud, mismanagement, and inadequate disclosure to harm investors who had committed substantial capital and staked their immigration futures on projects that ultimately failed. The RIA, signed into law on March 15, 2022, as part of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (Public Law No. 117, Section 103, Division BB), established a comprehensive set of protections designed to safeguard investor interests at every stage of the EB-5 process. This article provides a detailed examination of the rights and protections now available to EB-5 investors, the compliance obligations imposed on regional centers and project developers, and the practical steps investors can take to exercise their rights under the reformed...