A recent segment on Vermont public radio reminds us how valuable the EB-5 program is amid an economic recession. According to Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak Resort, had this to say:

“In today’s economy what is strangling the small business community in Vermont and nationally is the lack of access to capital. Affordable capital is almost nonexistent in this marketplace. However, through the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program at Jay Peak we are well on our way to raising 100 million of equity capital…. This country needs all the equity investment it can get right now. The EB-5 program is a wonderful example of an economic stimulus that is tax-free, not a burden to anyone, and has nothing but good benefits for all involved.”

I couldn’t agree more. The EB-5 program represents a win-win situation for all involved. Immigrant investors are given the opportunity to live, work and go to school in the United States, and the American economy greatly benefits from their investment. At a time when measures of incredible scope have been undertaken to stimulate the economy, making the EB-5 program permanent should being easy decision for Congress to make. And it should be done as soon as possible. Fortunately, it looks as though immigrant investors and American businesses may soon get their wish.

The most important advantage of the Pilot Program over the original EB-5 program is that the requirements are far easier to satisfy.

Remember that, under the first program, the investor was required to create an entirely new commercial enterprise. This condition no longer exists under the pilot program. It‘s enough to simply invest in an existing enterprise, as long as it was created after November 29, 1990.

What about creating 10 jobs? Though this is still required, the pilot program allows the jobs to be created indirectly. If the relevant statistics show that an investment of $500,000 will contribute to the regional economy in a way that will likely create or save at least 10 jobs, then this requirement will be satisfied.

Next, the “active management“ requirement. While the pilot program still technically requires the investor to participate in management or policymaking, this participation need not be anything more than symbolic. Many regional centers make investors into limited partners, which is enough to demonstrate that they are sufficiently involved. The reality is that simply making the investment in an approved regional center is enough to satisfy the active management requirement. And this means that investors and their families can live anywhere they wish, regardless of what regional center they invest in. Investors have the freedom to live wherever is best for them and their families, giving their children better access to state universities.

And, finally, the “at risk“ requirement. The pilot program continues to require that investors funds be “at risk,“ before their applications can be considered. But this condition can be satisfied in a way that offers more flexibility and security. The investor‘s capital need not actually be invested for this requirement to be satisfied–it can be held in escrow until the investor‘s Green Card application is approved.